STEEZ MAGAZINE® – Snow, Skate, Culture

SIA 2012 is officially over. It was a long show and fairly busy throughout. Poor snowfalls had some on edge, for fear of retail sales shrinking over the next season. Generally there was a lot of optimism though and everyone was excited for 12/13 product. More collabs can be expected from almost every brand in the biz. The show was quieter than in past years and had more of a business feel. It’s probably safe to say that Vegas has officially worn off. Take it for what you will. ISPO show overlapped with SIA this year and a lot of people took off for Germany halfway through the show. Nightlife was fun as usual with performances from the likes of, Dilated Peoples, Redman, Raekwon, DJ Qbert and so many more. Days turned into nights. We saw some new board brands to the show like Echelon and Launch. Mostly, there were a lot of returning brands and some that have been around the industry for awhile but never presented at SIA before. On-snow went well with temps in he 40′s at Winter Park, it was like a Spring day. All in all a solid show and lots of excitement for the future of the industry.
Can’t lose the Recco booth, at the entrance of the show…
Sabre made it snow. Cleaners must have loved them.
Skullcandy spun from the second floor of their booth.
Bern was killing it as always.
Mulvany puttin in work.
Some booths are more like fortresses.
Burton had 30ft tree.
Van’s waffles saved the mornings many times.
Is X on right now?
Lots of this type of thing goin on at every booth.
Candygrind has some dope gloves for next season!
Raekwon killed it.

Never Summer was never slow.
On-snow like none other.

SIA, the biggest Snowsports Industry show in the US, starts today. We’ll be there for the whole show and be sure to keep you updated with daily posts on whatever we want.

Crotched Parks – Block Party 2012 from Sean Mitchell on Vimeo.

Steez Alaska’s Chris Gadomski recently caught up with the guys from Boston based Bean Snowboards.

How is everybody?
We’re doing great! Just finished making all our snowboards for the season so we’re working on next year’s designs, looking forward to getting out and riding.

Word is you guys started making boards in 2006, what was your motivation?
We all kinda felt like it couldn’t be that complicated so we started doing some research. We found a huge subculture of people who make their skis and snowboards on the web. It looked reasonable, so we set out just to see if we could do it. The first one came out pretty haggard looking, but it rode as well as any board you could buy in a shop. We started thinking; if out west you have places like Signal and Never Summer, shouldn’t New England have a small independent snowboard brand? So we got cracking.

People change, things change, how has Bean Snowboards evolved over the past few years?
It’s tough working with your friends and it took a few years to really understand how to hash out the constant decision-making and keeping things professional. At this point I think we all kinda have it in our minds that we were friends before and we’ll be friends after (hopefully there is no after), and if we disagree to just argue and move on. Graphics can be especially tough since there’s no right or wrong answer, it’s all preference and everyone’s got a strong opinion. Working well together has definitely helped us keep up with the industry and find more time to work on the board designs, tech, and improve the manufacturing process too. In the first 2 years we found it really hard to keep up with all of it in addition to our day jobs, but now we’re able to focus on growing the company and making the best snowboard possible.

I have to say guys, this year’s Bean line looks great, big ups! Besides graphics, what’s new for the 2011-2012 season?
We updated our Commonwealth design by adding more carbon fiber from the binding area to the contact points to improve edge hold on the icy New England slopes, and to give a little more pop to your ollies. We also changed the wood cores in the Comm to shed about 10% of the overall board weight. We’d done it to the violator last year and decided to extend it to the Comm this year. We try to only change technology when there’s a damn good reason for it. It seems like nowadays everyone expects break-through technology every year, but it’s just not possible. We spend a lot of time drinking beers and talking about cool new ideas, but only some of them make sense and can be used. Break-throughs are spontaneous and can’t be put on a fiscal year schedule.

We also made a few more of our bamboo boards but there’s only one left at this point. It’s something we did last year in small numbers, but we hope to bring it on as its own model soon. It’s basically built so the only plastic on it is the base; bamboo top sheet, bamboo sidewall, and soy based epoxy.

How many boards is Bean turning out annually?
Right now we’re keeping our production small at between 75 and 100 boards per year. As the brand grows and we get more efficient at making them we hope to increase that number each season. As we expand we’ll also be looking to get into more and more retail shops around New England.

Bean Snow presents… “Part-A” build sesh from Bean Snowboards on Vimeo.

