On the Cover: Raibu Katayama; shot by Isami Kiyooka.

Inside the mag: 10 Years of Laax Open with the one and only Dean “Blotto” Gray, travel experiences from Helsinki by Matt Georges and the Lyngen Alps with Antti Autti, Jeremy Jones, Elena Hight and Rami Hanafi, Ethan Morgan, Gian Sutter, Jared Elston, Tom Tramnitz, Raibu Katayama, LJ Henriquez’ Young Blood, the inofficially official preview of the upcoming Freestyle World Champs St. Moritz, and much more.

Yet again it was another incredible week at the Laax Open, its 10th anniversary. Something we noticed this year was that the colossal online retailer Zalando were the main sponsor of the event; they also paid an eye-watering amount for the privilege. 

Yeah, I know Zalando and H&M aren’t snowboard companies and it would be better if snowboard companies were supporting those events. But hear me out, because since the big financial crisis in 2008, the budgets in snowboarding have been dwindling. There are fewer contests, and industry workers and pro riders are paid a fraction of what they once were in the glory days of the late ’90s and early 2000s. We kind of need those bigger companies support right now. You should still buy snowboard outerwear from a legitimate snowboard company though, ideally from your local store, but the fact more mainstream companies are starting to again look at Snowboarding is in my eyes a good thing. 

Zalando, H&M and Zara are all investing heavily in winter sports, and it’s more common to see household-name celebrities share posts on their socials of them out enjoying time on the slopes. Since Covid, people have been heading to the mountains en masse, with some resorts reporting that they are breaking their records for the number of people buying lift tickets each season. 

Even Shaun White, the guy that copped the most shit as someone who didn’t give back to snowboarding, has started his own contest series called “The Snow League”. The Snow League will not only pay riders that compete but will also be shown on NBC to millions of viewers. Only time will tell how the series turns out, but surely, the more eyes on snowboarding, the better it is for the industry, especially one that has seen so many creative people leave it in search of a better pay cheque elsewhere. 

An increase in popularity for snowboarding might not seem like it will change much for you, but in reality, some more revenue would help us all. If we get well-paid engineers, we get better products; more people on the slopes leads to resorts building better lifts, and well-paid photographers and filmmakers mean we get more nice things to look at. Now, if we could get some more snow, that would be lovely. Enjoy. 

Tom