Lessons | Devun Walsh
This is a special one. Devun Walsh is such a popular rider, and still getting consistent media attention. People want a piece of him. Doing a Lessons piece with him is a dream that should have come true sooner. As a rider, Devun's career has given snowboarding so much. He has inspired people's spot selections, trick choices, and style. Riders have been trying to replicate him since Day 1. But what has Devun gotten from snowboarding? Here Devun puts words to some of his biggest lessons taken from snowboarding.
—William Fraser
Mt. Seymour [o] Brad Heppner
Perseverance
With snowboarding, the elements and world around you aren't always on your side, and you need to achieve what you've set out to do. I've taken so many slams and forced myself to get up, hit the jump again, and get that trick. Some of the huge road jumps in my Forum That part are an example of this. When I hit those, especially if I was first, I'd often overshoot them to make 100 per cent sure I didn't land on the road. I worked backwards, taking huge impacts until I was basically tail-tapping the road! It was scary shit! But, with that drive to get it done, you see the shots after, and it feels good. Snowboarding taught me that when things don't go your way, you need to change the way you do things or think on the fly to make it happen. I have experienced this a lot in the construction industry, which I'm currently in. I use that perseverance from snowboarding to think on the fly and work hard at solving issues we constantly have in the construction business.
Organization and Maturity
Traveling all over the world has forced me to grow up. Through 20-plus years of planes, trains, and automobiles, I've learned a lot about handling myself, making plans, and sticking to itineraries. But one big way that I've matured was realizing how dangerous what we do is. It only takes a couple of instances in the backcountry to recognize your vulnerability. I take that safety seriously. I have all my avalanche and first aid courses and plan my backcountry treks. I realized that I had to choose to be more mature and organized if I wanted to succeed at what I was doing and survive doing it.
Patience
Sometimes things don't always go your way, the weather doesn't cooperate, the snow sucks, or you're just having an off day. You need the patience to either wait it out or realize there's always tomorrow. The idea of coming back to get a trick actually drove me. I would want to just nail it next time. This lesson of patience is used often with my kids. Being a parent, in general, needs so much patience as you're constantly being challenged. It can be tough. But, my perspective of tomorrow or waiting it out from snowboarding has really helped me stay positive and calm with my girls.
