VIEW FROM NOWHERE

 The Canadian snowboarding community is vast yet inexplicably small. There are social bottlenecks that serve to unite like-minded people. Those of us that gravitate toward urban snowboarding can feel like a big ol' family—sometimes to a fault. You'll travel across the country to an unfamiliar city, and turning a corner, you'll run into friends without a grain of organization. These impromptu reunions can be a double-edged sword because, on one level, you're thrilled to see familiar faces, but on another, you naturally want to shield them from what your crew has been getting up to. It's almost instinctual to be wary of who you share pins with and be careful posting anything on Instagram that could be used to identify a spot. 

What if we could break down the barriers that create unwarranted tension between crews? What if we could film a video where everyone works together? This idea has been bouncing around for years. It was just never the right time, too complicated, a pipe dream. This past year, something clicked. After years of Covid stagnation, everyone shared the same burning desire to mix things up. It was time. Without the need to clearly state it, we all realized that the chance to link up for a Canada-wide video must be capitalized on. In the end, there were 15 of us locked in: Gregor Zed, Quin Ellul, Taylor Davies, Austin Johnson, Frank Belanger, Phil Couture, Phil Carpienter, Jake Whitburn, Stefan "Taco" Alvarez, Manuel Calvo, Seb Picard, Conner Felix, David Tourigny, Tanner Davidson, and myself. A snapshot of the current generation of street snowboarding North of the 49th parallel, ranging from seasoned vets like Tanner to young rail brutes like David. This video became The View From Nowhere. The view from nowhere doesn't belong to anyone. It's detached from singular experience yet connected. This name rang true when reflecting on what brought many of us together. We all may be looking at the same thing, but we see it differently. —Finn Westbury

a King Snow Film starring ︎ Stefan ‘Taco’ Alvarez, Frank Bélanger, Phil Couture, Manu Calvo, Phil Carpentier, Tanner Davidson, Taylor Davies, Quin Ellul, Conner Felix, Austin Johnson, Seb Picard, David Tourigny, Finn Westbury, Jake Whitburn, Gregor Zed

Supported by ︎Nitro, Vans, Ride, Empire, Salomon, Rude Boys, Jack Links

Filmed by ︎Ulysse Dubé Burelle, Gab Lariviére, JJ Westbury, Matt Bryson

Edited by ︎Finn Westbury