Josh, Casey, Joel and Graham Celebrating.

Words/Photos: Rome SDS

Tijuana. The mere mention of the word can spark fear in even the surliest of snowboard-industry barbarians. A decadent land just over the border, and slightly out of reach of the safety of San Diego, Tijuana is often regarded as an outlaw community where all rules are thrown out the window. Just stroll past the unmanned border turnstile and one is thrust into a perverse world: street peddlers pushing blankets to Viagra; clubs promoting excessive tequila to unspeakable sex acts; cars and buses beeping out of control; incessant creepy Mexican music blaring from windows; gangs of thugs roaming the streets; an oppressive stench wafting into your nose; and worst of all, a completely corrupt law enforcement that is just as likely to rob you than aid you in any way.

Casey and Joel enjoying the end of the Thumbball Rally.

LNP, Marius and John Cavan

What better place for Snowboarder Magazine and Rome SDS to host the international premiere of “Any Means” during the ASR trade show?

Eli and Brandon

Marius and Rich

Rumors of the premiere swept through San Diego like bad acid at a Dead show. Every person when posed the question of attendance would react the same—they’d first kind of squirm nervously, then say yes cautiously, and then change their answer to a lingering “I’m not really sure about this one. I’m kinda scared.” With team riders flying in from all over and industry bro brah on overload, premiere night arrived and a large unruly crowd amassed at the San Diego convention center to head into the unknown. As an impromptu dice game rocked the sidewalk, people began tightening up their wallets, hiding money in their shoes, grabbing their groups and boarding one of the three large busses waiting to take them to the border.

Alexis Waite posing on the donkey.

Bill, Rich, Josh, Graham & Joel with the donkey.

Once dropped off at the border it takes mere seconds to cross through a rickety turnstile gate and into Mexico. After some logistical mistakes in finding the venue, half the crew walked to the spot (sketchy) and the other half took cabs. Upon entering the strange establishment dubbed El Torito, it became apparent the crew was in another world. A “Mexican Zebra” (donkey) greeted people as they entered, so Marius Otterstad’s girlfriend, pro shred Alexis Waite, jumped at the opportunity to get her picture taken riding the it. Upstairs the bar was packed with a weird mix of snowboard friends and Mexican locals who were there to party and dance. With loud Mexican hip hop blaring, the locals performed a type of aggressive break dancing, guarding the dance floor like it was sacred turf. First to step to the floor was none other than the dynamic duo themselves, Dirty Joel and Casey Neefus, fresh off their Thumbball Rally marathon hitchhiking journey. The two donned big Mexican hats and danced with the locals while the rest of the bar drowned in cheap cervaza and tried to dodge the aggressive tequila pushers who would blow annoying whistles and force incredible amounts of warm watered down elixirs into your throat.

LNP and Yan

After a little stressful audio/video maintenance (It is Tijuana, people. Shit isn’t easy.) the movie rocked to an awaiting crowd of hyped-up snowboarders. The Mexican locals however were not as stoked—after the initial curiosity of seeing snow for the first time wore off, many of the locals took to yelling and then trying to start fights before eventually leaving, at which point the night really took off. Marius was there. Yan Dofin made the trip down. Eli Weiner, Greg Dejardins, and Alex Pederson were there to see their parts in the am section. Casey was running around all night with Joel, and LNP was cruising, looking especially sketchy. Marie-France Roy showed up and probably had the biggest following seeing that all kinds of female pro shreds showed up to support her progressive part. Leanne Pelosi, Priscilla Levac, Alexis Waite, and Channelle Sladics all made the drive down, so to all the dudes who didn’t come because it was sketchy, the chicks definitely one upped you.

Joel taming the bull.

After the movie, it was right back to full-on Mexican hip-hop. Some guy who hitchhiked to the premier got a Rome tattoo in the bar….that’s right, in the bar. In addition to the Snowboarder Magazine crew, almost all of the other major mags were in attendance. Willie McMillion and Nic Drago from Bluebird made the voyage down. Rome reps Pete Harvieux, John Graham, and Rich Smith were rallying the troops. Several Rome in house staff were all mixing it up. Towards the end of the night, a crazy session on the mechanical bull went off and had everyone laughing their asses off.

This event was anything but typical and the unknown danger lurking behind every corner made it that much more interesting. As the night ended, and as people slung off in all directions out of El Torito, some headed for the border, and some headed for sketchy destinations unknown.

A very big thanks is in order to the entire staff of Snowboarder Magazine especially Cliz, Ryan Fields, Pat Bridges, and Chris Engelsman, without whom the night wouldn’t have been possible. Thanks to everyone that came down to share in the fun and lend their support to the team.

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