4 Star is gradually becoming my favorite clothing company to cover my naked body with. Everything they put out is rad. Anyway, 4 Star and Active Ride Shop are giving people like you a shot to color, modify, add, subtract, beautify, uglify, dopeify... pretty much just change the 4 Star Street Pirate logo into anything you can imagine. All you have to do is stop reading this, download the Street Pirate Logo, use the left side of your brain, (or is it right) and come up with something creative. The best, and worst will be displayed frequently on the Active news page and the ultimate SP logo will be featured on a shirt for 4 Star's fall 09 collection. Boo ya! Go get creative....
Well the X Games are starting up today and like every other website dedicated to skateboarding, here's my obligatory X Games post. All I really want to say is that it should be fun to watch... The skating at least. The biggest names in the industry are going to be competing for bragging rights, eh, mostly for large amounts of cash in what is considered the premier contest of the year.
Jake Brown, aka fucking iron man, is making his triumphant return to the mega ramp after suffering the worst slam ever in skateboarding at last years games. If you've never seen it, you must have been living under a rock the last year. Shit was super gnarly. Bob Burnquist supposedly has some G-14 classified maneuvers that he'll be debuting, and mega ramp pioneer Danny Way is back after missing last years contest.
Vert is dead, vert is not dead.... WTF. The suits who are in charge of the games, and "know" skateboarding so well, sent the vert portion of the contest to the grave and created the super park event to take its place earlier this year. But after an uproar within the skating community they brought vert back and also kept super park. Read about it here.
The vert portion is going to be a jam style format this year and everyone has their eyes on Shaun White for the excaliber-esque 1080. Burnquist will be a contender and so will PLG, especially after his recent Maloof Cup victory.
Street is going to be sweet. This portion of the contest is moving back outside this year (where it should've been all along) and the heaviest of the heavy hitters are going to be throwing down for top prize. Chris Cole, Eric Koston, Ryan Scheckler, Paul Rodriguez, Nija Houston, Billy Marks, Lutzka, Mark Appleyard, Sean Malto... Ah yea. The course is soo sick and should provide some epic skating. This should be amazing to watch.
Check out what The Muska has to say about the street portion..
Since skating pools and bowls is my favorite, the newly formed super park is the event I'm the most stoked about. The park is designed after the common concrete skate park and lines should be a plenty for the pros shredding it. Rune Glifberg, Alex Chalmers, Omar Hassan, Benji Galloway, Bob Burnquist, Tony Trujillo, Kyle Berard, Alain Goikoetxea, Bruno Passos, Ryan Sheckler and Mike Peterson will be carvin for cash in this jam style format. Rune, Benji, and Omar are some of my favorite skaters and this should be super rad to watch.
Here's a couple photos of the park
TV Schedule
Thursday, July 31 8 pm - 9 pm on ESPN, showing the BMX Street Final 9 pm - 11 pm on ESPN, showing Skateboard Big Air Final, and the Moto X Best Trick Final Midnight - 1 am on ESPN 2, showing Moto X Best Whip
Friday, August 1 8 pm - 9 pm on ESPN, showing Skateboard Street Final 9 pm - 11 pm on ESPN, showing BMX Big Air Final, Moto X Step Up Final
Saturday, August 2 3 pm - 6 pm on ABC, showing Moto X Speed & Style, BMX Superpark Final, Men's Moto X Racing Final, Women's Moto X Racing Final 7 pm - 9 pm on ESPN2, showing SuperMoto Final, BMX Vert Final, Skate Vert Final 9 pm - 11 pm on ESPN, Skate Vert Final, Moto X Freestyle Final
Sunday, August 3 3 pm - 6 pm on ABC, showing Rally Car Racing Final, Skateboard Superpark Final
**All times are Eastern
EXPN.com will have all the coverage you could ever want and Skateboard mag writer/ all around funny man Chris Nieratko will be blogging the games.
I might write more about the games but will probably just link to all the coverage. I know Jonny from South of the North will be at the games and I'm sure he'll have some good coverage. Have fun watching!
