ALL THINGS SHMOBB | THE SHMARTICLE
By Zack Murray | Printed in Issue 17.3
I met Shmobb the day I moved to Whistler, five winters ago. I ran into Caleb Chomlack and Dash Klebe-McCulloch at the skatepark, where many lasting friendships start, and since then, I’ve been sucked into Shmobbs’ world, shooting photos and videos with the boys the last four winters. I’ve watched as this local crew of rippers began to evolve into the worldwide name they’ll soon be known for. More than just a snowboard crew, they’re a tight-knit group of friends building a chaotic and beautiful life together in Whistler, BC. A life built on mountain days, stacking clips, and doing everything together—on and off a snowboard. Truth Smith, Caleb, Tosh Krauskopf, Lane Weaver, Dashh, Keenan Demchuck, Finn Finestone, Sven Sandahl, and Garrett Baker make up Shmobb. I’m sure the question everyone wants to know isn’t that complicated. It's just…
Watch Shmobb's latest offering: BANQUET a hood classic
Let's start with the basics. What is Shmobb?
Caleb Chomlack (CC): We’re a snowboard crew from Whistler.
Lane Weaver (LW): Shmobb is just a slang word that became a thing. Dash started saying it instead of “mob” because we were putting ‘sh’ in front of every word.
Dash Klebe-McCulloch (DKM): Yeah, we were trying to make a new slang language. Birthed the name [laughs] it’s silly, but it stuck.
LW: And then we just made that the name of an edit, randomly.
Finn Finestone (FF): We had the craziest slang.
CC: The skizzleberry.
Sven Sandahl (SS): Shmoney.
FF: If we're gonna meet somewhere.
CC: We’re Shmobbin.
LW: When you’re boarding with the homies, it’s a Shmobb.
Truth Smith (TS): For a few years, we were thinking, “what’s our actual crew name?” because we thought (Shmobb) was so wack.
FF: When we were trying to change the name, we learned that it doesn't really matter—the crew is what matters.
How did you all meet?
CC: Most of us met at Whistler Valley Snowboard Club. Shoutout Rob, Antoine [Malingrey], and Joe [McAdoo]—the goats.
Keenan Demchuk (KD): Yeah, that’s where I came in. Whis Valley.
DKM: We'd spend Wednesday to Sunday together up on the hill; those were good times.
TS: Lane was a latecomer.
LW: Like, 2018.
TS: The first day we met was at the skatepark.
Tosh Krauskopf (TK): I met most of the boys at a Seymour contest a while back, but I don’t think I met everyone until I moved to Whistler five winters ago.
FF: A bunch of us grew up going to school from Day 1.
TS: Garrett's the latest comer. He’s just really fucking good at snowboarding
Garrett Baker (GB): Yeah, we just met out of nowhere. One pow day, we were randomly at the same spot wanting to build a jump, so we did.
Caleb Chomlack [o] Zack Murray
Keenan mentioned Whistler Valley. Can you explain what it is and how it may have shaped your snowboarding?
TK: When I first heard of it, it was the best snowboard club in the West, probably even Canada.
TS: Whistler Valley is the best thing.
CC: It made us love snowboarding. Antoine taught us that you don't have to do the gnarliest shit, you just have fun on the mountain. He helped us if we wanted to learn, but most of the time it was just boarding with the homies.
Antoine was one of your coaches, right? Who else did you have?
CC: Yeah—the goat.
FF: Sam Weston was our coach for a bit. Then Joe McAdoo. They called it “The Program,” which was the highest level of Whistler Valley that was pushing competition snowboarding. I think Joe is like the Mr. Miyagi of snowboard coaching.
KD: He taught everybody the level that you needed to be at, and what good snowboarding is. Joe is all about how to be proper.
FF: It wasn't all about the gnarliest tricks. It was about basic tricks and building a structure. His thought process was that you don't just rent tricks. Once you have a trick, you gotta know you own it, so you can do it in any condition, on any jump, at any time. Those were big building blocks for us, because, yeah, we can ride the park, but we also are evolving into the backcountry and the street.
CC: He would make you do one hundred back threes before you could even think about a back five.
FF: That was tough, but once you start doing a new trick you've never done before, you realize that those fundamentals matter. Those basic tricks are the most important thing.
Finn Finestone up and over Vancouver. [o] Zack Murray
The Back Story (since 2020)
Since their official formation in 2020, Shmobb has steady been getting after it. They’ve released countless short edits on YouTube, with their first proper video, Hate Us released in 2023. Truth described it as a montage of everything they had created until they were 18. “Caleb just made a really cool, creative edit. It's just a good vibe.”
