Congrats on turning pro! How does that feel?

Crazy. I don’t know. Do I deserve to be pro? Maybe I do and maybe I don’t but I don’t really care. I’m happy to make the switch. I didn’t want to be stuck somewhere where I couldn’t grow as much and Rome wants me to grow and be the person I want to be.

How did the switch come about?

I was doing an internship at 686 and Brent—who is the marketing and social media dude, runs the whole show, he’s the man—just suggested it to me. I started having a conversation with Matt Stillman over the summer and, next thing you know, we were just talking about what we could do and the opportunities they could present me, and how I could just grow and be the individual I want to be. It just went from there. I was like, this is kind of natural with just being from Vermont, and Waterbury where Rome’s headquarters are. So, kind of full circle, crazy. It just felt right. Change is good. 

I was about to ask that. Does it feel a little extra special being a Vermont kid?

It does feel a little extra special because I think, this is pretty true to my roots and where I grew up. Rome was so big in Vermont, and it still is so big in Vermont. It was the coolest brand back in the day, everyone was riding Rome boards. It’s coming back, it’s just the first domino and people are going to fall for it.

I feel like a lot of people first heard of you through How Dark Blue Feels, which is primarily a jib video, but last year you pretty much filmed only backcountry. Why make that switch from jibbing to backcountry?

The first two years of trying to do it, to film street and get real footage I was just really focused on filming good street parts. I don’t know if they are actually good, but there are two that I’m pretty psyched on. And then the next two years I was like, I’m going to ride backcountry and really focus on that. I’ve always just liked riding everything that’s in front of me, regardless of whether it’s a jib or a halfpipe or whatever. It’s fun to board on everything and not be like, Oh I’m just a backcountry rider or, Oh I’m just a jibber. It definitely gets set in my moods. I didn’t jib as much this year but then you boys came to Reno, and I was like, dude jibbing is the shit. And I lose my shit again. I’m like, Dude I’m so into it again. All I want to do is listen to rap music and jib [laughs].

A lot of the time you see A.T.V. riders, in their parts, have combinations. There are street clips mixed in with pow clips. I’m thinking of people like Sam Taxwood or Parker Szumowski. But I don’t really see that a lot in your riding. When you put out a part it’s sort of all in. You’re all in on jibbing or you’re in the backcountry going all in and you end up filming a backcountry part. Is that a conscious thing and does that exclusivity help you? Or is that just something that happens coincidentally?

I think it was just something that happened. It’s pretty hard to get tapped into crews and get in on backcountry trips and street trips. I feel like if I just put my time into learning how to do this shit, learning how to do the street stuff and backcountry stuff, then in the years to come I’ll be able to film the part I’ve always wanted to film, with ender street footage and ender backcountry footage just put together. I’m working towards that. I think I’m getting close to filming the part I want.

So, what have you been up to this year then? I know you’ve been traveling around.

Beginning of the season, just started in Tahoe, hanging out. Went up to Baker with the homies for like two and a half weeks which was insane. All iPhone clips, no cameras. After that, I went to Europe for three weeks with the Rome crew: Stale, Martin, Devin, and Max. Then I came back to Tahoe to do some stuff for a 686 video we’re working on. Got to film in California, Tahoe area which was pretty special. Stuck around there for a bit and now I’m on another trip for the 686 video.

Is there a Rome video coming out?

There’s a Rome video coming out.

How’s that been going?

I got some clips. We went to Europe for three weeks, got some clips there. I know they’re stacking clips in the streets with the street crew. Hopefully, we can do another trip later this season and just tie a knot in it and make a nice little short-length video for people to watch and get excited about Rome Snowboards.

I have to ask, since you’re now pro, is there a board coming, or is that top secret?

Top secret. 

Anything else you want to say?

Probably just, thanks for all the support I’ve gotten from all my friends. Making the transition from Ride to Rome was definitely not the easiest mentally. But it was something that needed to happen to allow myself to grow. I’m just so honored to have the backing from Ride and have the people and connections I’ve built over there. Those are some friendships that I’ll keep forever and I still love Ride and they’re the shit. I just have a lot of respect for the company that has helped me and brought me to this point. Now I’m just excited to grow with Rome and go to the next stage and grind even harder.