The hairy homies over at the Mustachio did a very nice little interview with everyones favorite tight-pants-wearing pro snow shred Nima Jalali about the new Ashbury eye wear company he and some friends started up. The goods are all hand made in Italy and they're pretty effin sick. I might have to drop my Von Zs and peep a pair of Ashbury goggles for this upcoming season. Make sure you read the interview, it's groovy.
Breaking news: In an enormous global power move, internet shred blogging sensation Hybrid Sessions has just announced the .blogspot tag will not longer be required to access the site. Yes that's right folks, you heard it hear first, HS will now be just Hybridsession.com.
"The old address of Hybridsessions.blogspot.com will still work but why would anyone want to waste all that time typing in those extra 9 characters?" stated HS founder/CEO/shred guru Zac Bryson. "I mean HS is being viewed in millions, possibly billions of homes each day all around the world. We get an exponential amount of page views, and are running off 10,000 ultra hi-speed, space age servers that take up an entire city block. Where do you think people get their daily fixes of everything skateboarding, snowboardig, music, and art related? Hybrid Sessions, that's where."
After the recent acquisitions of Google, Ebay, General Motors, NASA, Microsoft, and every snow/skateboard company in existence, the next logical move was obviously to drop the .blogspot.
Says Zac, "We've been planning this move for a quite a while now and we just needed the stars to align for us. The timing was right and we 'seized the day,' if you will "
Not only will this monumental event surely solidify HS as the #1 site operating on the Internet, ever, it also has the potential to pull the U.S. out of its current economic crisis and lower the price of oil world wide.
"Since switching to Hybridsessions.com 30 minutes ago, we've already seen revenue increases of over 7,000% and we don't even sell anything," stated Zac. "People are so incredibly stoked about this they are just giving us money. In return, we are giving them the best website ever created to look at. My accountants just reported to me that we are the first website ever to earn $1 billion in a day. We will distribute the money within our modest operation of 200,000 employees, as well as giving every HS reader $5,000, and they will in turn go out and spend said money, thus lowering inflation and saving the economy. Eat your heart out George Bush"
But how will dropping a .blogspot tag lower gas prices? "Simple," says Zac. "Since the tag has been dropped I've already started my own oil company with gas stations in every single U.S. city and will be selling my fuel for $1 a gallon. It's really just a small gesture to show how much we appreciate everyone reading Hybrid Sessions."
HS insists all this new found power and glory will not go to their heads. Says Zac, "We're going to keep delivering all the latest local and national shred news, featuring amazing bands and artists, and keeping everyone stoked in general. Nothing is going to change around HS headquarters. We'll be the same blue collar, hard working people we were when the site was only getting 70-80 views a day.... Except maybe we'll have 60 inch plasmas covering every possible inch of the wall space."
Hybridsessions.com, making moves and saving the world, one person at a time.
Snowboard mag just posted up the new Airblaster line for this season. If bright colors and tight pants are your steez, you'll be diggin on these new threads. Unfortunately, the Airblaster leg bag is dead and burried which kind of bums me out cause I really liked those.
Airblaster is 120% rider owned and operated so that makes them even cooler. Here's proof.
Transworld'sAnd Now is hittin the road and coming to a city near you. Peep the press release from TW. Hey didn't And Now already premiere in Reno? Ah yeah... I even wrote up a review.
Transworld SKATEboarding is proud to present our twentieth video, And Now. After being produced in eight short months, And Now is finally hitting the road to premiere at a town near you. This monumental film was shot everywhere; Australia, China, Spain, South America, Hawaii, Arizona, New York, Texas, Washington, Oregon, Georgia and of course California. And Now features the talents of six young rising stars. You'll witness the handrail madness of David Gravette, the lazy style of Nick Trapasso, the bionic pop of Matt Miller, the consistent textbook skating of Sean Malto, the striped pants and jaw dropping moves of Richie Jackson, and the smooth buttery style of Kenny Hoyle. Produced, edited and directed by Jon Holland and Chris Ray, this is one video that is not to be missed.
