WHO THEY ARE
Show me how you ride and I’ll tell you who you are…
For the past ten years I have been riding and meeting new people. I’ve met all kinds of riders: young and old, talented, opportunists and wanabees. I have come to the conclusion that this little world is fragile and poor, from a financial point of view. The tension that tear it apart comes from the egos of its population.
Here is a panorama of the different kinds of riders you might meet in the snowboard world.
Remember that it is only my point of view. You might recognize a friend of yours, and maybe even… yourself. Don’t take it too personally; it is no tragedy to be wrong… After all, we are living this life on Earth to evolve and become wiser, right?
Soulsurfers (very rare)
Spirit? Who cares about spirit? Brands? Ahaha! It’s just a question of marketing. Yet some soulsurfers, the true heirs of guys like Paulo Gascoin or Serge Vitelli, are still riding for the pure pleasure often hidden in mellow alpine valleys. They explore the alpine universe as well as their soul and spirit. Philosophers and artists, they are a living memory of a time when we were only riding for the real fun of it. Lovers of The Goddess, riding is like a dance to them. A trance that connects them to the core. They are modern pilgrims, noble warriors.
Advice : never stop dancing my friends!
Season guys
These riders have a pure heart. They made the choice to work hard all along the summer to get enough cash to ride in the winter. They even sometimes work at night in the resorts during the winter season so that they can ride 150 days per year. Some of them reach an amazing riding level, (far better than the posers, see next) which they only share with their friends, guides or freeriders.
Advice : never talk to loud about your “exploits” or secret spots.
Pix: Peter Charaf
Posers (no picture bellow, there are already too many in the mags)
They are like animated mannequins… They do more showing off than hard riding. Full page in a magazine: a powder turn. What a talented rider! Don’t forget that it is the easiest move on a board and that Régis Rolland use to do it better 25 years ago… equipped with basic moon boots…
Running from meetings to trade shows, they even forget to go riding. So then some motivated tourists get better at riding then them… Bummer! Fully branded with stickers and badges scientifically positioned, they seem to know everything about business. They help to “sell a lot of gear”, some of they say... Aren’t there already representatives paid to do that job?
Advice : look at yourself sincerely and find your place.
Pro riders
Real pro riders are athletes, who are more or less nuts. They’re going big with style. While freestyling or freeriding, they always push their own limits. Their level is constantly rising. They are not looking for fame but for the recognition of their piers.
A pro rider’s life isn’t structured by a federation, so they are infrequently driving luxury cars… You might see them everywhere; rockin’ in magazines or in the lasts video productions. They are famous within the little “riding scene”, but always remember that even the most talented rider is only known by an insignificant part of the world’s population!
Advice : don’t you try following them in the mountains, or while partying…
Glory hunters
Male or female (without a helmet to be able to smile to the camera, or doing all kind of mediatic sport like BASE jump), they still show again and again the same old moves, the same dusty video productions. Extremely smart in their relationship with the Media, they keep on showing off, while saying nothing. What a lack of respect for the millions of pure rebels who were tortured or killed wanting to speak out in the name of the people! Because of their narcissism and selfish personality, they isolate themselves from their relations and friends and so they lose contact with creativity.
What a shame, they could have helped the riding community so much.
Advice : share.
FIS freestylers
The older riders of this category still remember the golden years of ISF, the International Snowboard Federation. At that time, the riders were able to decide for themselves about the contest rules and half pipe shaping. The ISF was there to help the riders and offer them the best structure for competing.
Nowadays all the riders try to earn points to get a ticket to the Olympic Games.
Are they more happy? Not sure. More rich? Nope! The only ones who benefit from the supremacy of FIS are the agents and the sport businessmen. They now deal in juicy contracts while managing the TV diffusion. For sure they like it like this now…
Advice : try to become a sport businessman, an agent or work for the FIS…
Alpine racing (yes, this almost non-
They were the first to train hard. They wait for the starting “bip” wearing those uncool sticky overall suites, in a snowstorm. Speaking truthfully, they are everything but elegant when riding and swinging through the gates. Still, they force respect with all of their tenacity.
The ones I just can’t understand are the amateur carvers. They just don’t understand the freedom brought by snowboarding. How could you ride deep powder, jump or ride fakie with a 12cm wide gun and hard boots?
Advice : enjoy it… as long as some brands keep building those alpine boards…
Wanabees
They are between 10 and 20 years old. Their favourite question is: “are u sponsored?” Indeed, to them, being sponsored means your life is worth living it…
Why do they want that? That is the question. If their goal is to ride 200 days per year because riding is their passion, fine then. If their motive is pride, richness or glory, they are going the wrong way.
For glory they should try Big Brother or one of those shity programs.
For richness they’d be better off playing golf, football or tennis.
For pride… there’s nothing to be done. Only time will teach them that the little Human isn’t much on planet Earth….
Advice : enjoy riding. Yes, simply enjoy!
