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In a few hours........ from David Brocklebank on Vimeo.

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oh shi*t yes! a lil som'n som'n fo you from us....download, view, repeat.....just don't ask us to pay for your optometrist bill.

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Words: Gerhard Gross Images: David Rouleau

Friday the 15^th marked the beginning of the first annual Westbeach Chinese Downhill and an effort to reconnect with the spirit of shredding often lost in the myriad of publicly traded companies, profit margins and share-holder accountability that make up the current snowboarding landscape. Although all in the name of fun and beer drinking, a definite air of competitiveness was present amongst the 35 or so contestants vying for the title of fastest shred.

Westbeach's Dave Short and posse, pre mayhem gondy ride.

Notable attendees included, Shin Campos, Rube Goldberg, Kevin Sansalone, Jon Cartwright, Colin Adair, Ryan Tiene, Steph Just, Beau Bishop, Wiley Tesseo, Robjin Taylor and all the local shreds that made this event great. The rules were simple: first person to reach the Creekside Underground skatepark from the top of Million Dollar ridge and successfully finish a beer would win the affections of his peers and $500.

Weather? Dude it was epic...of course.

Brian Hockenstein and Robjn Taylor. Check out the polar opposites of emotions.

In the end it was a mix of veterans Kevin “Snacksie-pants” Sansalone and Shin “Getsu” Campos racing spring-chickens John Caulfield and Anthony Weglan to the finish line. Their shred skills had brought them to the bottom in a possible record time of 4 minutes 53 seconds but the contest was ultimately decided by the beer chugging skills of Shin. Who says professional snowboarding doesn’t teach valuable life skills?

A couple peaches in a big pot of dude stew, Alison Pesemko, Jenelle Pritchard, Steph Just. The only girls brave enough to roll up on this shi*t.

Can i get a lens wipe? Filmer Corey G's rig under attack from the elements.

Perhaps the best part, and the intended effect, was the sense of camaraderie felt by everyone there. It was a great reason for people who are often segregated by work and busy winter schedules to come together and snowboard for the sake of snowboarding. Thanks Westbeach, see you next year.

Don't f*cking film me....ok, ok, just one photo. Nitro, Billabong's Rube Goldberg, shunning the paparazzi

"CCHHHHYYYYYeah! I think i see Caulfield coming -over." Brocklebank on race patrol.

kind of smells like updog around here.

Gnarcore.com's Willey Tesseo and Beau Bishop with Lucas Ouellette.

The man, the myth the legend, gnarcore.com's John Caulfield accepting the "hey-you-tried" award from Cartwright... and talk about shnetworking, is that a business card exchange?....call me we'll do lunch.

DC Canada team manger Gerhard Gross and DC am Ryan Tiene may not have won the race but they won a spot in our hearts. "Its ok ryan, it's not all about winning, its about having fun... i love you man." they would later hug for an hour straight.

Looky, looky who we ran into. Annum's Ian Gauthier, with homie Matt Macneil and Stepchild's Eman Anderson.

Women, clothing, money and beer.......folks Westbeach is in the house.

When younger legs have you beat, it comes down to good old fashion beer drinking skills, Shin Campos...aka the Creekside King.

why did we cover this event?

gnarcore.com fully backs companies like Westbeach and any activities dedicated to preserving the soul of snowboarding.

Stay up for the video. coming soon to gnarcore.com.

Now go f*ck shi*t up.

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For the kids at home, what do they need to know if they want to become a professional photographer?
Never give up.  This industry is really tough, brutal sometimes, and people will toss you around like yesterday’s garbage.  If you’re not a strong person who will stick to their guns (especially about payment) it’s not the industry for you.  More and more companies are getting free shots out there from the “kid who just bought a digital SLR”, and it’s ruining the industry.
Think of it this way.  You’ve invested x amount of money in camera gear, x amount of time refining your style, x amount of time getting and editing photos, why shouldn’t you be paid fairly for it?  Do they get a paycheck? Do they pay for a dentist? They’re doing work just like you are.  You need to stick to your guns about being paid.  Don’t be the person who degrades the photo industry by giving away photos for free, if not, you’ll be stuck starving on the side of the street while some company has a slick new looking website.