JULY 30th Active, Santa Monica, CA. JULY 31st Shelter, Fullerton, CA. AUGUST 1st The Finest Skate Shop. 6574 Central Ave, St. Petersburg, FL 33707. (727) 343-4124. 8pm MIA. 229 9th St, Miami Beach, FL 33139. 786-621-3511. (at the Skatepark) Eastern Boarder. 1400 Worcester Rd, Natick, MA 01760. 508-628-0186. 8 pm Familia. 647 Snelling Ave South, St Paul, MN 55116. 651-698-7874. 8pm. SunDiego, UTC La Jolla, CA. Skate Park of Tampa. 4215 E. Columbus Dr. Tampa, FL 33605. 813-621-6793. 7:30pm. Homage. 151 Smith St, Brooklyn, NY. 718-596-1511. 9pm. Double Wide. 14931 US Hwy 17, Hampstead, NC 28443. 910-270-3640. (at Skatebarn) Quiet Flight Surf Shop. 508 Flagler Ave, New Smyrna Beach, FL 32169. 386-427-1917. 8pm. Damage Boardshop. 1904 W. Superior St, Duluth, MN 55806. 218 -724 4027 Skate Culture, 2800 S. Bagdad Rd., Leander, TX 78641. 8pm. AUGUST 2nd Find n Grind Skate Shop. 6617 Airport Blvd, Austin, TX 78752. 512-968-5804. Sat Aug 2nd, 8pm. Vu Skateshop. 7118 Hartford Rd, MD 21234. 8pm No Comply Skate Shop. 812 W. 12th St., Austin, TX 78701. 512-804-0472. 8:30 at Wahoo's District Sk8 Supply. 200 S. Bell Blvd, Cedar Park, TX 78613. 512-673-2958. 7pm. Double Wide. 14931 US Hwy 17, Hampstead, NC 28443. 910-270-3640. (at Wilmington Shop) Plan Nine Skates. 137 St Clair Square, Fairview Heights, IL 62208. 618-628-8408. 8pm. Gator Board Shop. 1059 Hawthorne Dr, Sebring, FL 33870. 863-385-9253. 8pm. Holy Roller Skate Park. 3400 Industrial Dr, Bossier City, LA 71112. 318-747-8944. 8pm. Deviance Skate Supply. 613 Indiana Ave, Wichita Falls, Tx 76301. 5pm. Orlando Skate Park 400 Festival Way Orlando, FL 32803 AUGUST 3rd Home Base Skate Shop. 321 S. New St, Bethlehem, PA 18015. 610-866-0540. 8pm + Skate jam MIA. 229 9th St, Miami Beach, FL 33139. 786-621-3511. (at Beach) Freestyle of Duluth. 28 North 3rd Ave West, Duluth, MN 55802. 218-727-5157. 8pm. Straight Skate. 5522 Everhart, Corpus Christi, TX 78411. 361-993-3257. 4pm. Exist Skate Shop 1337 Mt. Rose Ave York, PA 17403 717-880-7926 DiSk8 Skate Shop 1270 N Wickham Rd Suite 11 Melbourne, FL 32935 321-255-0140 Sunday Aug 3rd @ Metro Cinemas 7pm AUGUST 9TH OHANA BOARDSHOP 3567 Stevens Creek , San Jose, CA. Alliance Skate Shop 5708 W. Union Hills Ave Glendale, AZ 85305 Alliance Skate Park 1002 Lonestar Parkway Grand Praire, TX 75050
Saw this on Crailtap today and couldn't stop laughing so I had to share it. Newly formed Roger Skateboards might just be the best new company in the industry. created by buds Stacy Lowery and Michael Sieben, Roger is taking skating to a new level of hilarity. Their website is amazingly funny, here are some of the goods.
Decks:
Yes that says "20% skateboarding, 80% weed and cobras," and "How come nobody wants a mustache ride?" Fucking hilarious.
Not to be outdone by...
Here's an ad they can't afford to run... Dark side of the pizza, awesome.
