Catching Up With: Travis Rice
ADMIN
- May 05 2009
- 3,073 views
- 46 comments
By Mike Lewis
In snowboarding circles, 2008/09 will be remembered as the year of Travis Rice. The dude was everywhere, won everything, and set the bar at an entirely new level. We caught up with Travis to congratulate him on his latest title of Exposure-Meter Champion, a race he absolutely dominated like LeBron on an elementary playground, and see how he plans on topping this season.
Rice modeling his ‘09/10 Quiksilver signature line.
So, we just wrapped up the Snow Business Exposure-Meter, and like just about every other award TransWorld gave this year you stomped it.
Good to hear. I remember seeing the first and second [issues] and in the second one [I had] twice as many points as everybody else. It was epic – I’ve never seen it like that.
Yeah, you were by far the highest we’ve ever had on media coverage.
Epic, I think it will be a great help for projects in the future.
What does this mean for you and your sponsors?
It means a lot to me because I think a lot of what the Exposure Meter represented for me is kind of little projects and babies I’ve been working on for years. It helps legitimize what I’ve been trying to push through as far as the contest I did, Natural Selection, and the film I just finished, That’s It, That’ All.
I’m hyped on it because I hope in turn sponsors throughout the entire industry will further see the value in standing behind on the grassroots level what riders interpret as what they want to see in snowboarding. I hope it creates a little bit more value there for sponsors to stand behind their team riders’ vision as far as where they want to see snowboarding headed.
Do you think the coverage of Natural Selection helps increase the viability of contests that don’t fit into the typical mold?
I think it’s really been great – I would like to thank the snowboarding community for having something like the Natural Selection or the David Benedek Gap Session or the Arctic Challenge. Events like these help give snowboarding the diversity that [it’s] based upon. I love and am glad that there are halfpipe contests, the Grand Prix series, that the Dew Tour has taken off, that there’s the Olympics, but I think without these other events, snowboarding’s timelessness isn’t really there.
I’ve been lucky because I have brands that have full faith in me and my partners. I’m really lucky to work with such awesome brands as Lib Tech, DC, Quiksilver, and Red Bull because I’ve kind of been able to come up with psycho contest ideas as far as taking some sort of fantasy idea and actually applying it, and more than anything have the follow through to see it through.
How do you follow this year up?
I’ve had a real fun past month filming with Dan Brisse and Mark Carter for Absinthe films. I actually just finished a long week of meetings working on next year’s Natural Selection and I think that’s what I’m going to be spending a lot of my time on in the next year is making the Natural Selection bigger and better.
Are you going to be working on a new film with Brain Farm next year?
We’re actually going to start filming this summer. I’m really kind of taking a little time to really step back and see the follow through on the projects we finished up, primarily the film, but it’s been nice for me this year, I’ve had a lot more time to work on some new board stuff that’s coming up with Lib Tech. That’s been one of my biggest projects - this new stuff called C2, which my board line is primarily offered in next year. I’ve been riding and testing different variations all winter and it really and truly is the new technology like what Banana was to camber. It’s a refined technology; it’s kind of a combination of Banana and camber together. It still has all the benefits of riding Banana but solves all of the problems that I wasn’t content with on Banana. Banana is the funnest board to ride but I don’t film or compete on it. This new C2 is the end all - the fix on the indecision between Banana and camber.
Where you pretty involved on the development?
Yeah, full on.
What are you most stoked on with that?
How it performs. It basically has every positive element from both camber, why it’s great, and why Banana makes snowboarding more fun and easier. It gets rid of several issues which fell a little short and makes a more overall effective board than just camber. I think people will still enjoy how a pure Banana rides, but I have full faith in the C2 for next year. That’s been a big thing for me and working with Quiksilver to further the line I have with them. It’s been nice this year, I’ve been having more time to put towards that. Without doing the full production. It’s been fun.
How are you planning on improving Natural Selection? The bar was set pretty high.