 

Paul Welters - Mount Washington

What are some career high lights for you?
Every time I get out into the backcountry a feeling of Euphoria overcomes me.  The hour or so it usually takes to get to the alpine with the constant “braaaaaaaap” from a sled is actually quite calming.  I rather throw in ear plugs than headphones.

Who do you enjoy working most with?
I think I enjoy shooting the most with one of my best friends Aaron Shapiro.  He reminds me of a Tom Penny for snowboarding.  Basically, whenever I’m out shooting with him, he’s just riding, and you can see it on his face.  Whether he’s in front of a camera on a bluebird day or in front of me doing pow slashes in fog, he’s not out to prove anything, he’s out to have fun.  If you watch his style, you’ll see what I’m talking about.  It’s like he uses the mountain as a skate park, and just destroys it every time.  9 times out of 10, I’ll be ripping around with him and he’ll do something that’ll blow my mind and I’ll say “Give me an hour to go home and get my camera gear so we can shoot that”.

Eman Anderson - Vancouver, BC

What are some the challenges you find working with snowboarding instead of a studio?
My fingers get really cold, and I mean really cold.  That and changing angles is usually a lot tougher than people imagine.  Sometimes you have scale the side of a mountain that could take over an hour just to get a certain viewpoint.  Half a dozen times it doesn’t work out.  One thing I’ve learned is that you want to shoot your wide angle shots 2nd, and your telephotos first.  That way, there are no foot prints around the jumps from you walking around trying to find the right spot.

What are your favourite magazines?
Magazine’s are really a funny thing with me.  I have a subscription to snowboarder, I buy every issue of SBC off the shelves (from a local snowboard shop to support them), and I usually buy some issues of Future, Transworld, and Snowboard Mag when I’m shopping for groceries.  Truth be told, I never really read any of them.  I’m really weird that way, I have over 300 magazines, some dating back to the 90’s, but I’ve maybe read like 10% of them?  I usually use them for the eye candy.  I flip through them a few times and pick out the photos I like.  Remember them, and file the magazines away for a rainy day.
Images speak louder than words in my head, and technique plays a huge part in my mind.  9 times out of 10 when I see a photo I like, whether it’s technically sound or creatively genius, I go straight to the photographer credits to see who it is.  It’s kind of funny; most snowboarders can pick out a rider from their sponsors and their style.  I can pick out some photographers based on their lighting and composition.  There are the seasoned vets who absolutely kill it with every photo like “Yup, that’s a Zapalac photo”.

Myrosha Daley - Hemlock Valley Resort

 

Who do you think are the best photographers from last year?
There are so many that have, and will always stick out in my mind, whether or not they shoot snowboarding is another thing.  Here they are in no particular order:
Ian Ruther, Tim Zimmerman, Jordan Manley, Crispin Canon, Jon Scarth, Danny Zapalac, Andy Wright, Jeff Curtes, Kevin Zacher, Dorothea Lange, Cole Barash, Colin Adair, Blotto, Jess Mooney, Oli Gagnon, Jordana Meilleur, Russel Brown, Dano Pendygrasse, Dice K Maru, Scott Serfas, Ansel Adams, David Lachapelle, Annie Lebovitz, Charles Garcia, Owen, Jimmy Greeley, Jon Kirby.  There are some not mentioned, but that’s because I can’t brain fart them all out at once. 