You really just have to go to their website and check out all the other funny/awesome antics they have going on. Make sure to peep the team page... and the sticker team page, epic.
Roger, I know you're going to get like 20 times more hits from Crailtap but if my little blog brings you guys just a few that will make me happy. You guys rule.
Oh yea speaking of Sieben, Adidas just put out a really cool little short film featuring Sieben and his "friends." The video is pretty funny so make sure to check it out. (Click smile forever at the bottom right, then videos to play)
And if that's not enough, Sieben also got a pro model Adidas shoe. I really like these. Superskate low, super rad yo.
I just came across this picture on Volcom's website and I really like it. Especially these days with big oil bending everyone over on gas prices, I think it's super important for people to find alternate modes of transportation if at all possible. Aside from driving the Love Bus 15 minutes to and from work 5 days a week, I've been riding my sweet ass old/new bike or skating everywhere I go. I'm a huge believer and supporter of the whole Green movement and try to make every effort possible to reduce my carbon footprint. Plus, I don't particularly enjoy giving all my money to the man.
Planet Earth is all we have so let's not fuck it up.
If you can't read the little blurb on the photo it says: Almost one third of the carbon dioxide produced in the United States comes from our cars, trucks and airplanes. There are many simple, practical things you can do to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide you produce while on the move.
One of which is: Reduce the number of miles you drive by skateboarding wherever possible. -Avoiding just 10 miles of driving every week would eliminate about 500 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions a year!
Although the above photo is obviously photo shopped, skateboarding down a busy highway is not impossible....
During my internet lurk-fest (sorry Toymachine) the other day trying to find new snow gear I searched for the new Vans boots and outerwear and couldn't really find anything. Well as it turns out I should have gone straight to the source because all the new Vans gear is posted up on their brand spankin new snow website. I guess I just had my head up my ass. Anyway, since Vans is my all time favorite company I'll spend a little time breaking down the new gear. Dig it.
Boots
I've been riding Vans boots all my life except one year when I wanted to save money and bought a pair of shit Ride boots at this tent sale. BIG mistake. Those lasted about 2 weeks and after numerous cursing fits of rage I did what I should have done in the first place and bought Vans. Anyone who snowboards on a regular basis knows that boots are the most important component to having fun and performing on the mountain. If your feet are hurting, or the boots aren't giving you enough support/flex/whatever your looking for in a boot, or your feet are sliding around every time you try to make a turn, you're going to have shitty ass time, period. I can't imagine someone saying, "Oh I love when my feet get rapped by my boots every time I put them on. That constant cramping and sharp pain makes me wanna huck myself off a cliff." Fuck that. Bottom line: You get what you pay for. Boots are the one thing you should never, ever go cheap on... ever!
Ranting aside, Vans boots are the shiiiit. I rode the DK pro model (R.I.P.) the last 2 seasons and they were ultra rad. Unfortunately, in a questionable moral character move by Mr. Kass, he split from Vans after having 5 pro models with them for.... A-hem... Nike. I'm still a little bitter about Nike breaking into the snow world but I guess it's hard not to jump ship when the suits are flashing all that green at ya... None the less, I'm still super stoked on DK, he absolutely rips, here's his new Nike Colorway.
The mens pro model torch has been passed to the Nitro Norwegian, Andreas Wiig. Wiig had an incredible season last year winning his 2nd X-Games slope style gold medal, The Honda Sessions, The Vans Cup... So this pro model is very well deserved. He also has Vans signature pants and a Jacket. Brain and I got to watch him at the Honda Sessions at Vail last season and he throws down hammers. Switch b/s rodeo 9's, cab 9's and 10's, 20 foot methods off the hip... So sick. We even snuck into the V.I.P. riders area and got to meet and hang out with him!
