2011 San Francisco Downtown Throwdown

It’s official: The 2011 Downtown Throwdown events were bigger and badder than ever before. The second stop of the country’s premier pre-season rail jam hit San Francisco on Saturday, October 29th, 2011, and all the best rail riders made their way to The City By The Bay to compete for a chance to win some cold, hard cash. Vans riders Darrell Mathes, Zac Marben and guest judge Eric Willett helped decide the victors, and with a City Hall backdrop that seemed straight out of a political rally, jibbers like the Seattle DTTD Winner Brandon Hobush, Nick Visconti and Dylan Thompson occupied the course with moves that could have given any one of them the title.

But it was Dylan Alito’s steady barrage of stompage and his red Juggalo costume complete with an axe that sliced the competition to pieces and won him the $5,000 first place prize. Other notables included Ryan Paul, Andrew Brewer and Chris Brewster, whose smooth style earned him the Crab Grab Style award. Once again, companies like Zumiez, Lib Tech and of course Vans had tents set up for the fans and gave away tons of free goodies all day long, while DJ Smoke One kept the crowd entertained with a blend of hyphy Bay Area beats and classic hip hop.

Check out vans.snow.com for more photos from the event, and check out our San Francisco Downtown Throwdown Video.

Results:

1. Dylan Alito

2. Nick Visconti

3. Dylan Thompson

4. Ryan Paul

5. Brandon Hobush

2011 Seattle Downtown Throwdown

The first stop of the Downtown Throwdown took place in Seattle, Washington over the weekend, and it couldn’t have been a more perfect day. Unusually sunny skies brought the crowds out to historic Pioneer Square to witness a brutal onslaught of jibbing chicanery by some of today’s best rail riders. Over 25 contestants battled it out for a $5,000 first place prize and in these tough economic times, no one was holding anything back. Riders were running up the stairs after each make, bail or slam for the entire 2-hour jam session to make sure the judges saw everything they had to offer. With a judging panel that included Vans Team Riders Zac Marben and Darrell Mathes, along with Johnny Lazz, LNP and Sean Genovese, the competitors had to come correct. It seemed like just about every combination of frontside and backside, switch and regular, 180s and 270s got put down by somebody at some point, along with some front, back and rodeo flips thrown in for good measure. When it was all said and done, Brandon Hobush walked away with the win and $5000.

To see the full story, go to vans.snow.com for more photos, and video.

“The Art Of Flight” World Tour Hits Denver

Brain Farm Cinema’s “The Art Of FLIGHT” World Tour continues to steamroll its way across the country and made a stop in Denver, Colorado on Tuesday, September 27th, 2011.  One of the crew’s favorite venues, the elegant Ellie Caulkins Opera House in downtown’s Performing Arts Center is a highlight of the tour. Known in opera circles as “the Ellie,” this world-class acoustical hall is usually reserved for well-to-do patrons in tuxedos and gowns attending some sort of Mozart-related performance. But just as they elevated snowboarders’ social status with 2008’s “That’s It, That’s All,” Travis Rice, director Curt Morgan and the entire Brain Farm team took over this magnificent space once again and filled it with the sights and sounds of shred.

As Travis Rice’s right hand man on the mountain, Vans Team Rider Mark Landvik has been featured in a starring role in the last two Brain Farm productions. With his entertaining personality providing the comic relief in “That’s It, That’s All,” this time around Mark takes a more narrative stance in helping Travis tell the story of “The Art Of FLIGHT”. The film continues the path that Curt Morgan has charted since 2005’s “The Community Project”—a travel-based, documentary style snowboard film that aims to not only show the best snowboarding on some of the farthest reaches of the planet, but also the story behind what it takes to get there. The films have always been a departure from the traditional rider-jump-trick format that most every other snowboard “video” has followed since the beginning of the genre, and with “The Art of FLIGHT’s” multi-million dollar budget and lengthy production schedule, this time it’s bigger and better than ever.

Videograss World Tour In NYC

With all the hype and hoopla surrounding the grand scale “The Art Of FLIGHT” Premiere in New York City last week, Videograss decided to keep it a little more homegrown with a low key snowboard movie showing in NYC’s historic Lower East Side. The free, no-expensive-ticket-needed affair was held at The Draft Bar on Ludlow St., and came complete with a $1000 bar tab courtesy of Videograss and Vans. The Big City’s snowboard fanatics came out in force to check out Videograss’ new movies, “Retrospect” and “Shoot The Moon” while swilling back some brews and hanging out with fellow shredders. Vans team riders Darrell Mathes and Hana Beaman were on hand to welcome the rowdy crowd and VG filmer Gary Milton hosted friends and family alike. The movies were great, the drinks were cold and everyone who showed up had a great time celebrating the start of the season. Check out the photos from the night and check out vgsnow.com to find out when the tour hits your city.

Videograss blonde fan club.