What started you in photography?
My friend Mike from elementary school bought a Yashica FM SLR and I was fascinated by the split focus screen.  It just boggled my mind on how the damn thing worked.  So, after playing with focus for a solid 4 hours (with no film in there) I forgot about cameras for a good 2 years.  Then one summer I made friends with this crazy Mexican who was in town with his family for a month.  Their parents bought a new camera, and gave me their old one. (a nice wall mart special point and shoot).  I began shooting wall mart film on this point and shoot of me and my friends skating.  That phased out after I ran out of money.  I mean, for a 10 year old kid, $10 a roll with processing wasn’t really worth 24 photos.
So high school came along, and I made friends with a guy named Eric, and one day he showed me his Grandpa’s old camera.  And that’s what did it.  After I picked up that Minolta X-GM with a split focus screen, all I wanted to do was take pictures with it.  So, after a $200 shutter repair to the camera, I borrowed it for about 2 years and made every mistake you could possibly make with an SLR.  I then went back to my friend Mike to get some help and learned a few things, and borrowed his flash for a solid 6 years.  I finally gave the camera back to Eric and went out to buy my very first digital SLR, a Canon 20D.

What was the moment that made you decide that you wanted to take photos of snowboarders as a career choice?
The very first time I sent a photo to Colin Adair.  He was the nicest dude I had ever dealt with, and after I sent him a preview jpg, he asked for the RAW right away.  I sent it to him and kept pressing the refresh button for like 30 minutes until I heard back from him.  I got word they were going to run the shot in the upcoming issue.  But 2 weeks later, I got an email saying it wasn’t going to run, but that he wanted to see more in the future.  It didn’t matter to me that they weren’t going to run it, the only thing that mattered was that someone actually kind of liked a photo of mine.  It became my mission to impress this dude who worked at SBC.
Later on that year I get an invite email to the 24/36, and decided to do it.  When I picked up the roll of film and stuck it in my camera I had decided that this was what I wanted to do for the rest of my life.  I have an extreme obsession over snowboarding and love for photography that this just seemed to be the right thing to do.

What's a perfect working day for you?
Having a Leica rangefinder with 3 rolls of TMAX 3200 in my pocket shredding pow with some close friends.  But I have to go buy a Leica first…

What is a favourite photo of yours that has not been published?  What's the story behind it?
The shot of Myrosha Daley I have here on Mount Seymour.  I just like how everything is in the red/orange hue and you can see the oil tankers in the Burrard Inlet.  It’s one of those things that everything was going wrong that day, and my flash kept mis-firing.  I crossed my fingers and told Myrosha to drop in.

Myrosha Daley - Mount Seymour

What is one of your favourite photos in general?  What's the story behind it?
Probably my favorite photo of all time is a photo done by Dorothea Lange called “White Angel Bread Line”.  It’s a photo taken in 1932 during the depression era near her studio in San Francisco.  There was a wealthy woman known as “White Angel” who set up a breadline to help cope with the 14 million unemployed in the country.  The photo is very simple, yet extremely powerful and has always stuck out in my mind that there are people less fortunate out there, and that I have to live my life to the fullest and be thankful for everything I have and work for.  Here’s a link for the photo: http://www.gtphoto.ca/whiteangel.jpg

Your name is not too common, do you find you get a lot of different reactions from people?
Oh ya.  Tons of people never believe me when I say “Hey, I’m Gonzo”.  They think I’m making up some nick name or trying to avoid telling them my real name.  Sometimes, when I’m really lucky, chicks dig the name.  They think it’s cool and hot, two things I definitely lack.  There is a disadvantage though.  Everyone remembers your name, and it’s hard to remember all the Jons and Nicks out there.  Usually I remember someone by their face, and not their name.

Shout outs?
I hate shout outs.

Aaron Shapiro - Grouse Mountain

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Nov. 21, 2007:  Billabong announces ‘Ante Up’, presented by Monster Energy, a snowboard slope style event that will work as a qualifier for the Billabong Innsbruck Air and Style event.  Ante Up will take place January 12^th, 2008 at C.O.P. resort in Calgary, AB Canada.  The winner of Ante Up will get airfare and an invite to the Billabong Innsbruck Air and Style event that will take place Feb. 2^nd, 2008.   Only 24 competitors from across the globe are invited to attend the Innsbruck event, so if you’re not invited, Ante Up is your chance at getting a piece of the Air and Style prize money.

Below is list of the lucky 40 riders who have qualified for Ante Up.