Andreas Wiig Pro Model
The best thing about Vans is all of their boots are high quality, durable, comfortable, stylish, and very ridable. Even the lower level boots are sick. I rode a pair of Hi-standards and they were awesome. The lower level boots are great for someone who is starting out and doesn't really know what kind of flex or stiffness they like in a boot. The mid to upper level boots are obviously for the rider who's been on a snowboard for a few seasons and knows what they like, or the always present uber gaper who buys the highest quality gear and can't even turn heel side. I really like the new Matlock boot, it has that original Vans skate shoe look to it. The BFB,(Best Fuckin Boot) Cirro, Fargo, Contra, are also rad.
I ride pretty hard and am bigger dude and I've never had a problem with Vans breaking down. I mean you're always going to have the normal wear and tear over time but even after a seasons worth of abuse, Vans will still get the job done.
Hi-Standard
Matlock
BFB
Cirro
I pretty sure I'm going to get the Cirro for this season. My DKs are a pile of mush and I want the BOA tech this year. It's such a pain in the ass to tighten lace up boots whilst shredding. I tried on the Cirros at the end of last season and they were super comfy. I like my boot more on the stiffer side and since I have big back country aspirations this winter I'm going for even more stiffness.
Since I'm not a women, nor have I ever snowboarded in womens boots, I don't have a clue how these boots ride. I'm sure they ride great though, I mean c'mon they're Vans. If there are any women out there reading this who ride Vans, feel free to shed some light on how they handle. Shay perhaps you can?
The Hi-Standard and Kira models are sick.
Hi-Standard
Kira
The other amazing thing about Vans is that all of their female riders not only rip hardcore, but they are also absolute babes! Tara Dakides and Erin Comstock, OG babes. Cheryl Mass, Euro babe. Hanna Beaman and Jaqui Berg, ultra mega babes. Good job Vans.
I might as well make it official right now... Jacqui, I know you don't know me and you're probably better at snowboarding than I am but that's really of no consequence to me. You ride for Vans and get free gear, I buy A LOT of Vans gear, so that's already one thing we have in common. I like to draw and paint and scribble and doodle, you like to paint and do other art related things... That's two things in common! I love music, you probably love music, I could write songs and play them on my guitar for you, and you would love it. I mean, I feel like I've known you forever, like we already have this mystical, supernatural connection. So here I am, emotionally drained, pouring my guts out to you in the hopes that you will Google search yourself soon and read this. Now Jacqui, I'm only going to ask this once.... or twice. I am a man of strong conviction and will not be lead on or deceived, for too long. So will you, Jacqui Berg, the Vans Vixen, shred babe of my dreams, PLEASE........... Hook me up with some slip ons, size 11, blue and white checker board preferably, and maybe a pair of new boots??? Oh yeah, I almost forgot, do you also want to go on a date and see the new Batman movie? I hear the Joker is a real laugh.... HA! Feel free to drop me a line and let me know what you decide... But only if your answer is yes... I don't think I could handle the rejection!
So all joking aside, (or was I?) Vans boots are the best, period. If you're interested in all the tech they have to offer, like RECCO and the Focus BOA, you can find all you need and more on the new snow site. If you have any kind of sense, you'll go buy some Vans boots for the upcoming snow season!
Outerwear
Men's Day 7 Series
Men's Day 1 Series
Women's Day 7 Series
Womens Day 1 Series
Vans just recently got into the snowboard outerwear game and I must say their gear is lookin pretty sweet this year. I rode in their Threefer Jacket last year, which features a removable down liner, and I stayed warm and dry all season. The liner was perfect for the ball shriveling cold of Colorado and when it warmed up I could pop that baby out and ride comfortably.
It seems these days people are more concerned with how they look on the mountain than how the gear their sportin performs. I've had many a waist deep powder day and let me tell you, if you're wet, you're bummin. If you're wet and cold, you're hating life. My little sister (who shreds hard) is notorious for always complaining about how cold and wet she is while snowboarding. I would always tell her shes cold and wet because her gear is shit and to go buy better stuff. Well she finally did this last winter and her stoke level went up to ultra gnar stoked because she could finally feel her extremities while riding.
