Abstract 17.3 | Kennedi Deck

50-50 to Lipslide, Montreal, QC. [o] Oli Gagnon 

"THE GRANDE PRAIRIE LEGEND! I’ve been lucky enough to know Kennedi for many years now, and one thing that hasn’t changed is Kennedi’s inability to sit still. They’re always on the move, and it can be tough keeping up to speed—you don’t get the nickname Diesel for no reason! With more pro gear coming down the pipes, as well as a recent home-court relocation, it seemed like a good time to check in and see what’s good." — J.J. Westbury

Scroll down to read their full Abstract interview from Issue 17.3, and scroll all the way down to watch Kennedi in Vans's latest flick, For a Friend. 

AGE: 28
HOME: Vancouver, BC
SUPPORT: K2 Snowboards, The North Face, Vans, Howl Supply, Skullcandy, Corduroy

JJ: Ken, what’s up? You were just in Minnesota for some early season rope action. How was that?

Kennedi: We felt like we were going out a little bit early, but ended up getting a full week out there. It was slushy and fun. I’m so hyped that we went. I feel like I could maybe start going in right now, you know, get some clips.

Whoa, you’re ready for clips already?
It’s crazy to say that in the middle of November.

True, but hey, last year you were in Calgary getting clips right now.
If I’m getting clips before Christmas, it makes chilling for the holidays feel so much better.

Justification for the vacation style. You’ve moved since last winter, so where is home nowadays?
I was living in Salt Lake City for the last year-and-a-half, and in May I moved back to Vancouver. I just got into my own little apartment, so I’m all set up. I have a studio space with a bunch of friends as well, which is awesome and necessary.

The studio is dope. How quickly was that secured upon your arrival back in the rainy city?
I might’ve locked it down even before I moved back. Finn [Westbury] and Mikaela [Kautzky] were in there, so it was really easy. It feels good to have a nice space to go and mess around at… I feel like if you have a secondary place to go that isn’t your home, it can go super far.

Absolutely, breaking the barrier is nice. What’s your summer-time studio schedule like? Are you working on anything right now?
I usually try to come in every day during the week, even if it’s just to do emails or whatever else is popping up at the time. I didn’t really have much going on earlier this summer, so I was trying to make some different stuff for myself, just messing around. I’ve got a couple of things on the docket now, though. I’m working on a new K2 board graphic, so I’ve been spending a bunch of time on that. A little birdy told me there might be another Vans boot colourway on the way as well.

I’d love to hear more about that creative process. Is it a similar approach for designing the board and the boots?
The boot stuff is a little less hands-on. I’ve been looking for different colourway inspirations, so I have a CAD file for the boot, and I’ll throw in some colours from stuff that I’ve seen around that I’m hyped on, and then I’ll send it to the design team, and we go from there. As far as the board goes, I’ve been a lot more involved. I’m doing a lot of ideation and working around with the artwork, logos, placements, all that kind of stuff. What I’m working on is closer to the finished product, and then I’ll send that to our graphic designer, John Cottle. He’s a legend, and he’ll really clean it up as we work through the iterations and hone in.

Iceland 2023 [o] Marcus O'Malley

How did you get into that relationship with your sponsors in terms of design? Was that a natural progression?
I’ve always been one to want to have my own two cents when it comes to feedback. But really, being awarded the opportunity to have pro model gear really lends a hand to actually being able to make something of your own. I’m fortunate enough to be in the mix with a few different brands that still have the ideology that it’s cool to have pros with pro model gear. I never shy away from giving feedback or ideas, and if you’re vocal about that kind of stuff, the brands might notice and start thinking about what other ideas you have. So it kind of just happened that way.

In some of your earliest footage, your segment in Twist, there’s filler of you drawing. Ten years later, you’re designing your own board graphic.
Definitely a bit of a full circle moment. Back then, I wasn’t necessarily thinking that I would be getting these opportunities. I was just doing it because it’s awesome. As time goes on, I’ve been making more stuff for commercial reasons than personal reasons, which is interesting.

You had a brief stint at art school, right?
Pretty brief, for sure [laughs]. I went to Emily Carr during COVID when things were feeling a little slow and scary. I figured that I had extra time, maybe it would be fun to get in the mix with some education. The world just started turning again, I guess, and I didn’t really end up having enough time to juggle both school and snowboarding. I was like, “OK, I’ve got to stick to my one lane here.”

Nosebonk. Cincinnati, Ohio. [o] Marcus O'Malley

Did you enjoy academically approaching art?
It was cool to bring a little bit more professionalism towards making art, but I don’t know [laughs]. Education’s cool, but there are a lot of things that you can learn if you find time and apply yourself.

If it’s working, it’s working. If you’re feeling uninspired and you’re trying to change that, what are you doing?
I’ve been in a rut this summer, actually. I realize that I’m better at coming up with ideas when I’m pressed to make something. When I’m trying to make stuff for myself, I start overanalyzing things. What do I even like? Where do I start? I’ve been reflecting on that a bunch. I’m often bombing around on my bike, headphones on, trying to get to a place and not really taking in what’s going on around me. Lately, when I’m feeling like I need to find some inspiration, I go no headphones, put on some nice shoes, and just start walking. It’s really cool to actually take in your everyday surroundings and see things you didn’t notice before. It could be a tree growing through a fence or some scribbles on the sidewalk.

I have one final inquiry to wrap it up here. Are we going to get a full-size run for this next board or what?
Yeah, we’re going to get more sizes. The Spellcaster was kind of like the surprise welcome graphic, and now I’ve gotten to fully redo it, build a new shape, new inside, new graphic on a new board called: The Copycat. That’ll be my pro board, it’ll be in the line. We’re still starting a bit small on the sizes, I think we have from 139 cm to 153 cm. The following year, we should be able to bump a couple more bigger sizes in there.

Do you have any final remarks, closing words, or worries about the state of the world?
There’s too much to say, so no [laughs]. Thank you to everyone who has supported me and made these opportunities happen.

REMINDER: This piece was printed in 17.3, and rest assured, it's a better reading experience when you can flip through it with your own two hands. Free subscriptions are available for all Canadian addresses here.