just a bunch of clones , I agree. tell it brother.

Flannel Shirts forever

I've been throwin out the Skateboarding circa 92' comparision for the last 3 years, glad to see somewhere someone else is seeing it too...The one absurd trend you missed however is the ridiculous tall tee/ghetto gown phenomenon...

hater. get over it and snowboard.

just make the film-show'em how it is to ride on mountains.

Craig Kelly (and fat girls) Forever.

way to speak up, willie.

personally, i've concluded a few things (which seem to be in line with what you're rapping about):

1. Usually I pick up a snowboard magazine and discover nothing but fashion-oriented content and non-snowboard related campaigns. So, i just don't look at many snowboard mags any more. I seem to be happier when I avoid the majority of irritating snowboard media and just snowboard.

2. A snowboarding culture collapse such as the early 90's skate death would actually be very welcomed by me. I personally think those are the best/funnest/most memorable and rewarding times. It's like a colon cleanse for snowboarding. I get excited when I think about a time when "boardsports" are once again shunned by nearly everyone who lacks a true commitment to skating or snowboarding.

3. One admired industry veteran who now lives in Orange County once told me that Southern California will ruin snowboarding. That's what I call The Truth.

stay ripshredding. and keep waxing the 157-172's.

Willie, You want more fuel for the "Snowboarding is Gay" or "McMillon Rant" threads..... Just wait, I will go do some recon up in big bear this Saturday... I will take some candid photos of "What is wrong with Snowboarding."

Well, I am off to punch some trees... In order to infiltrate the industry I must get my knuckles in shape for some good old fashion bro-down knuckle punching.

I love this shit!

Willie, Snowboarding has been "gay" for years. That is the reason I (with the help of my good friends Ryan and Scotty) started our own company four years ago. But back then, the gayness was in the corporate office of the "snowboard" companies I used to work for, and not on the hill.

These are the people that actually believed that putting the word "Volant" next to (a reasonably liked brand at the time) Limited would help sell snowboards. I go up to their offices to tell them the actual reason why there are 8000 boards in a warehouse north of Denver and not on snowboard hills all over the world and this is what I get in return: "Ah..we have college degrees in Marketing and Management... so why don't you just go back downstairs and keep making the boards."

So after the factory and company go under...I put myself through college in Denver...and in my sophomore year...Lucid Notion is born.

As the Co-Owner of the foremost "grown out of a bedroom" and "fuck off" company in snowboarding today... I can't help but side with Mr. McMillon and everyone involved with Bluebird on the overall gayness that is todays snowboard industry. And even though I have much more to say on this topic (And have a tremendous amount of respect for the entire Bluebird Crew) I will end with the fact that snowboarding is in fact NOT gay:

I site the overwhelming community support here on Snowboard Magazine as my only reason for saying this. There are many opinions on this topic, and I doubt I will be the last to comment. Most of the opinions do call for change.... or at least a realization that a change is not only needed, but mandatory at this stage in the game.

And that my friend Bluebird is the reason that our companies will last the span of time... long after people stop asking where Limited went, or why (Insert Specific Snowboard Wax Company Here) doesn't exist. Snowboarding is no longer gay because you, I and everyone on this site believe in it enough to keep it alive!

Daniel E. Ekker
Co-Owner
The Lucid Notion Snowboard Company
Denver, CO 80204

PS: I went to work one day and watched eight of my best friends loose their jobs at Limited here in Colorado. All because some dick head (Who helped create the computer I am typing this on) got in a silly spat about money (Keep in mind they are both millionaires..) and couldn't keep a promise to each other. Wonder what's really going on in this industry???

Keep your company and dream alive, I promise to do the same, and the industry as a whole will eventually benefit from a combined passion that the people making snowboarding gay will never be able to understand!!!

ha..ha....ha.....ha.....ha
The Lucid Notion Snowboard Company

AND IF YOU MYSPACE:

The Lucid Notion Snowboard Company's Silly MySpace Site

you're right and there is an easy way to fix this, lets get Kearns and Johnson back on the bottle!

I think what we are seeing here in America is an "Easternization" of Snowboarding. Rumour has is that a few SUUUUUPER wealthy Polish Corn farmers with a "penchant" for snowboarding have taken over the Snowboard industry from the inside, working their way up over generations, starting as janitors, and slowly taking over many high level positions in the "Big 3". Dont be surprised if Mustache grease and the super tight black beanie are introduced this season, along with a new brigade of small mountain, smart mouthed Poles with bad attitudes, short boards and enourmously wide stances. Pozor!

..... riding should be done in the mountains. I thought it was lame that people were going to Reno to ride rails in 2005 instead in tahoe. Whatever floats it. But I too wear black pants and a red jacket bro, weird. Of course with a full neck and wrist gaiters for those puking pow days. And when did people from Arizona know anything about riding? Full of steeps and pow for sure.

