Snowboarding for me is way to express emotion and energy. Riding hard and aggressively makes me a happier person.I hope to keep progressing and develop even deeper into my own individual style.
I started skiing when I was 2 years old. I would ride a lot with my family on the weekends. I switched to Snowboarding when I was 9 and never went back. Started riding with my friends on the weekends, and eventually went to OKEMO Mountain School (snowboarding focused school) when I was 16 -18 years old.
Ride a lot of big jumps, do fun contests, and learn new tricks. Mainly ride out of Mammoth CA, with some trips to Breckenridge CO, and Whistler Canada. Also do some backcountry, street and jump filming with the STONP Crew in Japan around March.
Jack Kyle has the best style in snowboarding. His riding is so individual, gangster, yet very controlled and aggressive. I love aggressive riding; I don’t like when people stop before features or in the middle of a park. Gangster snowboarding style is what really inspired me the most. People like Chris Bradshaw and Lucas Magoon really made me look at snowboarding as more of a dance and form of expression. To be specific, the flat-ground tricks amazed me the most. Sometimes you would have to watch them 10 times before you could begin to understand what was going on. Now every time I make an edit, I want people to want to watch each trick more than once. I want my riding to look like magic.
My favorite riders right now would be most of the Norwegian riders, in particular, Brage Richenberg and Stale Sandbech. There are too many snowboarders out there these days who look like gymnasts. I can almost see the trampolines and foam-pits underneath them as they ride. This is definitely not the case with the Norwegian riders. They have amazing edge control and strong style. Also I have to shout out to the STONP crew. Every rider has his own individual style and goes hard on and off the snow. My favorite person to ride and travel with would definitely be Teddy Koo. Favorite rider in China would be He Wei AKA “TIGER”! He rides so hard, with no fear and is an awesome person to party with off the hill.
Shakedown really inspired me when I was younger and just starting to get into riding park. JP Walkers crash in that video really showed me that in snowboarding you are going to take hits; but it’s about getting back up and riding even harder afterwards that really makes a true snowboarder.
I love the passion and enthusiasm behind Chinese snowboarding. The fans seem to really love it and the riders ride hard. Competing in China is one of the highlights of my season.