Matt Belzile, Braden Dean, Sage Kotsenburg, Scotty Brown, Robby Balharry, Zach Stone, Shayne Popisil, David Fortin, Lucas Debari, Paul Gonzalez, Jesmond Debeau, Warren Williams, Will Lavigne, Matt Munn, Stephen Burchill, Christopher Collard, Murray Hodgson, Chris Wimbles, Jordan Phillips, Cody Rosenthal, Nic Sibayan, Matts Kullisek, Josh Warnick, Logan Short, Kael Hill, Dwayne Wiebe, Andrew Geeves, Craig Beaulieu, Matt Wallace, Jed Anderson, Josh Warnick, Tanner Davidson, Alex Leblanc, Hugo Cartier, Jon Rusk, Morris Hogan, Walter Bombeck, Russ Collins, Geoff Brown and Derek Pankoff.

http://www.billabong.com/anteup/

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A las 15:00 hrs del pasado domingo 9 de diciembre se abrieron las puertas del Gym Rojo de Talcahuano para presenciar, por primera vez, el Red Bull Pic Nic Tour. El gimnasio se llenó al instante, pero sólo 40 fueron elegidos e invitados, dos semanas antes, para participar.

¡Un espectáculo desde el comienzo! El team Stranger y Love, compuesto por Roco, Cohete, Piraña, Carloco, Stavros, Martincito y Spiro montó los 3 obstáculos a enfrentar: mesa de Pic Nic, tarro y casita, siendo la primera la de mayor esfuerzo; y dieron paso a la competencia con una increíble presentación, llena de trucos, balance y energía.

Se hicieron 4 grupos de 10 -11 personas cada uno. Cada grupo tuvo 5 minutos de práctica y 10 de competencia. Se eligieron 3 favoritos de cada uno (a excepción del grupo 3 que tuvo 4), los que tuvieron 5 minutos de práctica y 15 de competencia. Los ganadores fueron elegidos por un jurado integrado por el team Stranger y Love, quienes basaron su decisión en el mejor truco realizado en cada obstáculo. Los ganadores se llevaron un skate y set completo, más 1 caja de Red Bull. EL ganador en la mesa de pic nic se llevó, además, un IPod.

Participantes

Grupo 1: Cristián Otero, David Aravena, Jordano, Olla, Phillip Stempel, Giovanni, Francisco Arévalo, Gabriel, Boris y Esteban Delgado.

Grupo 2: Tanchi, Pedro Levio, Rigo, Yoga, Tebo, Leo, Jorge Reyes, Kiki, Calimba, Gato y Pollo Kaos.

Grupo 3: Elvis, Waro, Remi, Merlín Sambia, Chris Salinas, Miguel Beltran, Care loco, Ze Pequeño, More y Jorge Aravena.

Grupo 4: Audífonos, Duende, Jorgito, Rata, Seba Bustos, Edwin, Wipy, Engel, Araña, Leo y Felipe.

Clasificados final

Grupo 1: Cristian Otero, Jordano, Boya.

Grupo 2: El Tanchi, Pedro Levio, Rigo.

Grupo 3: El Elvis, Merlin Sambra, Chris Salinas, Ze Pequeño.

Grupo 4: El Duende, Engel, Felipe “Mona” Opazo.

Ganadores por obstáculo

- Mesa de pic nic: Jorge “Duende” Salgado
Trucos:
*Flip backside lipslide

- Tarro: Felipe “Mona” Opazo
Trucos:
*Flip frontside
*Backside melon
*Flip

- Casita: Cristián Otero
Trucos:
*Boardslide a swich 50/50 360 out

Las competencia terminó a las 18:30 hrs. con Stranger y Love rematando hasta las últimas. Agradecimientos a Stranger Skateboards, Roots Trucks, Love Skateboards y Revista La Tabla.

Nota: Rocío Marentis Fotos: Cristián Saavedra/ REd Bull Chile

Ve el video de este evento en la sección videos.

Reportaje completo al Red Bull Picnic Tour pronto…

Fuente: http://www.latabla.cl/

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