Mike will turn 10 on October 29th (this interview was conducted in September 35).Mike's life today is not common, but in the early '2007s, the education Mike received was also by no means common.This exclusive interview with Snowboarding Legend Mike Basich will focus on Mike's childhood and the film he made with David Benedek and the Robot Food crew.
Welcome back for part two of our exclusive interview with a legend in Snowboarding Mike Basich. On October 29th of 2007 Mike will be 35 years old. A child of the early 70's, Mike's upbringing was certainly not what you would call normal. Of course his life today is not what you would call normal either! In this episode we will talk a little bit about Mike's youth and then bring things up to date by asking about Photography and filming with David Benedek and the Robot Food crew.
Interviewer / English text: Neil Hartmann / Japanese text: TAK
Snowboarding has given me so many opportunities and opportunities in my life.When I was a kid who was crazy about crafting, one day my mom came back to my house and told me, "There was a snowboard in the skate shop, so take a look! You should definitely try it." I rented a snowboard with my sister next weekend.So I tried it.At that time, I couldn't imagine where snowboarding would lead me, but it changed the lives of our siblings.And it brought many other opportunities.Since it was recognized as a sport, I can travel around the world, and now I can come to Japan.The passion for woodworking that I was crazy about when I was a kid is back, and I recently built a snowboard-like house.
Last year, Mike bought land and built a house.That is "Area 241".I'll talk about this later.
I would not change anything Snowboarding has always brought so many opportunities to my life. Wood working and building things as a child was my passion, then one day my Mom came home and said, “you have to see what they have at the skate shop “They call it a snowboard, you have to try it out”! So my sister, and me rented one the next weekend. We tried it and that created a huge detour in our lives! It brought so many other opportunities. At the Luckily it got accepted as a sport, which lead to traveling the world and even me being here in Japan right now. Now I am starting to go back to my childhood passion of wood working by building my own house and combining that with Snowboarding.
In the last year Mike has invested in buying land and building his own house, a place that he calls “Area 241”, but we will talk more about that later!
It's a "sensei of life".My parents never told me what to do, they always just gave me a place and asked me what I wanted to do.
When I asked a question, he never gave me the answer.Just say "what do you think?"In other words, I'm a very self-taught person.The best tool my parents have given me is the ability to unravel monogoto on my own.That's why I'm still interested in how things work, and I prefer to make them myself rather than buy what I sell.
It wasn't normal when I was little. It was "epilepsy".
But mom always said, "It doesn't matter if you're changing."I had a very unusual childhood because I had seizures every week and it was difficult to go to school.That's why my parents always told me that it doesn't matter what's changed, and that whatever I want to do, I should do it.
I have this foundation, so now I can be independent and do what I want to do.I don't know how to do it differently.
I would say my parents are my teachers for life. They never told me how to do things they would always just give me space and ask what I want to do.
I would ask questions, but they never gave me answers, they would just say, “what do you think”? So now I am always interested in how things work. I would rather build it myself then just go out and buy something.
My upbringing was also not “normal”.
I had epilepsy all during my youth and my Mother always said it was ok to be different. I had seizures every week and it was hard going to school, I had a very different childhood. So my parents always made sure that I knew it was ok to be different and what ever I wanted to do in life then that was exactly what I should do!
So that was the seed that was planted that lead to me just doing my own thing and being very independent. Now I don't know what else to do!
I lived with my family when I was home school.At that time, my sister, who had just started high school, was awake in the paint hut.It wasn't cool to tell people that she wanted her own space and that she lived in Tipi at the time.We all knew that our family lived in Tipi.It's been about a year while building a house.
Those were the years that I was home schooled. I lived in the Teepee with my parents and my sister who was just starting High School at the time she lived in a paint shed. She wanted her own space and it was not cool to tell people That she lived in a Teepee! Everyone knew us as the family that lives in a Teepee. The Location was in Sacramento, California, which is a pretty big city. We were building a house so we lived in the Teepee until that was finished, about a year.
When you hear that you live in a tipi, you usually imagine a deep countryside.However, Tipi, where the Mike family lived, was located in a residential area visible to everyone, got electricity from the next house, and the mailbox was just to the left of Tipi.
When you hear that someone lives in a teepee you expect it to be way out in the country, but Mike says the teepee was in a residential area where everyone could see. Apparently they had electricity from the house next door and the UPS deliveries would be left right out side the Teepee door!
My sister really helped me to build the right relationship.We have stimulated each other in this sport.It's not a feeling of respect for each other, but rather a feeling of competing with the brothers. It was nice to have an older sister who was three years older.Especially when I got a driver's license.Until then, my mother drove me to the slopes, and while we were slipping, I sat down and read a book and waited, but after my sister got my license, we're already together from Friday to Sunday. I skated all weekend until that night.So I'm going back to school on Monday.
