<Part XNUMX>Then, the original snowboard that I developed to realize the ideal snowboarding that I envision.And I mainly listened to the story about the movie "PURE JAM" that I produced.The second part of the interview focuses on Takaharu Nakai as a snowboarder.
Photo: Tsutomu Nakata
* This article is a special release of the interview article published in the December 2019 issue of FREERUN magazine (released on November 11) as "STAY HOME" special content.
SN OW BOARDER'S LIFESTYLE
"Don't think that the values of the contest are all about snowboarding."
-It seems that you are doing a school at "Sapporo Bankei Ski Area" in the off-season. What is it like?
Jump lessons are the main.It's not exclusively for kids, but jumping lessons are all for kids.However, there is a zone where you can do free runs with a length of 50m and a width of about 20m, so we have devised a pylon arrangement so that you can practice free runs.Make it a difficult arrangement so that you have to sharpen it with deep carving or turns.Anyway, I want you to be good at snowboarding, and I teach you to convey it.In winter, we also divide backcountry tours and first skiing sessions into adults and children.
-Are there any new discoveries by sliding with the general public?
It's fun to skate together.I'm glad that I'm like myself when my advice clearly changes the slip.Before, I didn't want to be proactive, but now I understand the importance of talking and communicating.For example, if you explain your board directly, they will understand the goodness of the board, and the next time you meet, they will buy it.Then, I'm enthusiastic about teaching how to ride, and he's getting better.Besides, I can understand that I am also needed by the manufacturer because there are ordinary people.I used to take it for granted that I would get this much money because I did this much, but I don't think that's a good idea.When I was young, I think it's okay to do indirect promotion by doing great things and having them watch in movies and magazines.But now I'm at the stage of pursuing style, which can only be communicated through direct promotion. Speaking of SALOMON, young children should mainly do shooting and competitions, and I need to be proactive and in direct contact with them so that I can improve the brand called SALOMON as much as possible. I think.Since I've been snowboarding for a long time, I think there is a part where you can feel the persuasive power that young children don't have.I'm starting to realize that it's not bad, maybe it feels good to move like that.
-Looking at the current Japanese snowboarding scene, do you have an image or something you would like to convey more like this?
It's the same with making things, and even at events and lessons such as "R JAM" that are made with the cooperation of friends, I understand that we have to look at children who will be active in the future as a sport. increase.But I want adults to like to slip.example
For example, if the parents are barely slipping and lying sideways during the child's lesson, but if the person or the person in the industry who supports the child goes to slip if there is a chance, everything will be fine. I think it will be connected.Right now I'm saying "I don't want to fly", but in reality, if you find an event where adults who like to fly can fly safely, a backcountry tour for the general public, or if you find a way to enjoy it, you can snowboard all the time. Will continue.As a result, I think the Japanese scene will improve, so I hope everyone, both children and adults, will like snowboarding.
-In the commentary on the Pyeongchang Olympics, the ease of understanding and familiarity was quite popular.What I was careful about in order to balance the communication in an easy-to-understand mannerWhat was it like?
From the player's point of view, I tried not to judge that "this guy has a bad style and is cool".It's up to the viewer to decide, so erase your taste and look flat, and even if the shape isn't your taste, stick to not just grasping it, but adding your own style. If you're a rider, I'd like to say, "This is a style, I'm particular about it."After that, I tried not to use difficult words, but to explain in simple words as much as possible so as not to speak unnecessary things.Because our usual conversation is like "Yabe, it feels good, it's the best".
-You yourself participated in the Salt Lake and Turin Olympics as a half-pipe player. Looking back on those days and the previous Pyeongchang Olympics, how do you feel about the changes in the snowboarding scene?
The difficulty of the trick is different, but I think the players have the same passion for "let's do it!".I didn't feel a millimeter of negative elements.For the children who are working hard to face the Olympics, I wanted them to have a really good slide.But I don't want you to stop snowboarding even if you don't get results there.I hope the Olympics are not the final point, but the one in the middle of enjoying snowboarding.Everyone has been fighting against themselves for four years, and that one day is over ...
-Can you tell us what you want to tell young snowboarders today about the differences between Olympic-like competitions and movie scenes and lifestyle snowboarding?
The contest is good, but I think snowboarding is a big part of the culture, so don't think that the world values of the contest are all about snowboarding.If you have 10 snowboards, I don't think you've practiced for the Olympics in 5 of them.If you want to continue working as a professional snowboarder, you should broaden your horizons, and if you have the opportunity, skate with people and customers of a generation higher than you, or do whatever you have the chance to do. I think it's good.Otherwise, if you can't win the tournament, you'll lose your passion and stop snowboarding.Actually, the reason I've been able to go professional for a long time is because I wanted to enjoy snowboarding altogether, so I think I've been connected to this point.
In the younger generation, Danny Davis does both competition and filming.When you ask a young child a cool rider, Danny's name comes out.They may say that it's cool just to look at the style and how to slide, but I think the way to approach snowboarding also appears in the style.So, if I was only aiming for the Olympics, I wouldn't even notice the fun of free-running, and I could only judge by hitting a double or something like "I'm in good shape today, I'm not in good shape" in the morning public practice. It ends up.But after all, when it snows, I'm swaying and saying, "Go skiing," because that's snowboarding.I want you to broaden your horizons and enjoy all of snowboarding.
