50-50 in Cincinnati, OH. 

Taco Spots | Stefan Alvarez

By Liam Glass

Sometimes when we’re on trips and the budget’s tight, I end up bunking with Taco. Sometimes he tries to cuddle me, sometimes he kicks me in his sleep. Most people wouldn’t be forgiven for interrupting my 11 hours of beauty sleep, but Taco gets a pass for being one of the best people to snowboard with. I probably ride with the guy more than anyone else. He just makes the day better and makes me like snowboarding more. He rides for all the right reasons. He has that energy I had as a kid, where everything about snowboarding gets you excited. The guy is humble to a fault. He wants to make sure everyone in the crew is getting clipped up just as much as hitting his own spot. He might be more stoked on you getting a clip than you are. 

The guy truly loves snowboarding. While most of us are probably complaining or making excuses, he doesn’t even check the weather before heading to the resort—just goes. Whether it’s hiking a pre-season tube, learning to McTwist in June on the stickiest, slowest snow, building a spot in a blizzard, or hitting something that makes my knees hurt just looking at it, he’s always having a good time.

Toronto, ON.

Sure, Taco comes up with some pretty baked ideas. Hitting spots that have no business being hit: no snow, no run-in, physically impossible, or just so scary I’m fearing for his safety. But he usually proves me wrong, and I’m quite happy to be proven wrong. It’s happened so often, I should know better. Maybe I just don’t have the vision. 

Some people are just a good time to be around and Taco is definitely one of those. On and off the board. It’s been a pleasure serving in the trenches with you, Taco.

Switch Boardslide, Toronto, ON.

Liam Glass: You grew up in Surrey, BC?

Stefan Alvarez: Whoa, whoa. North Delta.

My bad, you sound offended. Your stepbrother was a big influence on you and played lacrosse. How did you end up snowboarding?

I copied everything he did as a kid. My first time snowboarding, I put my shoes in his snowboard, rode down our hill, tried to ollie a bush and biffed it. I was hooked and wanted to get my own snowboard. Adam Field at the shop, Coastal Riders, was another big reason I got into it. I bought my first snowboard video from there. Think Thanks’ Cue the Birds, I found out Geno was from Surrey, and it put into perspective that I could be doing that one day. 

What pulled you into snowboarding over lacrosse and skateboarding?

It was the freedom for sure. I was attracted to the idea of snowboarding when, where, and how I wanted. The freedom of no schedule, no rules. The structure of team sports is not for me. 

You’d take the bus all the way to Seymour from Delta?

I started out skating with my homies Luke [Levy] and Eric [Pereira]. Skateboarding is hard, and I kept rolling my ankles. We found snowboarding, and it became an obsession. Our parents would alternate driving us to Seymour. It's such a haul, an hour and a half drive one way, sometimes two-hours with traffic. 

From grade 10 on, we’d take a bus from Delta to the SkyTrain, then take the train to Metrotown, then hop on a bus to North Van, then hop on another bus to the bottom of Seymour and hitchhike up. It would take like three hours one way. It was rough. We’d leave early to make it worth the six hours of travel. Busy transit in snowboard gear on a warm day in Vancouver is my worst nightmare. 

You had to hitchhike up the hill?

There are some sketchy stories from doing that. One guy lost control around a corner, and we almost went over the bank. Luckily we got stuck on the edge of a steep snow bank. Another time we were night riding until 10 p.m. It was dumping snow, and the lot was almost empty, so we were desperate to find a ride. These guys in a Ford Ranger picked us up, but they only had space in the truck bed. The snow transitioned to cold rain, and it was hell. Classic Vancouver rain, absolutely pouring, we were freezing, huddled in the bed of the truck, heads down, shaking, knowing we still had three hours of transit to get through.

Gap to frontboard in Cincinnati, OH. 

Outside of travel, how was it growing up riding Seymour?

I’m grateful I was able to grow up riding there. It holds a special place in my heart. There are natural features everywhere. Back then, the park was amazing, they had a replica of the Red Ledge and the Vermont double-set. The people are what made it truly special. It was always a party up there. The DWD crew was always there ripping. Seeing people like Al Stathis or Hene [Matt Heneghan] from the chair, c’mon. I remember being mind blown as a kid watching those guys board.

Did Heneghan play a part in how you ended up getting on Dinosaurs Will Die?

Definitely, Hene was always so nice. My first memory of him was hiking a feature, hyping me up for a board slide. That got little me so stoked [laughs] I was 12 years old, four feet tall, XL Special Blend pants and a Technine jacket too big for me. Also, Russ Lee used to hook up boards. So I was sponsored by Russ Lee first and the homie Rahim [Dina]. I got to know the Dino family through them. Years later, Jeff [Keenan] and Geno [Sean Genovese] were filming a Dinos video at Seymour, and I was riding with Hene and managed to get a clip. I feel like I was so bad at snowboarding back then, and they were all just so awesome letting me tag along. 

