Questions by Captain Al, Co-Shreditor
Tyler, I want to start off the first pro-shred interview of VTDeathrider by saying, dude, you’re a radical snowboarder! Keep doing what you’re doing, man! That aside, let the onslaught of questions begin:
In my opinion Montreal is the most shred-friendly city in North America (way more intense than Portland/ Vancouver) – where else can you urban assault the gnar-doggest ledges and bomb drops and then hang eleven with crazy French chicks all night long? Have you been to Montreal and do you see it as the hotbed for progressive freestyle snowboarding or would you rather get first tracks at Island Lake Lodge?
TYLER: I would have to go with Mt.Baker on this one. I do love Canada and Montreal as well. I have only been to Montreal once. I got really stoned and bought some really tight white women’s mavi jeans. I could barley pay for them when the woman was ringing me in because I thought I just looked so hilarious.
Jason Brown (not the Pepsi dude) is one of my favorite snowboarders of all-time — by far one of the most underrated snowboarders of the 1990s. Having the opportunity to shred and work professionally with JB when Capita first started was that totally a radical experience? I’d be like, “yeah, whatever ever you say dude, that’s cool.”
TYLER: Yea it was radical, Jay is a radical thinking guy. He is a very talented shred as well. Capita was why I kept snowboarding. And having a creative force like Jason to work with was very fun. Always changing, trying to have a different out look on things and bring some new ideas into snowboarding.
I read in Snowboard Canada or something that you own your own bicycle shop in downtown Vancouver – outside of being a pro shred for Capita. That’s totally awesome. Before I scored a job in the snowboard industry I was set on opening “Shredneck’s Roasters” in downtown Burlington, VT (probably a good idea that I didn’t!). Anyway, could you talk for a moment on how you juggle operating a bicycle shop in downtown Vancouver and the demands of being a pro-shred for Capita?
TYLER: That is a tricky question my friend. It has been taking up most of my time. I am still snowboarding this year and have been working around snowboarding and the shop. I am not the best at multi tasking, I try but I tend to do one or the other. I know snowboarding is the best job ever. Work sucks! My shop is called SUPER CHAMPIONIt’s here….www.superchampionshop.com
Would you rather spend your Northern-Hemi winter in Hokkaido or the French Alps and why?
TYLER: I would go with Japan, I have great snow when I go, and I like sushi, and Japanese culture is amazing, I love it!
Incredible String Band, “The Who Sell Out”, Gram Parsons, Bjork circa ’95 or EPMD’s “Strictly Business” and why?
TYLER: These questions are intense…I would go with EPMD, just due to old high school memories, and those massive fucking pants we all used to wear, I want those to come back, so we can steal all the fat peoples pants from all the thrift stores again, that was the best trend.
Capita puts out some of the quirkiest/ entertaining snowboard graphics on the market, period. And the coolest part is that the riders are the ones creating them. Do you, Corey, and TJ feed off each other and pull all night Warhol-factory era sessions and pump out mad graphics or is it just straight-up annoying being around other artist snowboard types?
TYLER: Well none of us live close. Me and TJ do, but we seem to have opposite schedules. I always get inspired from something different every year. Most of the time it’s EARLY MAN, coffee, or Dracula. Or SATAN. TJ is on the Love wagon when he does his shit, and Cor-man is on the bar wagon, so we are just big emotional art fags on different art wagons.
The Capita board with the 70s chic skiers on the topsheet and base in one of my favorite graphics ever — hilarious squared — and word on the street is that you came up with the idea behind it. Can you talk about that board for a moment — what made you think that would be an all-time board graphic?
TYLER: Because snowboarding saved skiing, and at the time people were just getting into doing all that poppy old ski crap. So I just thought how rad it would be to have a deck with skiers on it. It was kinda like a snowboard to bridge the vibe between sharing the pow and showcasing skiing as the next shit, it was like a board to show how ill skiing used to be. Like it was so ill back then we can even put it on a snowboard now and make it cool again..ha
There’s a lot of dudes out there getting coverage and making tons of money off snowboarding that aren’t — how I define snowboarding at least — really snowboarders. What do you say to all the Matty Ryan and Sean Genovese dudes out there, that give 100%, but fall way under radar. Keep shredding your faces off despite that the mainstream snowboard media is looking in the other direction or sell your soul to Kellogg Frosted Flakes and Mountain Dew? Is there a way to be a hardcore shred nark-dog and mainstream at the same time without cheapening the core principles of snowboarding?
TYLER: another blaster question…money is money, if Mountain Dew wants to give you thousands of dollars to shred, do it if you like to drink that shit. Snowboarding is what you make of it. If you chose to market yourself in that direction, then companies of that nature will present themselves to you. If you work hard it will pay off, it’s a proven formula but sometimes it happens quicker for some people then others. If you can make a living at what you like to do then you win..period! If you’re still snowboarding your way and are enjoying the sponsors you have and making a decent living, then great. Every one is into for snowboarding a different reason, as long as you know why your into it don’t worry about any one else. Tyler.
Thanks for your time Tyler. Catch some mean air this winter and if you’re ever in VT or Quebec drop me a line and I’ll show you the gnarly-Charlie.
VT DEATH RIDER 