Jeff Koons poses with Michael Jackson and Bubbles when not snowboarding.

Burton: “This is the best graphic ever!”

Famous artist Jeff Koons designs! Should we see?

Jeff Koons is a very famous artist who uses aids to make metallic giant balloon animals and ceramic Michael Jackson with Bubbles and a naked lady coming out of a banana. His net worth is over $100,000,000.00 and he loves to represent the banal.

But wanna know what he thinks ain’t banal? What he thinks rules?

Snowboarding!

And he just partnered up with Jake Burton to make a $5000.00 board. Should we read about it in the New York Times?

Of course we should!

Around three years ago, at the urging of his children, the artist Jeff Koons learned how to snowboard. To his surprise, he fell in love with the sport — and it wasn’t just shreddin’ the gnar that captivated him.

“There’s this sense of vastness that overcomes you,” Mr. Koons said. “It’s an extremely philosophical, transcendent sport. You really feel connected to something much, much vaster than yourself. There’s a sense of space and time as very vast.”

As fate would have it, one of Mr. Koons’s former studio employees works at the Chill Foundation, a charity established by Jake and Donna Carpenter, the founders of Burton snowboards. The foundation helps children from underserved communities learn through competitive sport.

After Mr. Koons and Mr. Carpenter became friends, a new snowboard was born. Called the Philosopher, it marries Mr. Koons’s artistic skills and Mr. Carpenter’s technical finesse. In his design, Mr. Koons included a likeness of Plato and a rendering of the allegory of the cave (from Plato’s “Republic”).

“He wanted to use his creativity to create the best graphic ever,” Mr. Carpenter said. “I always thought of myself as a perfectionist. Let’s just say, not anymore. He takes it to a whole other level.”

Mr. Carpenter handled the board’s technical specifications, most notably making it a twin tip, meaning that a snowboarder can ride forward and backward. The tail is as wide as the nose.

Only 50 boards were made. The plan is for them to be sold, for $5,000 each, at an event in New York City, with all proceeds going to the Chill Foundation.

“We’ve done so many co-labels with so many organizations, but I don’t think we’ve ever done one with an individual who had such a passion for the sport,” Mr. Carpenter said.

Mr. Koons’s enthusiasm was apparent when he described how the act of planting both feet on a single board encourages a physical and spiritual convergence.

“There’s a sense of oneness,” Mr. Koons said. “No longer is it a left side-right side. You’re riding the board as one. I’ve never had a greater experience. Finally, you’re one again.”

Soooooo are you excited to see this best graphic ever?

Ready?

Can you wait?

Here it is!

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What the fuck.

That is ugly and NOT the best graphic ever. It is not even close.

And hello Eiki Helgason! You are still the winner! A better artist than Jeff Koons! $100,000,000.00 is basically in your pocket!

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Strange Brew: Make snow fun again!

Turn that frown upside down!

Oh how fun it all is! Sometimes we forget (Volcom…I’m looking at you right now) sometimes we think all of this is “lame” or a “job” or “whatever” or some shit.

But it’s not! It’s only ever fun!

And this offering from Strange Brew titled [away from keyboard] bubbles with the stuff. Watch and enjoy! Before you even know it that frown will be upside down!

[ AWAY FROM KEYBOARD ] from Strange Brew on Vimeo.


Shaun pictured here in boys' size 12 button up. But what is he lighting with that match?

Shaun White enjoys children’s clothing!

What is your passion project? Your side hustle?

The most famous man in snowboarding has recently launched a clothing line with Macy’s named WHT SPACE (pronounced White Space not What Space or Whit Space) and you have of course seen it. Maybe you’ve even broken off a piece of cheese to take something home? A cardigan perhaps?

“It’s inspired from Shaun’s travels,” Kevin Duffel, the brand’s creative director, told Apparel News. “He dug through his closet, and said ‘this is what inspires me.’”

The line, again according to Apparel News, is…

…more inspired by New York monochromes than bright California colors. Looks include a black, padded bomber jacket, a black sweatshirt with quilted-style fabric and a black T-shirt with a Joy Division-inspired graphic. There’s some color to the line, think a red button down T-shirt, and a red corduroy fleece jacket.

And it seems very much more grown up than his Target line which was aimed at 3 to 8 year old boys. The story opens with this scene.

(Shaun) was walking away from a crowd of people one day, and someone in the crowd said “You must love boys clothing!” The comment made White laugh. One of his businesses was producing a line of boy’s clothing for Target. But the comment rankled.

While he enjoyed the children’s clothing business, he did not want to be defined by it.

And aren’t you happy to know that even though the comment “You must love boys clothing!” rankled he still enjoys children’s clothing?

I am.


LGBTQS: Set your closeted skier free!

Stop hiding from your true self!

Did you start snowboarding because that is what the young and cool people were doing? Because the fashion was banging? Because you were handed down boots and a Gnu from your older brother? Because it was just expected?

But did you never really feel it? Like, on the hill would you gaze longingly at the skiers schussing or bumping the mogs and know, deep in your heart, that you were one of them?

But did you think, “I could never come out and ski. I’ve got snowboard boots.”

Well, my closeted friend, we live in a brave new future where gender is no longer binary and where the stiffness of your boots doesn’t define what you slide!

A husband and wife team are kickstarting a brand new technology named MadJacks. Let’s read about them!

Today, MadJacks, the simple snowboard boot adaption system designed to make skiing more comfortable, is officially announcing its arrival to the public. This patent pending system, launched last week on Kickstarter with a goal of raising $85,000, is a revolutionary system looking to bring the ease and comfort of snowboard boots to skiers across the globe.

Developed by husband and wife team Kristin and Eric Mehiel over the course of the last three years, MadJacks was born out of their desire to make it easier for their entire family to ski more comfortably.

“We spend so many of our weekends with our kids on the slopes, and were constantly complaining about the discomfort we felt in our ski boots,” said Eric. “Since I’m an engineer and Kristin is an entrepreneur and sales veteran, we came up with the MadJacks concept to give skiers the comfort they want without losing any agility while on skis.”

Oh what a wonderful world we live in where anything is possible! Absolutely anything!

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A little Hawaiian dust…  | Photo: kilaueaecoguides.com

Just in: Hawaii Gets Three-Feet of Fresh!

Shelve the trunks and strap in!

You like novelty? How about sinking into three-feet of tropical ice? Hawaii’s biggest mountain, the dormant volcano Mauna Kea (14,000 feet above sea-level), sank under two feet of fresh on Friday and today y’going to get knee-deep white.

How do you get a taste? According to the The Hawaii Ski Club “there are no lifts, no grooming, no resort, but a road goes to the summit to serve the dozen or so world-class observatories located at the summit. You must have a 4-wheel drive vehicle to get to the summit, which serves as your ‘lift.'”

You know the game. Take turns driving. Pick up pals from the bottom, drive up, repeat.

Apart from the pretty tired novelty of surfing in the morning, riding after lunch (think Israel, France, NZ) Mauna Kea ain’t a bad place to stretch your intellect. It’s one of the finest places on earth to observe the universe, thirteen telescopes from all over the world, and if indigenous culture thrills, the joint is a sacred site too.

Take this aerial tour. Click! 

This vid from a few years back is pretty low-fi, but you get the idea of what it’s like to ride Mauna Kea.