I’d love to talk more about it, but it’s not concrete yet. One thing I can say is we’re definitely building upon the foundation from last year. Having one year in the bag and an objective stance on what worked and what we need to do better with. I have full faith in the riding itself. I think it’s going to be much more dynamic next year. It’s all up to the gods as far as the conditions but we’re going to put ourselves in the position where wheteher we get 6 inches or four feet, it’s going to be great.
Taking a year off with the Natural Selection we’re just going to be able to make it that much better next year here in Jackson. It’s going to be two weeks before the Olympics, probably just after Denver, I can say Denver now. And then starting another film project. It’s going to be a two-year project. The working title of it right now is Flight.
I don’t think people will really hear too much about it this year, but the following year for sure.
So ‘11/12 it will be out?
Yeah, the fall of ’11.
That’s It, That’s All crushed it at the snow box office. What’s the story on Flight?
I have full faith as far as our project. We basically spent two years learning through trial and error about everything that we attempted to take on. Going into this next project, we’re building on the trials and tribulations of this last one. Basically it took us two years to figure out what it was we were trying to do. Going into this new project with all of that figured out and a little more confidence from both sponsors and affiliates and people that are helping us out, I think we’re going to have a lot more streamlined effort. We have a lot of the plan already figured out. We have a lot of amazing riders that are committed and a lot of support from our sponsors Quiksilver and Red Bull. I look very forward to showing people what we hope to achieve with this next film.
Do you see the film industry changing to fewer, bigger projects?
If you take a look at what it was two years ago versus what you hear is going on this year, it’s definitely. It kind of had no other choice than to cut some of the fat. And I think there’s still a place and appreciation for the grassroots films that’s just kind of go out with your friends and just shoot. I’ve always been a big fan of the low budget project, but as far as further representation of what is going on in snowboarding kind of to an outside state, there needs to be a little bit more attention to detail. I guess I just look at the state of skate films in the last ten years and I think that it has no other direction that it can go but to go towards fewer, higher quality films. The same year-in, year-out format needs a little bit of rebirth. I think they can still work, but I just hate to see passionate people get lazy.
For the full Exposure-Meter rundown and an in-depth look at the snowboarding film industry’s future, pick up the May issue of TransWorld Business.
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May 5th, 2009 at 2:35 pm
cool
May 5th, 2009 at 2:49 pm
This guy is the fuckin’ killer
May 5th, 2009 at 4:46 pm
A very well spoken individual. Nice to see. Keep up the great work.
May 5th, 2009 at 7:35 pm
Won’t ride Banana in film and competition? Way to knock Banana…why bother marketing a T.Rice BTX with MTX if he won’t even ride it when it matters. Maybe he has a blank Never Summer with Lib Tech stickers which would make me LMAO.
May 5th, 2009 at 11:57 pm
Sending it!
http://www.shredthestation.blogspot.com
May 6th, 2009 at 12:52 am
“Banana is the funnest board to ride but I don’t film or compete on it”
WOW, so when it comes to real snowboarding the pro’s don’t ride it ?
Thousands of kids are buying a technology joke next winter, or should I say thousand of kids are buying into some great a marketing from Lib and Quik? I would however not be surprised if Banana still win’s a bunch of GoodWood awards tho….
May 6th, 2009 at 2:01 am
none of the buyers rides as good as travis does. you dont want to hit a 100 feet jump with a banana board. but you want to hit 20 feet jumps, park rails, go down the slopes or ride powder with a banana.
pro riders need different boards than 99% of every other snowboarde, becaues they ride different (better) than 99&. so why not use different boards.
May 6th, 2009 at 5:53 am
Hands down best snowboarder alive
May 6th, 2009 at 8:25 am
Danny is sick, but he wont even jump or go down some of the mountains Rice does
May 6th, 2009 at 10:38 am
Realize that this is just one pro talking. There are plenty of pros filming on banana – Lando, Luebke, Kass just to name a few. I saw quite a number of skate bananas in film clips this year. As far as competition, he only does big-air contests which are held on hardpack/icy/man-made snow with HUGE-ass jumps – not suited to banana.