Heads really began to turn at the World Ski and Snowboard Festival (WSSF) Intersection event; it’s a video-creation challenge designed to push the limits of crews from all winter disciplines, with a short window to film, edit, and submit the best project possible. In 2024, we put together Cops and Shmobbers, filmed by myself, and edited alongside Caleb. Dash produced all the music. No sleds, no budget, and a lot of hard work—we walked away with second place.
Last winter, we stepped it up: The Shmobb Show, edited and filmed by Caleb and myself, premiered at Whistler’s Conference Centre and was awarded ‘Best in Show’ and ‘People's Choice’. I've never experienced an atmosphere like that night. I could barely hear the soundtrack, and it wasn’t just our corner making all that noise; the whole place was going ballistic. Caleb shares, “It was probably the biggest room we'll ever have a premiere in. It was a pretty crazy feeling, especially in a small town.”
When asked about The Shmobb Show, Finn says, “It’s a stepping stone for what we want to make, which is full videos that express what we do and how we do it, with the creativity we all have.” Winning WSSF Intersection in the boys' hometown was a special moment, and a testament that Shmobb isn’t just the boys, but anyone who finds themselves in the general vicinity of their infectious spirit.
Shmobb's winning submission at Intersection 2025.
So what are you working on right now?
CC: We got a movie dropping in November. It’ll be out by the time everyone is reading this
What’s it called?
CC: Our intersection video was called The Shmobb Show. So it's kind of fitting that the movie is called, The Shmovie.
For those who haven’t seen it yet, what should be expected?
TS: It's a video of what we do on a day-to-day basis. Maybe a little bit gnarlier than what we do sometimes.
CC: There's street and side country, but there's also a bunch of funny-ass shit. We hit a rope swing, that was a dream spot.
FF: We wanted to bring back the rebellious side of what snowboarding was. We grew up watching The Wildcats and all that stuff. Obviously, we're not doing stuff that's going to be harming anyone.
CC: But pretty close [laughs] It’s more than just snowboarding. It’s entertainment, culture, and memories—stuff that we can look back on.
You’ve made The Shmovie, so what’s next?
CC: I feel like our dream is to just travel and film together and make more videos. A lot of us are still going to be competing and doing all that stuff, which is super rad, but we just want to be able to film and ride with each other.
FF: A full project.
CC: Snowboarding as a whole has lost the full-length movie, in a sense. People are still doing it, but it's hard. That's why everyone's pumping out these 10-15 minute edits.
FF: We see other crews driving around in vans, working hard, but also enjoying their time together; getting clips, getting clip high, and creating a project that they're all proud of. It’s pretty special.
The crew's first full length project, title "The Shmovie."
How about five years from now? Do you guys think we’ll still be filming videos?
FF: By then, I think it's gonna be second nature. That's the goal, bang out stuff as a group and also maybe solo projects.
LW: Everyone's gonna work on themselves individually, for sure. A couple of us are gonna be at The Olympics.
GB: I kind of want to dip my toes into some freeride comps.
CC: How about you, Keenan, five years?
KD: Well, we'll have our house in Kaden Wood, the boujee neighbourhood in Whistler. Plus, all this budget [laughs].
LW: Helicopter to AK.
KD: Hopefully, we’re at a place where we can just keep doing it.
TS: If we get to ride together and have the same fun that we did when we were 10 years old—that's kind of the dream.
You guys are headed in the right direction. What about the near future? Does anyone have their eye on any legendary spots?
TS: Perfect jump.
LW: Forum step-down.
TK: I’ve got legendary spots that have never been done up north, and I’m going to put them on the map.
KD: We talk about Air Jordan every time it snows.
GB: I hit Air Jordan, but I can't claim it. I fully stopped.
ZM: Anyone else hit it?
GB: Caleb Golls.
CC: The goat of Whistler dude, nobody knows it.
FF: So elusive.
CC: He knows Whistler like the back of his hand; it's insane.
TK: Outside of Whis, I’d like to get to the Mount Baker road gap.
They finally hit Air Jordan in "Together," last year's Intersection winner.
I want to see that. Where else does everyone hope to board? I'm sure there will be some Shmobb trips in the future.
CC: Finn had the idea to go to Japan and then just wait and see if South Korea gets snow
FF: We can't launch that.
TK: Smithers.
SS: Riks in northern Sweden.
TS: Svens homeland, and Scandinavia.
TK: I’ve spent quite a bit of time in Australia, and I’m always scoping and putting pins on spots there.
How does everyone afford to snowboard, travel, and make a movie? It’s expensive to live in Whistler.
CC: We’re working all summer and sometimes in the winter. Now we have clothes and a new website. Shout out to Najade for making that, it’s insane.
TS: Shmobb.ca.
