12 | SHORT FILM

12 is a project put out by Vinny Laszlo, an Ontario snowboarder. He is a great guy and this is his first project. It features Mike Shoreman, Andrew Perry, Quin Ellul, Jordan Stever, Ben Roberts, Vinny Laz, and Grayden Stewart. You can read all about his inspiration for the project below. The interview is short, but it adds a good perspective, kinda like the prologue to a book.

Photos by Vinny Laszlo

Questions by William Fraser

What inspired 12? Any photographers, friends, or artists that acted as a mood board for it?

A big inspiration for the project was the Ontario board scene I got to witness while riding Dagmar Ski Resort. Apart from that, Pocket Figures was and still is my favourite crew to watch, those guys are snowboarding for me. Colter Heard and Joel Vachon always killed it on the video side, and the boarders are just style gods. Another big inspo was last year's Dustbox video, our crew must of watched it over one hundred times. Dustbox was a big mood for the entire Winter.

How long did you work on the project?

We filmed the entire project in 12 days! I had a jam-packed Winter. I was going to school full-time and had two part-time jobs on the side. My schedule was psycho. On top of that, last year we didn’t really get any snow on the ground, so our options were pretty limited. But, we made up for it during both of my reading weeks by booking a couple Airbnb’s and assembling a solid crew that made it happen! 

Where was it all filmed?

We spent six days freezing in Sudbury, Ontario, and another six in the beautiful city of Montreal, Quebec. 

What kinda spots do you look for?

Our favourite kind of spots are the ones that you can show up to and just ride. Those are always a good time. Finding spots that match the rider’s character is also huge. I find if you’re hyped to ride it, the odds are the shot is going to turn out that much better. 

What pushed you to wanna make this project?

I finally bought an HVX, so hyped!!! Shout out to the homie Ryan Brough for selling me his camera and a 32gb P2 card for $400!! What a gangsta. We can all thank him for this project. 

Do you have a funny story from the season you can share? 

On our last day in Montreal, it was a straight up blizzard, just absolutely dumping outside. So, we made it a down day and the crew split up. Some of us walked around with our boards, riding fun spots, while Mike and Jordan drove into the city to get some new ink. 

Mike has a 1991 Ford pickup that’s 20ft long. The thing is a pain to drive in the narrow and sketchy roads of Montreal. But, they started trekking along. And, in the first intersection, BAM!  His truck collides with the side mirror of the car beside him. In classic Quebec fashion, the other driver doesn’t get out of his car, he just rolls down his window and pops his mirror back into place while shouting some French slurs at this big old truck. 

Not a solid start to their day, but they keep trekking. They are driving for a little when along comes another driver, who swerves into their lane and comes to a complete stop right as the light turns yellow. Mike, thinking he was going through, had no time to stop! He swerved onto the middle island and managed to break just before smashing a light post. Another close call.  

At this point, the boys are pretty over it and just want to get off of the roads. So, they pulled into a plaza that just happened to have a tattoo parlour. They walked in, pretty defeated, but the mood lit up when they noticed an Ojo sticker on one of the artist's bottles. The artist, JM Lajoie, happened to be a long-time friend of Dillon's. Mike and Jordan were tripping, and JM was obviously hyped that we were on a snowboard trip. They exchanged stories, the guys both got inked by JM, and then they came back to the Airbnb completely lit up. It’s funny how life will take you exactly where you need to be, even if it’s not where you’re headed. 

Say I wanna move to Toronto, what's the best part about the Ontario snowboard scene?

Ontario is a unique place to ride. There are no Mountains, just rolling hills with fake snow and slow chairlifts, but, somehow, I love it and can’t seem to get enough. There must be something romantic about riding a shitty little ski resort. I think it helps you realize how much you love snowboarding. Aside from that, there is the people. The friends I’ve been able to make and the experiences we’ve all had are amazing. I wouldn’t trade it for the world - absolutely priceless. Major shoutout to the bosses Matt Deer and Rob Madill. Those two really take care and pay attention to our snowboard scene. They’re honestly the best.

To see a full film photo recap of Vinny's season, click this link. It has some really good shots of those Ontario boarders.