THE FUTURES OF SNOWBOARDER
"I want to continue to be a rider so that people can say" I'm a professional snowboarder "."
-Tell us what kind of snowboarder you want to aim for in the future?
I want to keep slipping all the time, and I want to be a rider in the sense that I can eat as a snowboarder.For that purpose, I want to pursue making things that I can do and convey the fun. "Let's go to that person who explained the Olympics once" may be a chance to like snowboarding, and I think it will be my weapon.Anyway, I would like to do my best as a rider so that I can understand the meaning and necessity of what I am doing, and continue to enjoy snowboarding.It would be nice if I could keep doing it with the feeling that "I'm having the most fun" (laughs).
-I think you've paved the way for the next stage of snowboarders, but now that you're 35, what do you think is important for you to continue to live on snowboards?
Perhaps our generation is the first generation to be tested to see if it can pave the way.I'm just trying to see how much I can eat on a snowboard.It doesn't matter if it's something other than slipping, so I'd like to make full use of what I've experienced with snowboarding and continue doing things related to snowboarding.I don't know how much I need to make things now, but
Taking advantage of the board making that I learned at SALOMON, I would like to create my own brand in the future like Mr. Tamai (Taro) of GENTEM, or create a guide company like Mr. Tomoki Takaku to convey the charm of snowboarding.Therefore, I think that commentary is also a job in that sense.But I don't like being called a "former snowboarder" so I want to continue to be a rider so that people can say "professional snowboarder".I think that I have to bring out my own color properly, so I'm thinking that only I can do it.If you are aware of "to convey the fun in an easy-to-understand manner" that other people have not pursued so much, the brand may continue to need you, and you can propose it to ski resorts to create parks and events. It may be planned and adopted.To be honest, I haven't decided on a clear answer myself, so I'm groping for various things.Other than that, I asked a reliable guide to do a backcountry tour that I participated in as a rider with my friends.I think I should try various things to determine if I can continue for a long time and continue with what remains.However, if there are few options to try, the range of choices will be narrowed, so I would like to try whatever I wanted to do at least once.
-As a snowboarder, do you have a vision for the future as a rider or want to master this next time?
There is always.On the contrary, I don't slip without thinking.Even when I'm free-running on the slopes, I feel like I'm always searching for how to step on and handle the board.I'm always thinking about finding a comfortable line and whether I can slide as I imagined I wanted to slide at that time.Whether it's a jump or a line, it depends on the conditions, but the point is to judge the board.Roughly speaking, can you get on the board or not?Jumps are running out of growth, but you can do it without risk when it comes to handling boards.That's why I always think, "It worked today, it didn't work today." Ue, who is 10 years old and older, is enjoying it as well.I'm pursuing slipping while having fun for myself, and I'm also very particular about making things, and seeing that kind of figure makes me feel better.In that sense, Mr. Ue has the most respect and admiration in Japan.The rest is Mr. Tamai.I've only spoken a few times, but that person is close to his ideal image.I would say this with only information from the outside, but I think it's a successful business while continuing to run the brand by reading ahead and shaping it as intended.Snowboard and surf for the best timing, go fishing or take your kids abroad and skate together.I seriously enjoyed and pursued boarding even before I started snowboarding. Twenty years after GENTEM started, it became a business.I'm just thinking about it, but I think I wasn't thinking of doing business from the beginning.I wanted to make something that I wanted to ride, and I was able to do it and spread it, and now I have it.Even when I'm talking about making things, I feel like I've been thinking for a much longer time than I am, and they answer whatever I ask.So I wish I could be like that too.In the end, like Mr. Tamai, eat food for what you like, do your favorite surfing, and snowboard when it snows.But not only that, but there are also different parts that I came up with, so mix them.It's not the neo-classic I mentioned earlier, but I hope it will take on a new shape.
-Finally, what is Nakai's idea about snowboarding?
This is the most difficult.Hmm ... I'm crazy about it.That may be true for surfing, but I can't think of snowboarding time other than snowboarding.I forget about things I don't like, and I can't think of anything.I think it's natural that I have to go when it snows.It's the same as climbing because there is a mountain, and I go skiing because it's winter.Your body reacts on your own, doesn't it?It's been 25 years since I realized it ... I've been doing that all the time.
Takaharu Nakai T akaharu N akai
Born March 1984, 3.Born in Kutchan, Hokkaido, currently living in Sapporo. Since he was a teenager, he has been active in the halfpipe contest scene and participated in the Salt Lake and Turin Olympics.In addition, he has left numerous parts in domestic and overseas video productions such as RED EYES FILM, 10SAMURAI, STONP, HEARTFILMS, and has always been a leader in the Japanese snowboarding scene.At the Pyeongchang Olympics, he explained and expanded the range of activities, and in recent years he has planned a terrain session event "R JAM", lessons for the general public, tours, product development, etc., and conveyed the appeal of snowboarding to many people. There is.This season, we released "PURE JAM", a movie containing pure sessions with friends.I still face slipping every day to master mountain freestyle.
SPONSOR: SALOMON, VOLCOM, REVOLT, TOKO, REDI, MSR, Segawa Farm, STANCE SOCKS (Ambassador)
Go My Way.
– TAKAHARU NAKAI NTERVIEW – END.
The next interview will be the undisputed Japanese freestyler "Masuda Ryoki".looking forward to!
