WILDCATS | NEXT GENERATION OF DRUNKEN HISTORY

With Charles Reid & Mark Tremblay

Intro with JF Pelchat

Never Say Die

Devun was the originator—the guy that started it all. The backbone of the group. It just grew up from there.

The Wildcats are a crew that loves riding together, partying, traveling, and we’re just really showcasing the other things besides the snowboarding that makes it so great. Back in the day, we would all be filming with different crews and it was always really intense. They wouldn't put anything that looked fun in the videos. It was all perfect, perfect, perfect. Snowboarding doesn't have to always be perfect. Wildcats was a way for us to come back to just having a good time with your friends.

It’s hard for people to relate to snowboarding today. With all the crazy tricks, X Games… it’s scaring people away. We need more attainable riding, having fun while making fun of ourselves. The Wildcats are here for not just the weekend warrior but for everybody. It’s time to show that side of snowboarding again.

Charles Reid & Mark Tremblay, 3rd Generation Cats

I feel like we’re the first generation, then Iikka, Eero, Benji, Mikey… all those guys are part of the 2nd generation. Now we have Mark and Charles hanging out with us, and it was really easy for them to be part of the crew. Easy-going guys, super easy going; both of them are eager to work hard and play hard. Their outlook on snowboarding, their positivity, and always wanting to have fun made it easy.

I went sledding with them one day. They say, "Hey come with us, we found an insane kicker." And I'm like, ‘OK, I'm gonna go look. It was the biggest kicker I've ever seen in the backcountry. Like a Travis Rice kicker. Like 120 feet, and those guys were just charging, going for it. Where I was like, "Holy shit, this is way too big for me."

Charles Reid

I've known Charles Reid for a long time. He was the one to put the drop in my ear and said, "You guys should re-launch a Wildcat movie." The last movie was in 2007, so it's almost a full ten years. I wanted to bring Charles in the project. He's a cool ass dude, man, and rips like crazy. He’s never really had a full part in a movie, so this was his year. He's so well-rounded. He's got insane street, he's got a lot of backcountry, insane backcountry, and also, you know freestyle and powder, so a super well-rounded part, amazing to see.

Mark Tremblay

We started hanging out with him and going on trips and you could see that the kid really wanted it. He’s eager. And me and him, if we party together, we get into some serious trouble. Mark likes to go big. He's got some street stuff, too, but for his first part ever? It's impressive, man, really impressive. He’s totally unknown, and after this movie people will know who he is. He's got a really great part and he goes big.

Growing Up With Cats

Charles: I just remembered, Benji [Ritchie]. Benji is from my hometown, so I always kind of looked up to Benji for sure. I looked up at those guys; they all inspired me to move out West and start something. Obviously, I have always been interested in having a real part and I couldn’t wait for one day to be able to film like this in the backcountry.

Mark: The logo was it, dude. Those Wildcat logos are sweet, I wanted to see them again. I had True Life when I was a kid. Devun was in True Life. He was dope. I’d watch that movie every morning before going boarding. That's how I knew about the Wildcats. The vibe around the crew was pretty cool, too, you know? Partying, not too serious, having fun. That’s what I was into.

Initiation, Changes, First Parts

Charles: JF Pelchat approached us to be the new guys on the crew. They were the crew we grew up watching; it was such a good opportunity for us to try to film. I started competing when I was 17. I spent almost nine years on the pro tour. After the Olympics, I never felt I was an “Olympian.” I was always more on the Wildcat vibe. It was the way I grew up snowboarding— it's more my style. Filming and having a good time and I feel like contests don’t give you much opportunity to be creative.

Mark: I feel pretty lucky. It could have been anyone else filming with these guys, stoked it was me. Getting to ride with all the boys and learn from them. It's been rad. When you're a kid, you used to watch those guys. Now they call you in the morning, "Hey what's up? We’re meeting in the parking lot at 6 a.m.” It's pretty dope that I got here.

Charles: We're both pretty happy with the parts we were able to put together. We're definitely stoked but it's always hard to look at your own footage and be 100 per cent satisfied.

Mark: Yeah, it's a first. It's a first part, right? Next year… next year's another project. So it's just giving us more juice for next time.

Charles: It's gonna come out well, though, and the entire movie is gonna be super dope. So, yeah, we're stoked.

Little Help

Mark: Yeah. They all helped us out a little bit. I went out with Eero and DCP a few days. One of these days there was like a metre of new snow and Eero was giving it on his sled. I was like, "What do you have in your sled?" He was like, "Oh. There's a chip, there's an exhaust…” and he was burning me at every turn. That day he got a shot and I didn't. Just because of his sled skills. He’s such a fuckin’ strong dude.

Charles: They're all pretty much bosses out there. You know, they really know what they're doing and they've been doing it for so long. It’s pretty cool to watch those guys and see the way they do it. They've been doing it for the last 10-plus years now. Obviously, we're the making of a new backcountry generation, so we definitely do stuff differently sometimes. It's pretty funny to bring some new eyes to that crew. We filmed with Brian Hockenstein for a few days, Mark and I. And sometimes he was looking at us like, “What the fuck are you guys doing? That's not how you build a jump.” Everything's brand new filming in the backcountry. It’s what we want to be doing from now on. You’re never gonna get enough experience out there, so I think might as well start it while we're still young and hopefully one day we'll be able to be on the same level as those guys and you know, try to show the next, next, generation.

Mark: Oh, yeah!

Then and Now

Mark: It's just a new generation. I'm stoked on how it is now, but it must have been fuckin’ amazing for those guys back then. It was a fun vibe, but you know, it's just a bit different today.

Charles: I feel snowboarding has changed that's for sure, but we try to keep it to the roots as much as we can. Hopefully we'll do the same as those guys and be able to show people we're fuckin’ killing it and having a good time. People need to understand that snowboarding is there for fun and to be with friends and partying and all that.

Mark: We just gotta keep dream alive. Thanks to JF, Devun, DCP—all those guys for the opportunity and for being able to learn from them.

Charles: Those guys are why we're here. Why we'll be in the movie, and a big part of why we started filming backcountry. Thanks to all those guys.

Wildcats Never Die on iTunes October 27, 2016 | Follow @Wildcats_TheMovie