The basics of how to setup a snowboard

In this tutorial video, Jason will walk you through the basic steps on how to properly setup a Burton Channel board with EST bindings.

If you have any questions about the video or would like to know more, feel free to reach out to The Beatnik Youth's Facebook page!

I will be happy to answer any questions that you may have.

Stay Tuned No.002

These Stay Tuned playlists are a small glimpse into a person's world.

This playlist was developed by a good friend of mine who chases waves more than he chases women. He lives and breathes saltwater, and this noisy 90's selection reveals the inner workings of his soul.

Included is a Thurston Moore side project (Chelsea Light Moving), some Built to Spill, Dinosaur Jr., Slint, Modest Mouse and more.

This is a burned out ashtray full of butts in a waning afternoon light playlist.

Just make sure that you crank it up.

Board Scootin' Boogie...

Resorts all across the US are FINALLY starting to open. The snow makers have been working overtime, and we are all itching to get our gear out and snow frolic. Well, I’m stuck in Florida…for now, BUT planes, trains, and automobiles exist for a reason. As a Burton Snowboards employee in Florida (Yes, I sell snowboards in Florida….it’s a real thing) the locals are starting to file in looking for new gear for the upcoming season. It is pure torture to me! Here I am selling these rad setups to amazing people, and all I want is to jump in their suitcase and tag along.

I was working the other day, and a customer who had never snowboarded before was looking to get setup with some gear. After all was said and done, he asked me for some advice – He wanted to know how to get around to the lift without looking like a complete newbie.

I introduced him to a new term – “scooting”

Trust me, if you’re new at snowboarding…this can be somewhat frustrating, but imperative if you want to actually get around....

Scooting is to snowboarding as walking is to life, or beer is to a night out. Whichever way you look at it, without scooting we would all look pretty silly stuck on a cat track like a bunch of lemmings shot by a stun gun.

The better you are at scooting, the faster you can get past that bit of flat and into the good stuff; it sounds harsh but there is a real pleasure to had in using a superior scooting technique to fly past another snowboarder.

Here are some of the tips that I tell my customers when they ask about getting around the mountain/getting up to the lifts.

• ·      The most fundamental mistake people make when scooting is to not get enough board edge into the snow. So much energy and speed are lost if your edge is just washing out all the time – you end up going more sideways than forward.
• ·      It might not sound cool, but a stomp pad or something similar is a massive help.  Case in point: how many times have you gone to slap your back foot onto the topsheet and ended up doing some kind of John Travolta split? We sell some pretty neat stomp pads at Burton – Come stop by and pick one up!
• ·      There are two main ways of scooting; one using your help edge, the other using your toe edge. It’s pretty useful to be good at both, because as the terrain changes you’ll want to switch edge.
• ·      With your front foot strapped in, start by tilting your board and putting a little pressure on your toe edge. Keep this slight pressure on your tie edge and push off your back foot thus propelling your forward
• ·      As soon as you’ve got this forward momentum, flatten your board out and place your back foot smack in the front of your rear binding – lock it in there
• ·      The body position you’re aiming for is both knees bent together and shoulders parallel with the edge of your board. Your arms should be slightly out over the nose and tail of your board and your eyes looking forward. This will help you stay in a straight line – Keep in mind that any twisting of the upper body will immediately throw you off
• ·      As your momentum slows, take your back foot off and at the time get some pressure back on your toe edge by tilting the board – this will prevent your edge washing out, keep you in a straight line and maintain your speed. The more you push against the toe edge, the more speed you can create before hopping back on.
• ·      Getting the hang of using your edges when scooting may take a few goes but is well worth it in the end. You’ll be amazing at how much more speed you can create and how many people you will be overtaking.

And there you have it! The fundamentals of scooting. 

If you need a video, check out this informative video from a snowboarding instructor

How to Get On and Off of a Ski Lift When Snowboarding

Stay Tuned No. 001

In high school, we used to make playlists for our girlfriends/boyfriends. Hell, we still do. It is a lost and underrated medium really. . Mixed tapes. Burned CD's. Compilations of music curated by people that have time to think it matters. 

They're your own super albums. Themed out and specific for every hour of the day. 

I have decided to dedicate Friday posts to this lost art of playlist making. Each week the theme will revolve around a different type of sport or a special athlete spotlight playlist. 

WEEK ONE: Surfing

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With a little bit of help from a good friend of mine, this nostalgic playlist transports you back to the 90's. 

This was his take on the collaboration idea:

"We used to make tons of Cd's featuring surf-part songs to play on the drive to the beach. It was a simpler time. Young dudes with new driver's licencses, stacks of Cd's and surfboards and not much to do. By the time we'd arrive at the beach we'd already run through the playlist and knew exactly what type of ripping was about to go down. We'd be so amped we could hardly get our wetsuits on fast enough. And we'd like to think this still happens and that it still happens to most of you. But with access to so much music these days, it's easy for things to get lost, shuffled and overlooked. Today though, we're feeling a little nostalgic, and decided we wanted to go back through simpler times."