Words and photos: Ted Borland
What can I say about Phil that hasn’t already been said? Well, kind of a lot. Nobody except those close to Phil know much about him, besides the fact that he rips on both a snowboard and a skateboard. Because of those talents, I decided to make a film about Phil. I also thought it would be sick to celebrate the idea of him filming snowboarding and skateboarding in the same video because, why the fuck not? There’s this stigma about snowboarders who skate to not mix the two too much. Maybe it’s another thing that Shaun White ruined for us, who knows. But anyway, Phil’s had parts on Thrasher and parts on SNOWBOARDER. Both activities have been ingrained in his blood, and it would be impossible to tell his story without including both. I’m excited for everyone to see what we’ve been cooking up.
Ultimately, I hope “Philm” will give everyone an idea of what it’s like to be Phil. For now, here’s a few fun facts to catch you up to speed a little bit.
- Everyone thinks Phil is from the Northwest because that’s kind of where he started making a name for himself. The truth is that he’s from ‘Rado.
- Phil’s first appearance in a video was for the skate shop “Brother’s Boards” in Denver. His best clip was a boardslide on a 13 stair. He was 7 years old.
- Phil started snowboarding when he was 10. He started because he was skating vert with former pro snowboarder/pro roller skater Jimi Scott, who taught him how to do a Mctwist. After that, Jimi offered to teach him how to ride on snow.
- Of all of Phil’s interesting nicknames, the first one that stuck was “Phildora” because of a fedora he used to wear when he was 15.
- Phil was offered a full-ride scholarship to an engineering college, but turned it down to move to Washington to pursue snowboarding.
- His pro skate part for Lib Tech was filmed while he was homeless in Seattle.
- Phil claims that he “hates movies,” but if you bring a random one up in
conversation around him, it’s likely he’s watched it recently. - Phil walks like he’s about 80 years old and looks like he could crumble at any moment. But he can walk like that to the skatepark and immediately grind the biggest rail.
- He still sleeps with his baby blanket.
- Last year he rode street the whole year on a (broken) directional pow board with a stance set back 3 inches.
- Phil got drunk once this fall and pulled a fire alarm. (Sorry, Ben.)
- If you ordered any Bomb Hole gear this fall, Phil may or may not have shipped your order for you.
- Phil’s a good dude and has a big heart for anyone around him, or anyone who shares the same feelings about boarding.
Watch the teaser for "Philm" here.