The Art Of FLIGHT World Premiere in NYC

Yes, it finally happened. After two years of traveling the world documenting the best riders in the world with the best cameras and crew on the planet, Brain Farm Cinema has delivered their masterpiece, “The Art Of FLIGHT”. A culmination of efforts between Red Bull Media House, Quiksilver and Brain Farm, TAOF showcases the incredibly talented snowboarding of Travis Rice, Vans team rider Mark Landvik, and many other guest stars as they trek to mountains across the globe in search of the perfect shred. In fitting style, TOAF premiered in New York City at the legendary Beacon Theater on Wednesday, September 7th, to a capacity crowd that was raucous with excitement. With almost everyone in the action sports industry attending, the eyes of our world were on Travis and filmmaker Curt Morgan to see how they could possibly top the irreproachable “That’s It, That’s All”. Well, with an even bigger budget, more riders and the experience of their previous endeavors, Travis and Curt have created a film that will once again set the standard for every action sports movie, no matter what the discipline, to follow for years to come. Check out our exclusive photos from the grand event and the wild celebration that followed on our flickr page, and click the links below for exhaustive coverage from the media surrounding the film:

Snowboarder Magazine

Transworld Snowboarding

espn.com

“The Art Of FLIGHT” Autograph Session

“The Art Of FLIGHT” has almost finally landed and snowboarding is officially in the air in New York City. With cooler fall temperatures, gray skies overhead and an incessant downpour of rain, it feels like it’s time to ride. Tomorrow night, “The Art Of FLIGHT” is poised to redefine sports cinematography once again, as they show the entire world what real snowboarding is all about. Last night the TAOF crew got together for an autograph session and to launch the Asymbol Gallery Limited Edition Photo Collection. Travis Rice, filmmaker Curt Morgan and the entire team was at Paragon Sports in Manhattan to sign autographs, meet fans and celebrate the historic event.

Müller, Blauvelt and Landvik — three BIG Mountain slayers.

Hana Beaman Signature Session at High Cascade Snowboard Camp

It’s that time of year again! For most people, summer means flip flops, pool parties and BBQs… all good things of course. But July always means one thing in The Great Northwest: shred camp is in session at Timberline on Mt. Hood. It’s the best month of the summer up on the glacier, as the winter-like storms that linger into June are history and there’s still tons of snow left before the inevitable August melt off, especially this year. Mt. Hood didn’t miss out on the record-setting snowfall season across the West Coast this winter, and as a result there is a very deep base for this time of year. Snowboarders are still enjoying full laps all the way to the bottom, and the amount of jumps, jibs and halfpipes on the mountain is bigger than ever before.

Check out Part 1 and Part 2, the Video and a brand new “What’s The Word” with tons of photos on vanssnow.tumblr.com.

“What’s The Word” With Darrell Mathes

Darrell Mathes is one cool dude. He shreds what he wants, he still calls the Northwest home and he is down with some of the most innovative and trendsetting companies in the world. Proudly repping brands like Vans, Holden and WESC, Darrell has carefully carved out his own place in the snowboard scene by simply doing what he loves best: riding hard with style. Darrell’s not concerned with contest winnings or video game characters. Instead, he’s helping to develop quality products with his supportive sponsors and focusing his creative energy on his Videograss production company, producing fan favorite films year after year.

More photos, videos and a full interview at vanssnow.tumblr.com.

SASS Global Travel “Why I Love My Mountain” Contest

Andreas Wiig in Bariloche, Argentina. Photos: Tim Peare.

SASS Global Travel is running a contest on their facebook page right now called “Why I Love My Mountain”. If you sign up and write a short essay about why you love your mountain, you could win free gear like Contour HD cameras, Dakine backpacks, RED/Anon helmet/goggle set ups and more! The SASS Snowboard Camp, now called SASS Global Travel, operates in San Carlos de Bariloche, Argentina and offers snowboarders the chance to ride real backcountry terrain with some of the most knowledgeable guides in the industry. At the same time, you’ll have the chance to explore Argentina’s, “culture, language, food, and nightlife, and share the experience with an incredible crew of fellow pow-seekers that will likely become a part of your extended family once you leave.”

Zac Marben with a steezy stalefish off a little rock in the Laguna Backcountry.

A couple of summers (or winters) ago, we took a trip down to SASS with photographer Tim Peare to do a story for Snowboard Magazine. Tim shot a ton of great photos, many of which were never used in the story and are seen here for the first time. Follow the link below to see more photos, and don’t forget to check out the SASS facebook page for info on the contest, and the website sassglobaltravel.com for more info on the camps.

Zac Marben taking in the view. See all the photos at vanssnow.tumblr.com.

What’s The Word With Andreas Wiig

Andreas Wiig. Photo: Tim Peare.

Just a few years ago, Andreas Wiig was known for stomping gold medal runs at the X Games and coming up on some serious contest loot at top events around the world. But times have changed for the Norwegian champion. With a new sponsor, a new focus and a new film coming out this fall, Andreas has gone from a freeriding film star to a podium regular and back to a backcountry booter assassin once again. Check out what our favorite Forum rider worked on this winter and what he has planned for the off season…

Coming off of one of the worst injuries you’ve ever had last season, you jumped right back into the contest circuit this year. How did that injury affect you mentally, and how are you doing now?

It was definitely hard jumping right into the contest circuit again, and I felt like I was pretty far away from riding at my best. I felt like I didn’t have much flow and that something wasn’t right. But it was definitely a setback to ride with a taped up ankle that was aggravated all the time. And whenever you’re hurt it’s a mental setback as well, and it’s hard to take the risks you would normally take. But most of all, I think I was ready to move on from the contests and take a new direction in my career. I spent the last part of the season riding powder, and that definitely sped up my recovery time. So now I’m doing good!