THE KING SNOW MOVIE | TOMMY VAN • FULL PART + INTERVIEW
Tommy's brand of snowboarding is easy to watch and difficult to replicate. Spots, trick selection, style–this part is a triple threat.
THE KING SNOW MOVIE Available Now
How important is the crew and what was good with the people you filmed and travelled with this winter?
The crew can make or break a trip. Luckily our crew was dynamite. What impressed me the most about our crew is how efficient we became. Every night we’d devise a game plan for the next day. We were up early, packed lunch and wouldn’t finish building spots until late. Rinse. Repeat. Like a well-oiled clip machine.
Who impressed you this winter?
I always knew Maria [Thomsen] was good, but being in the streets with her and seeing firsthand the tricks and spots she was hitting made me realize just how psycho she is.
Where does the motivation come from to film a part you can be proud of?
Before I start filming for a project, I already know what I want my part to look like. I’ll set the bar pretty high, for better or worse, because I know what I’m capable of. I think every snowboarder is inherently chasing that perfect part, and the pursuit can drive you crazy.
What’s your take on full-length videos? It seems like what we’re doing is something that doesn’t really happen like it used to?
Yeah, man, I guess people don’t have the attention span anymore. Growing up, if you or a friend got their hands on a new snowboard movie, you’d invite the whole gang to watch it. It felt like more of an event, and I hope we don’t lose that.
“The way he saw stuff, the way he did stuff, that was really cool to be a part of. He’d be very selective of what he’d hit, but when Tommy bit onto something, it was going to look perfect.” —CRAIG McMORRIS
Any highlights to share from the hunt for clips this winter?
Early March, Bryce [Bugera], Seb [Judge] and I drove to Quesnel/Williams Lake, BC, to get some last-minute clips for the movie. We were pretty desperate, but the spots and snow were minimal. Morale was low, so we did what street snowboarders do best—we started Google Earthing. We were sitting in a trappy motel room scouring the surrounding area for hours when Seb found an abandoned race track on Google Earth. It didn’t look super promising until he pulled up a random YouTube video of an old race on the track. He precisely paused the race and in the background there was some glorious steel. We pulled up the next day, and sure enough, there were like three perfect spots and tons of snow. The spot drought was over. Bryce and I each got a clip, and we got the hell out of there.