I would love to hear what came out of a conversation about this with you and Sean Johnson. Could be the interview of the century. His one with Revolution was pretty all time.

http://www.snowboard-revolution.com/rider/Sean-Johnson-Interview.html

The problem of snowboardings identity crisis is as much or more a problem created by and supported by the pro's in the industry as it is with the big budgets, magazines or anyone else. If the pro's would sack up and be snowboarders instead of puppets and stand up for themselves, they would by default support snowboarding in it's true sense, but since so many pro's are sucking dick to get a paycheck so they can get spinners on the rims of their "whip" so they can show up to the "snowboard contest" in the parking lot of the Hard Rock hotel looking good enough to impress the judgest with their "snowboarding" which might help them to get a better agent to get them more money for their dope skillzzz..etc.. etc..the whole thing is a mess and the fault lies in a big way with the people who are in the position of influence. The pro's themselves. But these pro's are to afraid to be themselves. Could it be due to the fear of losing the first bit of acknowledgement these anti social pussies have ever had? Could The mix of their first taste of being liked combined with a paycheck be allowing them to feel great about being the confused, afraid, screaming for attention "trend setters" that the magazines tell them they are? If the pro's weren't buying into it, the mags wouldn't have a bunch of lame shit to document, and neither would the cine's. Instead, it's about documenting how "weird" the new guy is as he faces his fears of board sliding rails that are smaller than the rails in "Questionable." Or the flip side being that it's "all about having fun" so smile and laugh and giggle and don't take it seriously..and waste hours of peoples time having them watch you ollie on catwalks..

I hear about how rails are "dangerous" or "take mad skill" and that makes them worth documenting. So is running in front of moving vehicles on the freeway..should we dress up in tights and put hairspray in our hair and then do super tight close up interviews of ourselves before we play frogger dressed like Dee Snyder?

We can pretty much write off kickers now too since skate has taken that back as well. The only thing that makes snowboarding snowboarding is mountains. Surrender.

Seriously... why are snowboarders so worried about their steez, I am a women and understand fashion and all, but c'mon shouldn't function over ride "Fashin"??? As a poor snowboarder I buy what ever is good and on sale ( OR what I can get pro-formed)... so I may be rockin' some unmatchin outfits but shit I im ridin warm and dry do-in it!!!

Wasn't all-over print the in thing in general fashion? The skateboard companies have come out with a million all-over print hoodies and tees. Snowboard companies, being always late to trends, are just going along with this.

I completely fuckin' agree...

While I can't say i disagree with you, you're not the final authority on the status of all snowboarding bro. Maybe you're just thinking it's "getting gay" because you WANT to think it's "getting gay".

Which i'm sure makes you feel a lot cooler, of course, than everybody else since you obviously take pride in shredding back in the day. In the 80's, 90's, just "before it was cool".

Maybe if you just got the fuck over yourself, you wouldn't feel the need to hit us with this lame-ass tirade over the most pointless shit ever. Christ... it's the usual bullshit overblown 'pants' argument, but with a different asshole spouting it.

I really don't care who you are; i don't care if everyone else thinks you're a badass because you're in the 'industry' and own a company and evidently think you know what's best for everyone else... because guess what man. You are old and you will never understand what is going on with the young kids today, nor do you have the capacity to. Things change. It seems like you're trying so hard to hold on to the snowboarding of 20 years ago.

Let me guess... If you had your way, the current trend would be to ride with forward stances on 168cm boards while wearing Jordache windbreakers and "ski-bib" overalls that bunch up on top of your boots. Since snowboarding should really be the embodiment of everything "not cool", right? Dude i'm sorry but you need to quit getting hung up on the whole snow fashion thing. Nobody cares what anyone is wearing except for people like you who prefer to eschew any sort of progress in the name of nostalgia.

I am backin the statements from Willie. Its all about the costume of the week instaed of riding anymore.

Different strokes for different folks, as is life.

Damn, Willie. Jerry Lewis would be proud.

But aren't gay guys usually the ones talking shit about other peoples' outfits?

Most pointless rant ever.. and I've read againstme4life's posts.

Backing up the rant. From on an outsiders persective i don't get it, especially having been away from the industry for a while. I picked up Transgenders '08 buyers guide and its spends waaaay to many pges talking about different looks and styles. It's miserable. Nothing about board tech or back country gear or anything useful. They are just force feeding the kids a bunch of fashion shit. they have reduced riding to basic compnents of fashion, board graphics and logo stickers. What ever happened to letting your riding do the talking.
As Willie said its the same in skateboarding. All these new parks coming up with insane transition,replica pools, etc, but you will never find them being used, except by the old guys. All the kids lurk on the street course and bail tre flip after tre flip, stopping in between to adjust their i-pods or try to focus their boards because they missed "the" trick for the 1 millionth time.

Willie,

I agree 100%. To make matters worse on my part I had to wear the Kemper suit in 89, yeah, the pink and green one with the prints. I hated it but I had to wear it in order to honor my contract. Even worse they named the Jacket - "The Baiocchi Parka" - Simply crushed. If people wondered why I went to all black clothing or my famous brown "Man Suit", now ya know.

Is it that the company's involved want it more mainstream? How much more can you pimp it out? Seems to me the sport will do what skating did back in the early 80"s. Get to the roots, the soul, and the forgotten history of the sport - Another full circle, another full spin. That's gonna be refreshing if that happens.

JB

You are absolutelty right on every word you typed.Snowboarding is pretty gay right now.The all over prints are the gayest thing I've ever seen.Girl pants are everywhere and when you said purple blind pant I got a flashback of my huge yellow FUCT jeans.I have much respect for anyone who is in san diego this weekend at that gay fashion show of a tradeshow.Because if I went there it would be with an oozie and a list.Good Post.