The bottom line is, no matter how dope that purple and neon green striped jacket looks, if it's not going to keep you warm and dry, it's not worth having. Now don't get me wrong here, there are all sorts of different types of outerwear made for the different weather conditions. Like if you're rinding a spring shell jacket in a raging blizzard you're just a dumb ass. You have to have the right gear for the right conditions.
What I'm trying to get at is that Vans outerwear offers all the different levels of protection you need along with fresh looks to keep your steez levels at their highest on the mountain. Check out the website to read all about the different styles, and what the Day 7, Day 1 thing is all about.
In conclusion, Vans rules, everyone else drools. Go peep the entire 08/09 line up of Vans boots and outerwear right HERE. The new snow website is super rad. There's a bunch of videos about the new boots and outerwear, along with team member bios, a boot comparison tool which is pretty cool, all the tech info you could ever want, and of course big ass photos of the all the new gear. Go check it and get stoked!
For all the new snow gear to drop like snow flakes upon us. I've been hard at work lurking the internet to find as much 08/09 gear as possible and here's some of my findings. Peep some goods...
First up...
Heisted directly from South of the North, via Alpinedrops, the new Union Binder Danny Kass pro model. Danny's been riding God knows what since Agency went down the shitter a couple years ago but he's on a real solid company now in Union. You might as well call these the DK/Grenade pro model -- That influence is obviously present. None the less, these are rad. I couldn't help sharing the news of the new bindings with fellow shred crew member, and Union fiend Brian Heimerdingerslapper in a phone conversation that went something like this: (Click on the SouthoftheNorth link to find some humor in this...)
Me: Ah dude guess what I saw on the internet today that I'm gona be heisting and writing about tomorrow morning? Brian: What? Me: Dude I can't tell you, you're just gonna have to peep the blog tomorrow. It's something new from Union, that's all I can tell you... Brian: Dude what the fuck?! Tell me now! Me: I'm not telling... Brian: Dude!!! You know I love Union! Me: Eh........ Ok I'll tell ya.
Something like that. Thanks for the inspiration Jonny...
Stepchild Snowboards StepChild made a HUGE move last year in signing legendary shred JP Walker after he peaced out from Forum. Dude kills it. Look for big things from these guys this year. Peep the 08/09 StepChild line up.
GNU Snowboards
If there's one companies boards I would ride other than Lib Tech it would most definitely be GNU... Probably because they're both made by the same masterminds, Mervin. GNU is going bananas this year offering up the majority of their sticks with the mystical/magical goodness of Banana Tech. GNU rules. GREAT line up this year.
DC is pushin out boards this year... Weird. Peep the new DC snow website for the entire line up.
Well I'm sick of lurking for now... There are still a ton more "official" releases to come but in the mean time you can go look at a bunch of previews and cool photos from the SIA trade show of new gear over at Shay's site.
All this gets me stoco loco for upcoming snow season... I can't wait to ride!
So you all probably know TJ Schneider as the grizzly bearded, method grabbing, tattoo sporting, Air Blaster Leg Bag wearing pro snowboarder, but how many of you know about TJ Schneider the professional artist? When TJ is not shredding fresh pow, he is often hard at work shredding the canvas. I’ve been sitting on this interview for about two months now… I’ve been itchin to get it posted but after classes ended at Colorado State University for the summer, around the middle of May, Hybrid Sessions had a pretty sharp drop in the number of people checking out the site. Perhaps it was because my young blog hadn’t yet attracted an audience outside the 85% of Fort Collins residents, most likely CSU students, and my friends and family who checked out the blog regularly.
I want as many people as humanly possible to read this interview and see TJ’s awesome art so I’ve waited until now to post this up. The numbers are back up and you know what they say, there’s no time like the present… two months later.