My sister had already traveled on a snowboard since I was in my second year of high school, so it was really helpful to help me with the ticket and other procedures when I went.My first trip was certainly when I was 15 and I had to fly to Colorado, but I could get a boy pilot emblem on. The CA politely taught me how to wear it. I'm 15 years old and I don't know what to do!
She has helped a ton to make the right connections we both fed off each other to progress in the sport. I don't think we looked up to one another, just a little brother sister competition kind of thing. Having her three years older helped So as soon as my sister got her driver license we were gone Friday to Sunday, especially when she got her drivers license. Until then our Mom would drive us to the resort and then just sit in the lodge and read a book while we rode. night ride all weekend and back to school on Monday.
She also started traveling a year or two before I got out of high school When I started traveling we were on the same team so that helped me out a lot, like teaching me how to find a flight at the airport and stuff like that. my first snowboard trip I think I was 15 and I had to take a flight to Colorado and the airline makes you wear a junior pilot tag. The stewardess shows you the way etc., not cool when you are 15 years old!
I decided to ask about photography.Neil himself is a photographer, and as a photographer, he has found Mike's photographs to be wonderful.New techniques such as self-portraits and remote photography have also moved photographers.
I decide it is time to talk with Mike about photography. I am a photographer myself, so over the years I have watched Mike's photos as they appeared in magazine. His use of remote control and then self-portrait style photo's always amazed me
The first work was to put it on the roof of my car against the backdrop of the setting sun. It was 1999 or 2000.Why did you start taking pictures?When I shoot with a cameraman, I always get annoyed because I want to convey my ideas.I know what happens at the peak, so I tell the cameraman where and how to shoot.If you give instructions to the cameraman, it won't work (laughs).
I had more and more ideas about shooting, so I started thinking about shooting with the image I envision.When I saw a cameraman hitting the flash with a remote control, I tried to release the shutter instead of the flash by operating the remote control, and I flashed, and I paid 600 dollars to get a complete set of cameras.So it took me four days to take my first photo.I chose to shoot in the desert of Nevada, where there is no snow at all, so I loaded the snow into my car and carried it.On the first shooting day, I didn't notice that the button on the remote control was stuck, so I failed to shoot.Moreover, I found out that I couldn't shoot after I finished shooting all the film and developed it.Even after that, I had to start over more than once to get a convincing picture.
At that time, I just wanted to take a picture of a certain image, so I didn't intend to continue shooting after that.From there, I wanted to take a scene that I could see myself.For me, woodworking and photography are autobiographies, just as some people write autobiographies in books.
The rail off the top of my car with the sunset in the background was the first one. That happened in 1999 or 2000. The whole reason came from… well when I shoot with a photographer I am very vocal with my ideas. I know what I am going to be doing in the air so it is easy for me to say you should shoot from here or there. It does not go very well when you tell a photographer what to do! (Laughing) I started thinking of so many ideas I saw a photographer using a remote control to “fire” his flash and from there I thought of the idea to put the remote on the camera instead of the flash. So I spent 600 dollars on camera equipment and it took me four days to shoot that one photo. The location was in the Nevada desert where there is no snow. I had to bring snow in my van and on the first try the remote button got stuck and I did not know it. So the whole roll was shot on the first try and I did not know until I got the fi lm back from developing. So I had to go back again two more times to get the shot that I wanted. I had not planned to shoot more photos after that I only wanted to get that one image… I just wanted to see if it could From there it has developed into trying to capture what it is like to be me. You know some people write books to describe who they are, for me it is the woodworking and the photography that is my book.
As a next step, I decided to take everything from the point of view I was looking at.I wanted people who don't snowboard to experience the world I'm seeing.Let's imagine what the peak peak in Alaska looks like through the work!Of course, it's far from the real thing, and it's difficult to express slipping on a huge mountain, but I wanted to convey it even a little in the picture.
The whole POV point of view shooting what I am seeing, that was the next step. I wanted to share what I was seeing with someone who might never snowboard. In that way they can get a little glimpse of what it is like to be on top of a peak in Alaska! Obviously it is not the same as the real thing, but it is very hard to express what big mountain riding is like so maybe those photos can give people a little idea of what it is like.