Now you have a Dinos tattoo?

My first tattoo!  My homie just started tattooing and offered to tattoo me for fixing his stove. I wasn’t prepared—I'd never thought about it at that point. I love it though, no ragrets. I'd never get any other brand. Well, maybe Salmon Arms [laughs]. Finn Westbury once asked me, “How much would the contract have to be to leave Dinos?” I said “There's no amount of money that I’d take.” He’s like, “What about a million?” “Fuck no.”

What makes Dinos so special to you? 

Everything about it. It’s a family. Jeff and Geno believed in me before I even did. Geno is the most unselfish person, and Jeff, man, RIP. He’s always been such a big inspo, his constant encouragement, support, and appreciation are unforgettable. His contagious laugh. I’ll never forget him laughing at me for going outside to take a bong hoot in a -40°C Saskatchewan blizzard. “Was it worth it?” he would chuckle as I sat there thawing out. Love you forever, legend. 

So how and why did you move to Alberta instead of somewhere like Whistler?

Whistler is expensive, and I really wanted to film a street part. I knew people filmed in Calgary, and I had this idea of it being a rail mecca—it kinda is. I love Calgary. I’ve met so many amazing people out here, Manu Calvo, Jake Whitburn, Kevin Beaudet, all the homies. There are too many to name. And the long season here, spring is epic, boarding until the end of May. Nothing beats party boarding with the homies.

How did BLP and your foray into filming come to be?

Organically, we wanted to make a video. Jake and I were smoking weed, brainstorming names, and our fried asses came up with Black Lung Productions [laughs]. We ended up finding an HVX for $400 in Banff with two P2 cards which was such a good price at the time. We barely learned how to use it by the time we filmed our first video [laughs]. 

But you're hyped on not having to film and edit everything anymore?

I am and I'm not. I suck at editing for one, so that's good for all of us that I don’t have that responsibility, but I love doing it. I'm grateful for Quin [Ellul] and Jesse [Jarrett], they are fucking magicians with it. Have you ever gone over to their house and watched them edit? It's meticulous work. That’s what I respect the most, they have a true editor's vision. They'll have four different versions of a part chopped up, and I like all of them. But they see it as a whole when I’m just focusing on the tricks. It’s nice to have trust in who’s editing your footy. 

Cincinnati, OH. 

So if you could quit your job, imagine the part you could film, what would that look like for you? Dream spots, dream trip, where would you go? 

Wouldn’t that be nice? I really just want to film a well-rounded part. Good spots, heels through kinks, 270s, walls, ledges, gaps, challenge rails… I just described every Jed Anderson part. I probably don't even know what my dream spot is yet, as long as it’s big and films. I swear that comes from growing up watching THAT and Technine videos. Or Layne Treeter, Stathis and E-man. I really want to go to Japan, Finland and Sweden. Or somewhere rogue that never gets snow, like a freakstorm in Dubai or something.

You really wanted to learn McTwists this year, but you left it until almost the last possible day. How did that go?

Checked one off the bucket list. I tried some at [Holy] Bowly, it haunted me until we went to Parker Ridge in June. Now I want to go bigger and do one with a Japan, that's the big dream.

Since you know how much it sucks to hike and earn your turns, and you have a big boy job. Do you think you'd ever buy a sled and do that shit?

I don’t mind hiking, it’s good for ya, and way cheaper. If I could ever afford one, I would for sure. I'd love to get out in the backcountry. Two years ago, I went surfing for the first time. It definitely gave me a new appreciation for unlimited turns. We might end up moving to the island, so I’ll be exploring Mt. Washington. I’ll also be closer to Squamish and Whistler, so I might have to get a sled. 

Taco gracing the cover of 17.2 with a 5050 in Calgary, AB.

You used to fix household appliances, but now you have moved on to fixing bigger machines. Can you share any appliance wisdom that everyone should know?

Don't buy expensive shit because it isn’t made to last more than 10 years. Buy cheap. They build appliances to sell you parts, and that's half their business. Nothing lasts anymore. It’s sad. Before every dryer load, clean your lint trap or your shit won’t dry. If you live in an area with hard water and your dishwasher sucks, before you start the dishwasher, run the hot water at your kitchen sink until it gets hot. The pre-wash works way better that way. I could go on for hours, dude. Hit me up if your refrigerator isn’t running!

You’ve started golfing, so it's pretty much confirmed that you're old now. How's golfing?

What are you talking about?!

All my friends start golfing when they get older.

You know what I just heard on The Bomb Hole that golf is early onset of being an old head. Guess I’m an old head now. I'll admit, I was such a golf hater, but it’s really fun. One round and I was hooked. You’re always chasing that better score. 

