Go My Way. – Interview with Makoto Masuda <Part XNUMX>-"I feel the essence of snowboarding learned from the people I met and go my own way"

Photo: Tsutomu Nakata

In <Part XNUMX>, how did you arrive at your current style?I also heard stories about his own commitment and the roots of the field.The second part of the interview focuses on activities and lifestyle topics during the season.

* This article is a special release of the interview article published in the December 2019 issue of FREERUN magazine (released on November 12) as "STAY HOME" special content.

LAST SEASON

"It was nice to leave a picture and the feeling of facing snowboarding during shooting."

-What kind of movement did you start last season (2019/2020)?
Until February, there was a line I was aiming for at one spot in Niigata.It's the southern slope of the collapsed terrain, but it's a long slope that is quite steep and the terrain is bumpy.Snow dies early in February in Niigata, but if you climb a little higher, the snow will be fine.There were days when I climbed on a split and checked the condition by myself, and if it was good, I slipped on the powder and faced the slope.Sometimes I went with Ryo-kun (Ryo Ishizaka) at the right time.Go on a mobile or walk up a bit for split training on bad snow days.It feels better to always be in the mountains than to go to the ski resort, so I often walked in the mountains of Niigata in the first half of the season.

-You were shooting in Hokkaido with Nakai in the latter half of the season, right?How was the session at that time?
After all, when I slip with Nakai-kun, I get aggravated in various parts and I feel very motivated.It's been a while since I've been shooting, and I haven't been shooting so hard so I thought I had to leave something behind.This year, I think that he was seriously working on shooting with the feeling that people around him were looking for.More than ever (laughs).

-Please tell us about the shooting atmosphere of PURE JAM.
I myself will appear in the movie for the first time in a long time, so I think I had to be enthusiastic and leave the video firmly.The shooting period was short, less than a month, but I went up to the mountains almost every day.Even on bad weather, I decided to do it in the woods, which is not so affected by visibility, and if I went to the mountains for the time being, I would leave at least one cut a day.I was able to reaffirm that it feels so good to leave a picture and the feeling of facing snowboarding during shooting.Looking back at the footage I took that day, as the cuts accumulated, I began to imagine the specific contents of the part.It's fun too.I'm more motivated to snowboard than ever before.If you find one spot during shooting, it feels like everyone will hit alternately. It was good that PURE JAM was able to shoot with the same vibes because there was only a session theme.Nakai-kun does skating and surfing, so the style is a little different, but there are places where he feels the same smell.It's fun to shoot with such close people.It's not all, but I think it's good that the directions we're looking at are the same.

Ruiki puts inspiration from surfing and skating into snowboarding.This cut can be left because there is a different movement and spot view from the rider who only snowboards Photo: Tsutomu Nakata


MY LIFE STYLE

"I want to express myself in lifestyles other than snowboarding."

-What kind of rider does Ruiki want to be in the future?Did you get married and have children and have any changes in your lifestyle?
I want to ride sideways for the rest of my life, even after my contract as a rider is over.I wanted to ride on the board until I could.With that in mind, I wonder how old I can be as a rider.Now that there are a lot of young guys out there, I don't think my current situation will last long.I haven't given up, but I'm thinking about the future, and I used to think that it would be nice if I could live on snowboarding now.I still want to be honest.But I'm not single with my wife and children, and I can't live without earning money in addition to the contract money.Recently, I've been working as a fisherman in the off-season because I need to save money considering my children.In Shizuoka, where I live, shirasu fishing is popular from March to mid-January, and shirasu is a specialty of Shizuoka prefecture.Even if I can only snowboard, I can't live my life, and although I'm a snowboarder, I want to express myself in a lifestyle other than snowboarding as an artist.There are many ways to express people who are amazing people doing various things.Play the guitar, draw pictures, take pictures and photos.Snowboarding is not a sport, it's a freestyle world, so I think it would be great if I could show off my personality.Even if I just snowboard all the time, there are times when I get stuck.I live in front of the sea, so I want to feel the sea during the off-season.I don't think surfing is off-training, but I also use different muscles, and after all, riding horizontally is important for my body axis.I wonder if everything goes well with the balance of body building, horizontal riding, and lifestyle.