As I explained in an earlier HS post, the Gonz and I met TJ in Breckenridge at the beginning of last snow season. We had a little chat and he told us about his Snow Realms project and we talked about the new Capita boards and I told him how stoked I was on his tye die Airblaster leg bag. He was super cool and we got to watch him shred Breck for a couple days, which was sick. Anyway, after he told us about Snow Realms I went and checked it out on Youtube, watched the first few episodes and eventually discovered his website and his art. I knew TJ was an amazing snowboarder but I had no idea how sick of an artist he is. His work is raw, unpolished, abstract, vibrant, simple, unique, meaningful, soaked in human emotion and feelings, and most of all really fucking rad. I think the best way to describe TJ’s art is visible emotion. He draws and paints what his feelings and emotions would look like if they could be seen. That’s the way I look at it at least… He’s not the product of an art school or hasn’t been classically trained but that doesn't mean shit... his style is very unique and original and that’s what creating art is all about, self-expression, no matter what the hell it looks like. I've been stoked on TJ as a pro snowboarder for a long time and even more now after discovering his amazing art.
After looking through all the art on his site and really, really diggin it, I decided to email him and see if I could get inside his brain a little. I even snuck in a few questions about music and shredding… I couldn’t help myself. Here are a few of TJ's pieces I'm super stoked on, so enjoy!
ART
Hybrid Sessions: How did you get into art? TJ: I've always been into drawing and writing and such, but never in school. I was never the art guy or the good drawer. I was always making little pictures, coloring. When I was 18 I took a job selling magazines door to door. I spent a lot of time sitting on the side of the road or in parks drawing rather than going up and trying to sell shit to random people. Then when I was 20 I was hanging around Jason Brown a lot and he got me into playing around with paint, watching him and the h5, really got me into using paint.
HS: Who or what were some of your early inspirations when you were starting out? TJ: When I first started drawing, nothing really. I didn't look at any artists or know what I liked. When I was 18 my friend Mike Carter introduced me to Egon Schiele's art. He was the first artist I really looked into, read about and fell in love with. Right away I was blown away by his stuff. I think that plays a huge part in the style of art that I like. But also hanging out with Jason and the early h5, they kinda taught me that you can do anything you want. The last few years artists like Miro, Darger, Basquiat, Picasso, Matisse, are a few of the artists that I really like reading about.
HS: What inspires you now? TJ: I dunno a lot of stuff… the biggest thing is probably a change. Most of my shit has a hint of one huge change that’s been pretty hard on me.
HS: The whole culture of board sports, snowboarding, skating, and surfing draw heavily on the influences art and music. Talk about why you think (if you do) art and music play such a large role in the board-riding world. Do you think snowboarding influences you as an artist? TJ: I dunno how to answer the first part really. I mean you can usually tell what a person listens to from how they dress but I dunno about art... Does snowboarding influence my art? I don't think so. Does art influence my snowboarding? I'm sure it does, but this isn't something I'm consciously thinking about either. I just do whatever feels right at the time.
HS: A lot of your art is pretty abstract, which is super rad. You seem to use a lot of different shapes and designs drawn and painted over creature like people with bright, vibrant colors. Is this just how you transfer the thoughts in your head to paper/canvas, or did you try to adapt this style from something you'd seen, or heard, or any other type of influence? TJ: I'm sure there are a million different influences but again it’s not something I really think about. If something looks too much like someone else's shit... whatever I don't really care. Things just come out how they come out.
HS: You incorporate the written word into your art quite a bit, which is something I also really like to do with my art. I think when you can't get your feelings across with just pictures, words help. Why do you incorporate words into your art? TJ: Why not? If I have something to express that I want to get off my chest ill write it. I just think with art or whatever you can do whatever you want.
HS: You've done a bunch art and designs for your sponsors and some really awesomeboardgraphics for Capita. Do the companies give you free reign to do what ever you want, or do they sort of steer you in a certain direction? What goes into the process of creating a graphic for a board or a tee shirt? TJ: With Tee shirts I just take pictures out of my sketchbooks and lay em up and submit them. If they use them cool if not... That’s fine too. For boards its a little tougher. I’ll come up with an idea, draw a picture or take a photo, lay it up send it in. I do what I want and then we go through a million, “try this, lets do this, try this” type of thing. My work is pretty impulsive, so it’s nice to have some other points of view to help make things better. When I look at something too long it’s hard for me to do anything with it.