Bean Snowboards are handmade in Boston, what influence does New England and its riders have on the development of your products?
From day one we designed the boards to be fun. Most of the riding we do around here is either park, or hunting out some left over powder in the trees. To best do that you need a twin shape, with aggressive side-cut, a little extra width and most of all, edge hold. We picked our shapes and composite designs with that in mind and it seems to work well.

Graphically we get most of our inspiration from the region. This is actually the first year none of our boards have iconic Boston imagery, and I’m sure you’ll see it come back in the designs in later years. We also look at a lot of local street art too and try to incorporate that culture in our graphics.

We’ve also stuck to our guns and kept making cambered boards through the reverse-camber phase the industry has been in. We’re poking fun at that a little this year with our “Reverse Reverse Camber”. Positive-camber boards are more stable and responsive for cruising the mountain and have more pop off jumps; we don’t get enough powder here on the east to need the extra float you get with a reverse-camber board. The style, attitude, and name of our company are all based on our experiences living in and around Boston. It’s who we are and we hope it comes out in our products.

All Bean Snowboards leave the factory with an environmentally safe wax job, can you elaborate?
We hand-wax all our boards with Green Wax as a little added bonus to our customers. Green Wax is petroleum and PFC-free, which is important because most people don’t think about where the wax goes when it leaves your board. Onto the snow, which melts in summer and goes straight into the local ecosystem, so the more natural it is the better. It’s also made in Massachusetts so it falls into line perfectly with our mantra of “Buy Local, Shred Local”.

Eugene Stancato FULL PART from gene bean on Vimeo.

I hear you guys just picked up our boy Alex DeGrechie, who else is on the team?
Right now we just have two riders, Alex DeGrechie and Eugene Stancato. Geno’s been riding for us for a few years now and has been a great fit. He’s from Dorchester, MA so he spreads the Boston pride far and wide. We’re super excited to have Alex onboard this year too, and can’t wait to see the two of them push each other to new levels this season. They’re doing a lot of filming already this season, so keep an eye on the Bean website for some great edits dropping regularly.

How is Bean Snowboards being accepted in markets outside of New England?
We haven’t really focused on spreading to other parts of the country, our goal is to become New England’s primary local board brand and do what we do. That being said there’s been a good response to Bean all over the place.

Blow up, or stay small? How many people does Bean employ?
Right now we have zero paid employees, but obviously we’re hoping that’ll change soon! Our biggest short-term goal is to be able to pay ourselves to build boards, and then as we expand we’ll be on the lookout for skilled workers to help out in the shop. Ideally we’d have a dozen or so employees and that’s it, keep it grounded, sustainable and fun.

What’s next for Bean Snowboards?
We’re looking forward to another great season of demos and contests starting with the demo weekend at Okemo December 10th and 11th. We’ll also have the new artist series dropping soon with graphics from Stephen Holding and Ryan Lombardi (Enamel Kingdom), and other than that we’re going to keep improving our designs and getting our boards in front of as many people as we can.

Anything you’d like to add?
Can’t wait to do some events together! Readers: Check us out online or at a demo stop this winter. Buy Local. Shred Local.

It’s that time of year again when all the snow heads come together for the biggest show of the year – SIA. Steez teamed up with the crew over to So-Gnar and thought, ‘what better way to kick off the show than with a limited edition flask collab!’ Who couldn’t use another flask!? Only 100 of these awesome etched 4oz hip flasks were produced and if you’re lucky, you might get your hands on one. Check out all the latest at So-Gnar and hit us both up at the show. See ya in Denver!

This Saturday night, don’t miss out on the biggest block party at the mountains. Crotched Mountain is hosting a banger evening! Print the above flier for a 2-for-1 lift ticket for the night. There’ll be a bon fire, live music, giveaways and one of the sickest street setups in New England. Party starts at 9pm and goes till 3am!

It’s the start of a revolution. A New England born snowboarder has launched a snowboard manufacturing company, Global Mind Elevation. If you haven’t heard of them, you’re not alone. GME just unleashed its first line of boards last March.
I spoke with GME founder Justin Marti about the company putting its own twist on snowboard design by experimenting with new technology and new illustrations.

What inspired you to start Global Mind Elevation and make your own snowboards?
About a year and a half ago, five or six of us were on the top of Mount Hood sharing some adult beverages when we came up with the idea. Global Mind Elevation is more of an experience than just another board brand.
We think of ourselves as a more creative type of group. We had some ideas like going back to the basics in our illustrations. Also, we love trying new things in the design of the board itself. We’re playing with flat cambers, counter cambers, and hybrid cambers.