My experience is that for park/jibs, pow, and just cruisin’ – banana IS the most fun to ride. But for launching big hits, the banana gets a bit loose popping off the lip so cambered is better. Maybe the C2 tech will be an improvement.
May 6th, 2009 at 11:52 am
wont ride a banana in comps? travis revert 180’s after landing all the time in comps, so if he used a banana he would probably revert 360 to 540. bananas are fun, but they like to keep spinning on the snow after you land.
May 6th, 2009 at 1:06 pm
yeah, danny never jumps… well, except hundred footers.
http://whitelines.com/images/uploads/features/DannyKass_Roastbeef_Hemsedal_kicker-big.jpg
idiot
May 6th, 2009 at 2:19 pm
disagree, anyone that is used to slashing powder on a cambered board will be disappointed with banana. pretty sure more than 1% of snowboarders like to slash powder and get pop off the tail when riding pipe. sure very few peeps are on the same level as T-Rice, but allot of riders still look for response and pop in their board.
May 6th, 2009 at 3:27 pm
I agree on the less, but better films. In both skate and snow. That’s It, That’s all was breathtaking.
May 6th, 2009 at 5:50 pm
banana is a relatively new technology (at least in its current form) and it is going to keep improving. i haven’t ridden lib’s c2 or the new never summer system, but the combination camber/banana design seems like it will be the direction the industry heads in. a lot of dudes seem stoked on the full on banana design and a lot of those cats ride tons of pow. if you’re not into it, don’t ride it.
May 6th, 2009 at 11:31 pm
C2 is the future. best boards I have rode in awhile. it’s still Banana just a different banana.
May 7th, 2009 at 4:15 pm
Disagree with your disagree - pow on a banana is the absolute tits! Most fun ever, floats like nothin I’ve ridden!
May 8th, 2009 at 12:52 pm
Normal Banana’s have rocker between your feet and a little (C2) camber built in at each end and have since the beginning. Bananas with mild C2 are perfect for many snowboarders. C2 Power Banana’s like the ones Travis rides still have rocker between your feet but have a little more camber at each end and banana in the middle and are a bit stiffer. Power riders like Travis and Temple Cummins like a little extra end to end stability for huge landings and control in life threatening situations. Both these C2 and original Banana designs are Banana Tech…rocker between your feet designs.
May 8th, 2009 at 1:04 pm
Lib Tech and banana’s rip… While every other company is busy working on developing “cool” graphic scribbles lib tech is busy changing the world…Magnetraction, Banana Tech and now Travis’s C2 Banana tech. Yeah Travis!
May 8th, 2009 at 1:11 pm
I have a Skate Banana and hit the big kicker lines all day long…I never over rotate. If you can’t stop your spin it’s because your don’t know how to ride or you are riding a rockered board that has rocker past the binding. Those things suck unless you are in pow. My Skate Banana changed my life it rips even on icy days. I won’t even tell you how sick it is in pow
May 8th, 2009 at 1:59 pm
Nothing rides like my sweet banana!
May 8th, 2009 at 2:12 pm
I rode camber for 12 years. So over it. Lib Tech Banana’s rule! Snowboarding is brand new all over again and way more fun. Thanks Travis and Mervin! Schwing!
May 8th, 2009 at 2:20 pm
I just got a Banana and it seems to work great everywhere. I don’t over rotate my spins unless I want to. You need to use your edges to stop your rotation. One thing that helped me learn how to ride better was having my friends video me. I could see what I looked like and when I was wack’in it. It really helps and is pretty fun checking the footage at the end of the day
May 8th, 2009 at 2:26 pm
The Good Wood tests are for real. Those testers rip and ride every board from every company. Lib does do some cool stuff. If it wasn’t for them snowboarding would be boring and we would still be riding sideways on wide skis with straight edges.
May 8th, 2009 at 2:27 pm
Word!
May 8th, 2009 at 2:34 pm
Never Summer is cool but they can’t build boards for riders who rip like Travis.