The footage didn't come before I was with David.I've been to Victoria (Geras) and Alaska every spring for the last few years. About three years ago, in the middle of March of the year I stopped going with her, I felt like I had to go to Alaska.It was customary to go to Alaska, but I had no plans.So I asked Jess Gibson of Robot Food, who used to be my roommate, "I heard you're going to Alaska, but why don't you hang out with me?"They were happy to join me, partly because everyone except Josh Darksen was the first to go to Alaska.I drove to Alaska and joined the Robot Food crew.Well, I'm like a tour guide, and I showed them "This is Alaska!"They knew what I was doing in Alaska every year, and that experience might have made me want to record with them.The following year, Robot Food split into two and was asked by David and Christopher to join us to shoot "3 Words for Snow."They were the first to come snowboard and ask me to participate in the video production!It was a chance for me to have my own part in the video.I flew to Hollywood once to buy my own 91mm camera because I wanted to take a picture of my point of view, and after returning, I drove to Alaska.That winter I went to Alaska four times in total, January, February, March and April.At that time this was my top priority and it was my first video production, that is, it was the only one in my head!
For the last few years I had been going to Alaska every spring with Victoria (Jealouse). After we stopped hanging out, it was mid March about 3 years ago and I still felt like I had To go to Alaska. It had become a ritual trip for me to go there, but I didn't have any plans. So I called my friend Jess Gibson who was a Robot Food Filmer who used to be my roommate. guys are going to Alaska, do you think I could hang out with you ”? I asked him. They were happy to have me join, as it was the first time in Alaska for everyone on their crew except Josh Dirksen. So I drove to Alaska by myself in my car and joined the Robot Food crew there. I was basically their tour guide, I showed them Alaska! They got to see what I do every year in Alaska and I guess it moved them to want to capture that experience. The next year Robot Food split up and David and Christopher were going to make “91 words for snow” so they asked me if I wanted In my whole snowboarding career they are the first people who asked me to be in their movie! This was my chance to have my own part in a movie. So I actually spent a lot of my own money on a small 16 mm camera to shoot the Point of View stuff. I actually flew to Hollywood for a few hours to buy the camera set up and than flew back and got in my car and drove to Alaska. That winter I think I went to Alaska 4 times, in January, February, March and than in my car in April for the spring. That was my main project and my first film segment so all my focus was on that!
Whenever I do something, I want to add something new to it, so I tried to express the world from my point of view in this film.David and I are completely different types.David is a perfectionist and he feels like a producer who wants to plan and do everything, but I feel like "Hey! I'm knocked down, let's do it!".Working with him took some effort from time to time, but when you look at the finished work, we're working with the same vision, only the way it's made is different.I'm happy and loved to be able to work with him.It's not easy to do things in your own way in the mountains, especially when you're acting in a group.I have to make some plans!Well, I prefer to have fun with like-minded friends.
Isn't Mike and David actually similar in that they are both very self-reliant and have a strong opinion?Neil feels.Both have built and achieved their own style with snowboarding.David's work at Robot Food and subsequent current projects are the exact opposite of market standards.And they have been successful.As Mike said, they're heading for the same vision from different directions.This combination can be called the best partner.
Whenever I do something I want to bring something new to it so I really tried to capture what it is like to be me through that film. Working with David… we are certainly two different types of people. David is a perfectionist he likes to plan everything out, he is very much the Producer, where as I am more like “hey I am feeling it, ok let's go”. I had struggles working with him, off and on, but as far as the finished product I think we are I like working with him, on the hill it can be hard to do things my style especially when there is a group of people. There generally needs to be a plan of some sort! I prefer to just be the sidekick that keeps it fun for me!
Mike's upbringing definitely had a big impact on his life.Mike's parents never impose an answer, and Mike himself has been motivated to figure things out.This unconventional education may have led Mike to even a photographer.I'm fortunate to have a guy named Mike Basic in the snowboarding world.It tells you how to be a professional rider and what it means to be at the top of many great peaks in Alaska.We just let you see Mike's experience in a safe home!Mike never speaks, but I think he wants others to do the same.It can be snowboarding, photography, or home building.Mike is a pioneer and trendsetter.And I think like this.Mike wants as many people as possible to make the right choices and make them richer and happier.
In Part 241 next time, let's talk about the future of XNUMX and the Mike family.
Looking at Mike and David, I think they are actually similar in that they are both very strongly independent. Both of them have always done things their own way in Snowboarding. David's Robot Food movies and now the projects after that have all gone against what is Like Mike says they have the same vision just different ways of getting there. Those are probably the best kind of partners!
Growing up as Mike did, certainly has affected his whole life. His parents never giving him the answers to questions lead to him always wanting to figure things out himself. I am sure that is what lead him to taking pictures. The Snowboard world is lucky to have a Mike Basich, someone who shows us what it is like to be a Pro-rider and what it is like to stand on top of those great peaks in Alaska. Now we can all sit back in the safety of our homes and enjoy He is a leader and a trendsetter and I think he hopes to whether it be photography, snowboarding, or even building your own house. influence people to make the right choices and be a better and happier person because of those choices.
Next Episode we will talk to Mike about what the future holds for 241 and the Basich family!
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Special thanks
NAOMI / Mr. / ATSU / 3rd eYe's DESIGN
