05 September 2011

A little about myself...

          Hey there, remember me? The guy who runs this thing. I've been a little lazy about posting, but can you blame me? It's summertime. I've been relaxing, partying, doing a little skating, and even made it up to the snow maybe 9 or 10 times this summer. Anyway, it's about time to do some postin'! I thought I'd start off with a little self-interview, which is kicking off a new series of interviews talking to the guys and finding out a little bit of behind the scenes stuff. So here we go, I'm armed with my coffee and a doughnut, ready for anything.

Interview Time:
MATT CLAUSSEN


Question 1: We already know you like snowboarding, so outside of shredding, what are some of your interest or hobbies?

A: Well I'm really into photography and filming, especially the artsy stuff, I love that shit. Actually art in general is pretty cool. I also like skateboarding a lot, been into that since I was like 6 years old. Then I'm pretty stoked on music, I really like listening to music, that's probably my favorite thing to do when I'm just chillin' by myself.

Q: What types of music that you like? Favorite artists?

A: Well I like a lot of mellow music, I like some folk, a little jazz, and some soul stuff. I'm not saying I don't like other stuff, believe me, I dig on rocking out to some Led Zeppelin, or getting funky with some Parliament, dancing my ass off to a new Skrillex song, or thuggin' out with some gangsta rap. It's just when I'm listening to music as an activity, I like the smooth mellow stuff. My favorite artists right now are probably: The Tallest Man on Earth (folk), Massive Attack (electronica/trance), Bon Iver (folk), The Black Lips (60s style garage punk), and Fresh Espresso (NW hip-hop). I'd also like to give a little shout out to my friends, So Good. They're putting out some pretty cool electronic dance-pop, which make their shows a must see.

Matt rolling up to the park for some skating.

Q: You mentioned you're pretty into skateboarding. Tell us about that part of your life.

A: I have grown up a skateboarder. Got my first board for my 6th birthday, and it was all downhill from there. I spent most of my time at Department of Skateboarding, an indoor skatepark, that was my home until they shut down about a year ago. I still skate with the guys though. My good friend Will is always down to have a little Ed Benedict session, and I often skate around town with a crew way too big to get anything done with. (Will, Dane, Miles, Tom, Peter, Baca, Manny, Compton, Ben Novak, The Luna Twins, and the list goes on). Recently I've gotten into skating transition stuff, so that's been cool because Oregon has so many concrete parks, which are typically tranny oriented.

It's all about the crew.

Q: So switching gears a bit, how's the snowboarding thing going?

A: Oh it's been pretty fun, I've done a lot of riding this summer with my good friend Tyler. I wish I'd done a little more riding in the summer camps' parks, but the public park was relatively well done, and I definitely had some good times lapping through that park. Rode with some Pro-homies, and hung-out down at the Cobra Dog shack with those dudes.

Q: Pros? Like who? Anyone really famous?

A: Well I rode up the chair with a bunch of peeps, (Brandon Cocard, Alexis Waite, Matty Mo, Lemi, and a few others), then I rode some summer camp stuff with a bunch of "hometown heroes," like Mike Rav, Connor Brown, Jesse Gouveia, etc. Then I did a little snowboarding with a miscellaneous crew of dudes, but the Cobra Dogs crew was off the chain, there were some pretty famous people chillin' at that hot stand. Saw my homies Iikka Backstrom and Aaron Biitner. Then chowed some wiener with Pat Moore, Austen Sweetin and Andreas Wiig. Saw some famous dudes like Eero Niemela and Eero Ettala. Then to top it all off I saw some Videograss and Salomon dudes like Chris Grenier, Jed Anderson, and Scott Stevens.

Q: Wow. Okay that's a lot of people, but the subject of Pro-Snowboarders brings me on to my next question, who are your Top 5 Favorite snowboarders?

A: Damn. That's tough. I'll give you my top 5 shredders of late, so remember, I still like the legends, (JP Walker, Devun Walsh, Mikey LeBlanc, etcetera). Oh, and this is in no order, that would be too much to ask. I really dig Scott Stevens' creativity, and trail-blazing style. He has definitely started a trend, that is opening up a whole new playing field for snowboarders. Then, I seriously respect Jake Blauvelt, it seems he's really found what he loves in snowboarding, and is super passionate about it. Plus, pow is awesome! Next up is Chris Grenier. I really like his snowboarding, and his frontflips are awesome, but the real reason he's one my favorites is, Grenier is a super nice dude in person. When I rode with him in May I realized that if I were a pro snowboarder, this is a guy I'd want to hang-out with, snowboarding or not. Another cool dude is Jake Welch. Jake's style is one that cannot be attained by purchasing the most expensive outerwear, or striving to be like someone else. He's just naturally a steezy snowboarder, born with the gift of swag. Finally we come to my last pick. This is a guy who truly snowboards for the love of it, and definitely is an individual in his snowboarding. Tim Eddy is the man! This guy has more fun snowboarding in one day, then most do all season. Tim is out there just having a good time, doing what he loves and smiling all day long.

Q: Well that's a pretty good list. Thanks for sitting down and doing this interview. Looking forward to catching up with you again soon.



A: Glad to do it. This was a lot of fun and I can't wait to hear from more riders.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

you don't post enough on your blog. Can't really keep revisiting if it never changes