CC: More coming.
TS: Gibbons gave us money, which was super dope. So we're starting to find some new supporters. The money's just being reinvested into our project.
CC: Our passion project.
Who’s making the clothing?
CC: I'm doing all the designs, and Tosh is doing all the technical stuff.
TS: He’s messaging everyone.
CC: Getting the right fabrics, and doing all the hard stuff.
Garrett Baker [o] Isami Kiyooka
Is there anyone else that you would like to work with to bring these ventures to life?
CC: King Snow should sponsor our movie next year.
TK: YETI. They got the best shit, and I feel we would all be finer from having some sort of YETI products in our lives.
FF: A snowmobile company.
TK: Boys need sleds.
CC: Monster. Red Bull.
GB: An airline company for some travel budget.
TK: A tuffy or winch brand.
TS: RBC.
FF: Vehicle company.
CC: Like Audi or Canada Dream.
TS: Whistler Housing Authority [laughs]. If you want to buy into our stock, that's what we're saying.
You guys have any notable Shmobb moments? Anything crazy that's gone down?
CC: This one time, Truth was towing us with his mom's truck, and he decided to drive onto the local soccer field at the school.
FF: On 5 cms of snow.
TS: I didn’t think anything of it, though; it was a harmless thing.
FF: It was chill drifting. It was safe.
CC: And there was no fence.
KD: Some Facebook mom made a post with photos of us.
TS: They were like, “We’re gonna find you.” They wanted to match our tracks to the car and find the one that did it. I thought I was about to go to prison.
CC: Truth was stressing.
FF: The field had drift tracks all the way through to the grass.
CC: The cops ended up being hella nice.
TS: I went to the cop station, and they're like, “Dude, why are you here?” Then they drove me back to school.
Some of you guys went to Low Maintenance this year. How was it?
LW: One of the best events in snowboarding.
TS: Had a party at Baldface. Took a 2 a.m. sauna. That was pretty funny.
GB: Truth rang the bell.
CC: Did you buy everyone drinks?!
TS: No, I didn’t know what I did.
GB: If you ring the bell at Baldface, you have to buy everyone a round. Truth didn’t know that [laughs]. The look on his face when Estelle [Pensiero] told him that you have to buy a round of drinks for everyone, he just went white.
TS: Shoutout Baldface for buying the tequila! I also hit a blindfolded bullseye, but no one filmed it.
GB: Everyone was dancing, and then out of nowhere, Truth just steps back from the dartboard, covers his eyes, and whips the dart as hard as he can. Hits a bull’s eye first try.
CC: You cannot make that up.
[o] Ben Girardi
Do you guys want to shout-out anyone else before we wrap this up?
TS: As a crew, shoutouts are definitely to Whistler Valley and all of our coaches.
SS: Gibbons.
TS: Our families, for giving us the opportunity to live here.
LW: Gibbons Après Lager.
TS: Anyone who’s shown support.
CC: Our friends, siblings, girlfriends, and each other.
FF: Shoutout Mitchy Davern for taking that cup of water.
TS: Shout out to our 1,754 YouTube subscribers.
CC: Air Hole for that mask they made us; our first collab with a legit company.
TS: Ben Masterson and Nakama.
WRAP-UP
Shmobb is next up. They’re an electric crew full of new ideas and drive, making their name known in Whistler beyond their snowboarding. They’re involving the community and bringing people together for the friendships and moments that last longer than a day on the hill. They’ve partnered with Gibbons Whistler and now have a space to bring the community together. They host parties at the local club Garfs, showcasing their videos, sharing the stoke, all while providing a space for local creatives to share their work and connect with others. Finn says, “Partying has always been a part of the culture. I think that combining it in a safe environment, especially with the help of Gibbons, has facilitated bringing people closer to the sport.”
In addition, Shmobb collaborated and hosted a women’s ride day this past season called "Creating Space." When asked about the event, Caleb shares, “The ride day we did was super rad. Riz [Stewart] at The Circle had this idea to do a women's ride day to get more girls in the park and help them not be afraid to get out there and go for it. We really didn't do much. We filmed it and were there to hype people up”.
Looking ahead, they want to host their own contests and get more people riding together. Truth drove home the fact that they “want to show people that snowboarding is just about having fun. It’s not as serious as people make it out to be.”
I asked a few local legends for their thoughts on Shmobb, and I got solid answers. Craig McMorris shares, “What I love about Shmobb is they're trying to leave it a better place than they found it. Everything they do, they want to involve people. They want it to be fun. They want it to be inclusive.”
I couldn’t agree more. When I asked Chris Rasman, “Who is Shmobb?” he returned with an even simpler answer, “The future.”