People dig having the option to ride a well-laid board that’s pretty rare. How has the GME family grown over the past year?
Essentially, we were looking for something that we could ride and set up a couple of demos with. Then, we started to connect with some of the younger shredders on the mountain, you know, a lot of the little Groms out on the East and West.
We have what we call the G- Unit, the Grom-unit. It’s basically your everyday kids putting it down in their local parks. We started traveling to different mountains and the 7 and 8-year-old kids were showing us how they shred. Now, we’re bringing them onto the team by giving them some decks to enjoy. The feedback’s been kind of sweet. We’re getting submissions from kids all the time who want to be sponsored.
G-Unit is just neighborhood kids riding at their home mountains on a fresh deck, being part of the team. I think that’s what it’s all about. Plus, they spread the word.

Your 2011 line has four different boards to match varying rider styles; the Rev, Demigod, the Massacre, and Global One. What do you consider your biggest success so far?
The Rev with the Che Geuvera inspired graphic was hands-down the biggest one for us. I, personally, am the descendant of Jose Marti, a famous Cuban revolutionary. Basically, the whole revolutionary thing has been around in my life growing up. It’s always been a big facet in my life.
We want GME to be a revolution, a community of people coming together for something new and sustainable. We were looking for ways to push the envelope and actually do some good in the industry. The Che logo goes hand in hand with the term revolution. And, the Rev with Che, that’s our Burton Custom, our all mountain board that kills it.

You said the first thing Global Mind Elevation was looking at is graphics. What makes them stand out, and is there any meaning behind them?
Tori Ebenbeck, the lead designer who does most of our graphics, is from Oregon. She kind of brought the west coast laid-back design to Global Mind Elevation.
We also have an underground graphics dude who’s working on our 2012 line. He’s well known for his nude portraits, and he’s got a sick portfolio of photography that we’re trying to incorporate into the next line.
I’m totally stoked on the new hand-painted top sheets we’re doing. That will be pretty exciting for us, and it’s an idea we toyed with for awhile. Right now, we have rolls of top-sheet material and Tori’s literally hand painting boards. She’s working on a set of designs where each board will be unique. When she’s done with the first set of around 12 boards we will put them out on a first come, first serve basis.

You’re also working on trying new things with board design by playing with different camber and side edge designs. What else can we look forward to from GME?
Right now, the hybrid camber is the hot thing. We capture a lot of that with our Demigod. It’s our most popular board right now with a flat camber under feet, with waved edges, and with more of a rocker camber towards the tip and tail that makes it super buttery.
I want kids to get on the deck and be stoked with what their riding. These boards are durable. Kids can go on the mountain to kick the shit out of them.

How is GME different in terms of manufacturing and in materials being used?
We work with Monson, a manufacturer in California who produces for a lot of different brands. For us, it was a cool opportunity to hook up with a manufacturer in the US. It allows us to say, “Here’s what we want to do,” in testing new design models. We can try different cuts, and since Monson’s in California, we can go mess around and try some of the boards.
Another cool thing about our manufacturer now, is we’re looking at ways to reuse the old by melting things down, like epoxy, etc. We’re trying to create a green product with fun graphics that isn’t detrimental to the planet. Our decks and our company are organic, and naturally growing.

Which board are you riding right now?
I rotate through all of them. Recently I’ve been almost exclusively riding the Demigod. I don’t know if it’s the icier conditions out east this year, but on the Demigod you can just rip on it. That board is super buttery.
I love the Massacre as well. We label it a park board, but you can just rip on that board. Our team rider Casey Willax rides the Massacre exclusively.

Northwest Descent Vol. 1 from afterhours on Vimeo.

You already have two team riders, Casey Willax and Jeff Deforge, what are they up to these days?
Casey Willax is a big air monster out of Connecticut. He’s a relatively unknown kid that dropped me a raw video one day of him doing a double backflip. So, we started talking. He won two or three big air competitions last season at Mount Snow, I believe.
Jeff Deforge is a New Hampshire kid now based in Copper, Colorado. Deforge will be embarking on a cross-country journey with videographer Ian Post, whose videos are so urban and East Coast. To me, he captures Che’s revolutionary spirit – a super urban videographer with a little different feel. They’ll be hitting up resorts in almost every state this year, shooting video and doing contests along the way.

How are you looking to grow the company in the coming years? Anything new or exciting coming up for GME?
We work hard at our day jobs, but Global Mind Elevation and snowboarding, this is our life. We do it for nothing more than our love of being out there shredding.

Check out GME on Fbook
or hit up the GME Website

Interviewed by: Sydney Lindberg