It's not a big body, but the way to ride with a solid core is the same for skating.Sliding without waste and without blurring has a depth that you can not think of in your twenties Photo: Tsutomu Nakata
Not many snowboarders can dig into this barrel.There is no same wave in surfing as in the backcountry.That's why this one is worth it Photo: Yoge
A fisherman who loves the sea and has always had a strong admiration for his ideal lifestyle.This is also realized from the connection with people and spends fulfilling days while helping in the off-season Photo: Mu

-There are other things you can do besides snowboarding, so when you look at Ruiki, it seems that your lifestyle is fulfilling.
In winter I can do as much as I like, but in summer I have a lot of things I want to do in summer.But I have to make make-up money in that.Meanwhile, there were a lot of fishermen around me, and I knew the time flow and style of the work, so I thought it was perfect for my lifestyle.It's early for ordinary people because it's a meeting from 4 to 5 in the morning.But after noon, I finish my work, and in the summer I can skate and surf as I like, and spend more time with my family and play with my kids.Sometimes I go out to the sea if the waves are good (laughs).
A fisherman alone can live, but I started to have a food truck because I wanted to do something myself because of my personality.I came up with the idea of ​​shirasudon without thinking deeply, but I decided to do a Shirasudon restaurant.When I sent the shirasu I caught in the fishing before to everyone as a gift, he said, "It's really delicious, this shirasu."In that case, I wanted to catch Shirasu myself and have my friends do the processing, so that people all over the country could eat Shizuoka's special products.But when I decided to start a business, it was impossible to open a store suddenly.I wanted to make it a kitchen car, but it costs more to maintain than I imagined.In my case, I can't open in winter, so the maintenance cost of the car itself is a bottleneck ...After investigating various things, it seems that it is a rule that you can sell a car if the driver's seat and the kitchen are separated, so I came up with the idea that you can do business with the Toyota Hilux carrier you are riding now. I had a truck camper to put on the loading platform of the pickup truck I bought when I was about 20 years old, so I came up with the idea of ​​converting it to a mobile sales car of Shirasudon.But I haven't used it for a while, so it's in a bad condition. It was completed over time.Few people in Japan are doing kitchen cars with truck campers, and everywhere they go, they say, "You made it well."The name of the food truck is "Zen Yoshimaru", and since Chibi was born, I named it "Zen" for children and I wanted to give it a slightly ship-like name.I'm really grateful that my wife wrote all the signboards and menus.

A kitchen camper that was handmade from 1 and completed with the help of friends.In parallel with fishing, we open stores at acquaintance events and spread the local specialty "Shirasudon" nationwide. Photo: Mu

-Ruiki was born and raised in Shizuoka and is still in the local area during the off-season, but have you ever thought of moving to a snowy country as a snowboarder?
I have thought about it.I think it's important to stay in the mountains when snowboarding.That's because I have a lot of friends in Niigata and it's my second home, so there was a time when I wanted to move.But I grew up near the sea and I like the sea, so I don't like the lack of the sea ... I have old friends in my area, and I think leaving the place where I grew up is a big step. But I think it's very difficult.But I guess I like the locals.I was born in Shizuoka, so I think I have a lifestyle now, and in the summer I enjoy surfing and skating.It's also important to work in the off-season and make money.I'm tired of it, for example, if there are waves all the time and I'm just surfing, I end up saying "I don't like it today."That's why I think people who have on and off such things as having or not having waves and being able to snowboard can continue to enjoy themselves.

-Snowboarding and off-season life are fine, but in the end, do you have any challenges or goals in the future?
I want to continue snowboarding that I can enjoy.Not only does it feel good, but I also want to attack the extreme, thrilling and adrenaline-filled slopes.There is no goal for this, so my goal is to find out what this is and to convey what I think "this is cool".What I want to challenge is to be able to do things while raising children, such as fishing and how to make a fire, and I hope to create an environment where children can be informed of what we usually feel while playing in nature.Isn't it important to play in such nature?I think that if there is an environment where children can grow and grow in various parts, they will grow up to respect nature.It will be difficult to start it right away with your friends, but one day, "Your grandpa was like this", telling what you have done and what you like to the future from children to grandchildren. I wish I could go.

Ruki gives a sharp impression to the lifestyle as well as the flow of nature.There is no goal in either, and I will pursue what I want to do while facing myself every day Photo: Tsutomu Nakata
Photo: Gian

R uiki M asuda
Born March 1991, 3.Born in Shizuoka prefecture, lives in Makinohara city.When I started snowboarding in Niigata when I was a child, I connected with people who have unique values. As a teenager, he began to stand out in the Japanese snowboarding scene, and quickly participated in big contests such as ARCTIC CHALLENGE and X-TRAIL JAM. Experienced VOLCOM's international team and pursued his own style while being completely absorbed in snow surf skating and 29S culture.The original style has been highly respected by domestic and foreign snowboarders.Currently, he handles the work of fishermen and the business of selling Shirasudon by car, while living locally with his wife, son and pet dog during the off-season.In winter, I make use of the network I built from an early age to go out to the snowy mountains all over Japan.
SPONSOR: VOLCOM, DRAGON, JONES SNOWBOARDS, NIXON, WILLOW, BROS, Hikari, ONEBALLJAY, Harada Onkyo, OCB

Go My Way.
– R uiki M asuda NTERVIEW – END.

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The next interview is "Yuki Kadono" who won the slopestyle event of BURTON US OPEN 2020 this year.looking forward to!