Check Out! - After Hours

After Hours is a new film crew with some really talented riders. Ian Post knows how to put together a pretty good video too. This crew of guys from Vermont are putting out some pretty good edits and hopefully we'll see a full movie next year. After Hours: well worth the check out.



After Hours links:
http://vimeo.com/afterhoursmedia
http://www.after-hours.us/ (coming soon)

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.

LEAKS

Winter's Pleasures

I know most of the resorts have closed, the snow has stopped falling, and we have moved to half assed post-season edits for our snowboarding fix, but it's never been a crime to dream. This is a little excerpt from a writing project this year, it reminds us that there's more to snowboarding than slush and sunburns. Hope you enjoy!

       Standing at the top of the run, I looked down at the blank, white page in front of me. The snow falls around me, flopping onto my face like the soft feathers of a goose, gracing the trees like whipped cream on a freshly baked pie. Slowly, I shift my weight and point my snowboard down the mountain, its white chutes like the beard of an old man. As I move downhill, I feel the snow underneath my feet, pushing back as I power through a turn, the light, fluffy spray falling slowly behind me.I slash quickly through the powdery snow, feeling the cool rush of pow hit my cheeks. It's cold but refreshing. As the cloud of snow clears, I come out smiling ear-to-ear, ready to do it again.

SKETCH

Spring Break with COMUИE

So basically this is up there with one of the greatest things I have ever watched and I would like to share this with the whole entire world, because it really shows what the heart snowboarding is all about. This is pretty much everything I'm about in snowboarding. Sure there's no rails, or halfpipe, or any sort of man-made terrain park, but this video shows us how to have fun in mother nature's terrain park. This video show us that snowboarding is about finding that peace in the outdoors and enjoying yourself. Taking it back to the roots.

COMUNE // SPRING BREAK from COMUИE on Vimeo.

The video's description from COMUИE:

It didn’t snow in Tahoe for almost the entire month of January. Out of curiosity and boredom Corey Smith decided to attempt to build some handmade snowboards. He was interested in long boarding style in surfing and exploring similar concepts on snow. He wanted to deconstruct contemporary snowboarding down to its simplest element and find beauty in simply turning. "I’ve always wanted to explore and experiment with snowboarding as a physical outlet of creativity," states Smith. So he ended up building some experimental snowboards. When it finally did snow record amounts in Tahoe he was glad it did. These boards provided a completely unique snowboarding experience and opened up a world of terrain previously inaccessible on traditional snowboards. Some of the boards were incredibly functional and some were purely conceptual. All the boards also serve as one of kind pieces of functional artwork.

"Building and riding these boards has been one of the best experiences I’ve had snowboarding." - Corey Smith

A Sunday at Timby

Just having fun with homies the other day at Timberline. Scope it.

youknowmyfunction...a crew worth checking out.

Well somewhere out there in that no-man's-land we call the midwest, there's a crew of snowboarding delinquents who call themselves: youknowmyfunction. Now these boys can really pull off some stylish maneuver's on their snowboards. They also knowhow to put together a fine and dandy edit. Check out this one from a little California road-trippin:

So Long Bear, See You Next Year

Bear Mountain, the terrain park capital of the world. We know it well from the episodes of Sunday in the Park, that we all watch so religously. Well it's that time of the year again, and our favorite shred resorts are closing up shop 'til next year, and as sad as it is to see them go, I do love a good "closing day" edit. Here are several from that slushy SoCal resort we drool over from our NW hot-pow and storm sessions.

Hood Rat SATURDAY from Posted Crew on Vimeo.

The Grindhouse - Episode V from 9 Milli Media on Vimeo.

Capture The Moment

Photography is a huge part of snowboard media. Photographers have a great deal of influence on who we see and how we see the riders that grace the pages of our favorite snowboard magazines. We all know the "greats," Blotto, Cole Barash, Scott Serfas, Andy Wright, the list goes on. It takes a lot of hard work and discipline to become a professional photographer. If you love it though, it's worth it. These photos are the product of that hard work.