HS: What is your favorite medium on which, and with what to create art? (paper, canvas, mural, restaurant napkin, acrylic, markers, pencil etc....) TJ: Paper with pen. I like simple and easy art. I think that probably comes from loving Schiele's work, but I also love complex layering like Basquiat. I dunno I guess it changes all the time. Just doing whatever I wanna see on the page as best I can also depends on what I have in front of me. I’m pretty broke so pens and paper are the cheapest.
HS: Do you sit down and try to think of things to draw/paint, or do you wait for something to inspire you? TJ: I don’t really think about it too much. I usually will just get an impulse to make something. I’ll sit down and see what materials are around me and then something will come out of that. I've done a few little videos of paintings and its really weird for me to see how they get made. Episode 2 of the realms was one, when I sat down I had no idea what I was going to make. I just knew I wanted to make something. When I painted the hallway at the Source, I had a pretty vague idea of what I wanted to do at the start but I just ended up painting whatever I felt fit. I plan very little. I figure without any expectations I can never be let down with it. With boards I have to plan, but again initially the idea is pretty impulsive.
HS: Final art question... What do you hope people will take away from your art? TJ: I dunno, whatever they want.
MUSIC
HS: What types of music do you listen to? TJ: Shitty music
HS: If any, what do you like to listen to when you're shredding? TJ: Mellow. I used to listen to a lot of metal but I found it got me too wound up. If I have something mellow with some story or feeling I find that I can stay a lot calmer.
HS: Better form a self-expression: Music or Art? Why? TJ: For me making pictures.
SNOW
HS: How was your shred season? Highs, lows? TJ: It was good. I had a lot of fun and very little stress from shredding. I’m not the type of guy that likes the stress of trying to film a video part, it’s a lot of panic from here to there to find the snow and that’s not my deal. I traveled around with Joel Fraser and rode pow, hit jumps, and had a lot of fun.
HS: What was your inspiration for the Snow Realms video project? How do you feel it was received? TJ: I just wanted to make something that was real. I didn’t want to have a panic shred season focused on filming for someone else to cut all my shit. I wanted to make something that everyone could be involved in. I dunno how it was received… I guess pretty well. Some people didn’t like it, but whatever I had a lot of fun doing it and it’s really cool to be able to look back and see my whole season in 30 short little films rather than in a 30 second video part slapped together in the middle of some film that kids have to pay for. It also gave me an opportunity to work with more of my friends.
HS: Where was the best snow this winter? TJ: Japan by far
HS: Who were some of the biggest influences on your riding style? TJ: Back in the day it was Jamie Lynn, Peter Line and Terje. Now a days I have no idea. I don’t really watch too much snowboarding. I love doing it but I’m not comparing myself to anyone else.
HS: Super floaty, stylish, poked out backside one of a cliff... or a super tech 9 or 10 in a contest? TJ: I’d rather ride pow, but both are fun if you want to be there… both suck if you don't.
Well there ya go... I'd rather ride pow too! Along with painting and drawing, TJ also takes some really cool photos, old school style. None of that digital nonsense, all film and dark room and shit. He's got some really good ones up on his site.
TJ has a ton more paintings and drawings posted so be sure to check out the rest of his work. If you're interested in buying any of TJ's art, shoot him an email and he'll hook you up.
If you haven't seen the Snow Realms project you need to go watch the episodes as soon as your done reading this... very cool.
Finally, I want to throw a huge thanks to TJ for hookin up Hybrid Sessions with this interview. The pro shred/artist lifestyle has got to be hectic so it's really cool he took some time to answer these questions. Hope you enjoyed, peace!
Yo I'm Zac and Hybrid Sessions is my little platform to discuss all the shit in life I'm super stoked on: Snowboarding, Skateboarding, Music, and Art. A one-stop shop of sorts. Here you'll find my thoughts and opinions on said subjects, local and national shred news and happenings, interviews with rad people, amazing art and music, my adventures, hilarious humor, shit talking, and anything else I deem awesome enough to write about.
Reader participation is STRONGLY encouraged, as anything goes here.
Let's get radical.
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