May 8th, 2009 at 8:32 pm
You don’t know shit about ice till you’ve lived your life in michigan
May 8th, 2009 at 9:35 pm
TRMMI…If you can see the golf course grass through the clear ice you are ripping then Banana Mag will change your life…get on it. Badgers Hockey rules!
May 9th, 2009 at 8:48 am
I agree with northwest. “bananas are fun, but they like to keep spinning on the snow after you land.” My banana also has a mind of it’s own. Northwest is lucky that his banana will even land. My banana won’t even land sometimes. It likes to keep flying and won’t come down. Sometimes it takes me inverted like for 8 minutes flights. Upside down! One time I circled around my friends house on my banana like for an hour. His pa took pot shots at me with a beebee gun pumped to ten. I just love my banana. But I have a bunch of red sores all over my neck and sock lines. One beebee is still stuck in my ear.
May 9th, 2009 at 8:55 am
yo northwest! my banana also has a mind of its own. i caught it snacking on my best friend’s red vines one time.
May 9th, 2009 at 9:07 am
I wish my cambered board had a mind of its own like your bananas. I have to take lessons alot and I still can’t steer my cambered board very well. And I tip over alot. Will the guy that works at the store tell me if my new banana likes to spin or fly alot? I want one that will help me spin alot without tipping over so much. I’m little bit afraid of one that will fly so high. I don’t want one that will eat my friend’s licorice.
May 9th, 2009 at 9:11 am
licorice and redvines aint the same thing bro
May 9th, 2009 at 9:22 am
all of my friends just film and compete. they don’t ever have fun snowboarding anymore. they frown when they snowboard. they ride cambered boards because they aren’t any fun. they are thinking of quitting being pros so they can have fun and ride a snowboard that is fun.
May 9th, 2009 at 9:31 am
Torah Bright has just whipped every pro chick for the last 2 years in the pipe on her banana. In ice no less! Did you hear that she also beat almost every dude at the Powder Mountain Co-ed Challenge? And she is smok’n!
May 9th, 2009 at 9:44 am
Real snowboarding is “filming and competing.” If it isn’t being judged or caught on a camera, it is a total waste of time. Snowboarding is just a way to make money. All those people who ride for fun are fools! Having fun is a total waste of life. Anyone who isn’t being paid to snowboard should quit immediately and shut up and get to work to make money. Snowboarding without being paid to do it is a total joke! I hate snowboarding!
May 9th, 2009 at 9:51 am
I don’t want to ride “the funnest board to ride.” Having fun SUCKS!
May 9th, 2009 at 9:57 am
Hey, I just won the X-Games this winter on a Banana. Some of you on here need to read your magazines more. And watch your TV!
May 9th, 2009 at 10:03 am
camber is to snowboarding what rollerblades are to rollerblading!
WERD!
May 9th, 2009 at 10:12 am
Oh yeah, last year I rode a cambered snowboard in the X-Games and lost. This year on a Banana I won!
May 9th, 2009 at 10:24 am
It’s ALWAYS SUMMER in Mexico. And not a bad price on snowboard production labor either. Too bad the lead times are so long. It makes it almost impossible to sponsor a pro.
May 9th, 2009 at 10:38 am
I’m from the U.P. bro. That’s real Michigan. I just moved down from Moose Jaw. Most of my snow shredding is done on iced-over soccer fields. My friend pulls me behind his Honda 50. I wear a goalie mask when I snowboard. I’m looking for some real horsehair leg guards. Know of any retired goalkeepers who might sell? Those pads break the bank.
May 10th, 2009 at 7:57 pm
All banana tech is, is reverse camber right? maybe even between your toes? get it. thats funny.
May 11th, 2009 at 10:58 am
The only thing that holds better on ice than a new set of Bauers is a Skate Banana with Magnetraction. Last spring I front boarded the Johannsons’ lake cabin gnarly double kinked rail in Ontonagon. Porcupine Mountain crew gets it done proper.