Jake hooked up a pair of clubs. Or a set? Is that what golfers are saying? A set of clubs? Sounds right. I got a set from Jake, who just called me. We're actually going golfing tomorrow. Gonna break 100 [laughs].

You are really good at finding these spots where I think, "There's no way this is going to work." Do you enjoy proving people wrong? I like it when you prove me wrong! 

I don't even think it's that. The amount of times homies have been like, this is fried, like with the wood rail this year. I won't do something unless I can actually visualize it. The closeout on the 16th Ave pedestrian bridge was one of those. Quin was laughing that I wanted to hit it. I built the landing and sent him a photo of it, saying this thing is a go. Then I just sat there on the stairs looking at it for so long. I sat there longer than it took to build the landing, and it was a decent landing. 

5050 to boardslide in Cincinnati, OH. 

I swear, everyone who comes to Calgary has to have driven past it. It's on the Trans Canada Highway. You can't miss it, and most laughed at the idea. From the top, it’s such a scary steep rail, and that road is so busy. Was figuring out the speed weird when the rail is so steep.

It was terrifying, dude. The winch in was fried. I was going so fast. We didn’t build a Iip and I was basically pumping onto the rail because it’s so steep. You're so high up dropping into it, all I was thinking was, make it to the flat, and not on the inside. If you clip, you're falling into that fence one hundred percent.

For such a chill person, you hit some not-so-chill spots, and you've always been somebody who seems to snowboard just because you have fun doing it. You don't check the weather before you go snowboarding. You're just down to go snowboarding. How does doing spring park laps with the homies compare to hitting that rail on 16th Ave or any other scary spot? Are they both just snowboarding for you, or do you get something different out of both?

I appreciate that, but that’s hard to answer. Is it fun or is it something else? Maybe I'm just an adrenaline junkie. Or I’m attracted to the culture of it all. Spring park laps are definitely some of the best days on the board. As far as comparisons to do-or-die spots. I have so much fun snowboarding, I try not to let it stress me out, but the streets can bring that out. There are more variables with the weather, kickouts, no makes, and injury. But that’s the exciting part as well. There’s something so rewarding about filming, it comes with its hardships, but in the end, it’s something you can look back on and be proud of. You share that feeling with your closest friends. Snowboarding is that one thing for me, it's an indescribable feeling.

What's something you wish you had known earlier that would've made life a lot easier now?

Oh, that's a fucking hard-hitting question, Liam. I don't know. Just don't take it too seriously. That's probably the easiest answer. And water is important. Drinking water, to ice shit up, packing dry snow. Water is essential. 

For everything in life. Most controversial snowboard opinion?

I hate the hate, dude. I hate how everyone's a hater. I’m a hater hater. And don't settle for something that's not done properly. I feel hypocritical saying that. You spent so much time building, and you've also taken up a lot of your homie's time. It's like, get one that you are satisfied with. I’m guilty of using some slop, but we live and we learn—it’s not that serious.

Watch Taco and the rest of the Paid Programming crew in their latest offering, Red Ribbon. 

Why do you think you've taken ones that you're not satisfied with?

Probably because I almost died. But at the end of the day, it’s always more satisfying if you’re patient with it. Go back with new energy, get the one you want. That's another dilemma. Sometimes a place like Cincinnati gets snow, and you never know if you’ll have the opportunity to go back. If you have to look at a clip over and over to analyze it, you probably need to redo it. There’s also overanalyzing. We were logging some stuff from Cincinnati, and I would comment on my arm set and Marty [Vachon] brought this up, “You only notice if it's you.” Later, he showed me a clip and I said, “Oh, I fucking love that.” He said the same thing about his arms [laughs]. 

We are our own biggest haters. Anyone you want to thank?

Too many to name. Jeff and Geno at DWD and the Dino family, Nic [Herenga] at Salmon Arms, Gab [Belanger] at Souvenir, Pete [Long] at Modest, Adam and G-man at Timebomb, Stance, Reed [Timmins] at 32, Rudeboys. All the people who helped out with builds and/or held a camera, that includes you Liam, you're the shit. Quin Ellul, Jesse Jarrett at Paid Programming. All the Seymour homies. My family, Bryanne [Papp], Jake Whitburn, Manu Calvo, Kevin Beaudet, Stin [Austin Johnson], Conner Felix, Aaron [Tam], Landy [King], Finn [Westbury], JJ [Westbury], Brett Mills (he wanted to be in a mag), Alex Biel, Marty Vachon, Dan [Bubalo], Mike [Rotsaert], Vinny [Laz], Nae [Jenaya Jenkins], Kim Cote, Tomi, Russ [Lee], Cole Jandrisch, Luch [Babaeb], Kevin Dzah, Mike Modesti, Kalin [Park], Germ [Jeremy Allan], Upper Management. Anyone who has supported or been an inspiration, is this list of people and many more. JKWON FOREVER!