Jake Blauvelt, Park City, Utah. PHOTO: Blotto

Pat Moore, Calgary, Canada. PHOTO: Cole Barash

Jack Mitrani, Park City, Utah. PHOTO: Blotto

John Jackson, Silverton, Colorado. PHOTO: Cole Barash

Johnny Lyall, Mt. Seymour, B.C., Canada. PHOTO: Scott Serfas

Jake Welch, Montreal, Canada. PHOTO: Ian Ruhter

Shaun McKay, Sicamous, B.C., Canada. PHOTO: Russel Dalby

All Copyright to Photographers and Transworld Snowboarding

Hello Spring

Just foolin' around on the skateboard today. Finally seeing some sunlight. Fun times.

Brighton: The Closest Thing To a Snowboard Only Resort

Everyone knows Brighton for it's legendary parks with "super-gnar" features, but as snowboarding has progressed and changed, the "fun feature," has evolved and found itself in the heart of Brighton's terrain park. Brighton is one of those few resorts with super innovative features, because it caters so specifically to snowboarders, that they can build their parks more creatively. The one thing that's keeping snowboarding alive, is how incredibly entertaining it is, to just mess around and do something fun and original. Brighton knows how to keep it interesting.

Handplant Wisdom

Handplants are an essential trick for anyone to have under their belt. First off, they're super fun. Trying them anywhere and everywhere, opens up a whole new aspect for every feature, windlip, or urban spot. The trick to handplants is not being afraid to try. It's really not that hard once you just go for it. But don't take my word for it, the Don of all things snowboarding, JP Walker shows us how it's done.



The best part is once you got 'em, you can retire to be an old "legend," getting paid for the occasional handplant in a Sunday in the Park episode. Yeah that's you Pat Bridges.

More Spring Hype: A Little Home Cookin'

Good Ol' Adam Fleck puts together a proper edit on this one. Corey Noble with some gangsta swaggg.

Sloppy Seconds from Adam Fleck on Vimeo.

My homie, James, put together this little edit before last summer and actually put out a sequel this spring. In fact, it was featured on TWSNOW, if you didn't see it take a look (http://www.vimeo.com/18160437) after watching this one. BE WARNED: Super Hipster Shit!

"Slush em us!" from James Mustico on Vimeo.

Get Hyped for Slushy Spring Sessions!

Scott Stevens, Ben Bogart, Sean Black, Ted Borland, and Dan Brisse all kill it in this little springtime edit. Scope this ish!

A Quality Edit: Courtesy of Torstein Horgmo

Norway Says Hello from torstein horgmo on Vimeo.

Torstein's Antics

France #5 - Le Side Hits from torstein horgmo on Vimeo.

This is the latest edit in Torstein's little FRANCE series. Funny stuff goes down. Check em all out at http://www.vimeo.com/user1083256

A Homie's Movie

Tranny Finders: A Short. Teaser from Tranny Finders on Vimeo.

Tranny Finders are a great group of shredders from the NW. You might even recognize a few faces too. Holding it down with this movie. Be sure to check out trannyfinders.blogspot.com

A Little T-Line Edit

A few first thoughts on Snowboarding.

Snowboarding to me is about the passion, the love, the feeling. It’s not about going bigger on a jump, or getting gnarlier on a rail than the next guy. Sure it’s about progression, but not just for the sake of being better than anyone else. I’m a Torstein fan but I’ll leave the triple corks to him, McMorris, and Burgener. Snowboarding to me is about having fun. I love messing around in the trees, hitting a backyard spot, or just having a good time with the homies. For me that’s what snowboarding’s all about. Who cares if the other guy went bigger? You should be congratulating them, not trying to find a way to put them down or one-upping them. Feed off their energy and try something new yourself. Don’t let anyone tell you what to do or what not to do, and especially don’t let anyone tell you how to have fun. That part’s up to you. Find what you love and do it for as long as you can.