Features

Win a Capita Indoor Survival from Shayboarder & Sierrasnowboard


This contest has ended!

Thanks to everyone who participated and told shayboarder.com why they love snowboarding.  I’ll be going through all the submissions and selecting a winner.  Stay tuned for when I announce the winner this week!

Here’s the post about the winner! 

Shayboarder.com and Sierrasnowboard.com are giving away a brand new Capita Indoor Survival.  Sierrasnowboard just launched their 50-70% off sale but here’s your chance to get a free Capita Indoor Survival!

I love snowboarding and I know everyone else loves snowboarding so here’s your chance to tell me why you love it and get a free board out of it!   All you have to do is leave a comment with your name and email address and why you love snowboarding!  
Here’s a couple ways to show your love:   
1.  Write it:  story, poem, anything on why you love snowboarding
2.  Photo:   Visually showcase why you love snowboarding
3.  Video:  Got the camera, put it on video
Make sure when you leave the comment that your submission is in there or a hyperlink to where it’s at (flickr, vimeo, youtube, etc) and your name & email so I can contact you if you are the winner!
This contest will end on Sunday, March 22nd at midnight, I’ll be picking the winner from the submissions and announcing it soon after.  I’ll be posting the winning submission as well!
Email me at shayboarder@gmail.com with the subject line:  Board giveaway, if you have a word document or submission that cannot be posted in the comment section and I will include it.
About the Capita Indoor Survival 

These durable, responsive freestyle boards have become customer favorites in the CAPiTA line because they’re proven to survive what you can give them inside or outside the park. They are our number one selling series in Japan. They have won the Good Wood award for Freestyle boards over $400. They are the go-to board for a majority of our team riders and along with all the performance accolades, they are the industry favorite of those not scared to run a controversial graphic in the lift line.

– 2007 Transworld Good Wood Award Winner
– True Twin
– Even Flex
– Centered Stance
– Radial Sidecut
– Sidewall construction
– DS SELECT Core
– 4×2 Inserts
– Special Blend Pre-Preg Fiberglass Configuration
– CFX Carbon Fiber Reinforcements
– Wax Infused Sintered WTR Speed Base
– Textured Gloss/Matte Topsheet
– Screened Base Graphics
– Full Wrap Around Steel Edges
– Metallic Logo Inlay

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  • Eric
    March 16, 2009 at 1:11 am

    Not only does snowboarding make me feel good in special areas…no…not my penis…stop thinking dirty now…but in my soul.

    I also love it because I have great friends to ride with

    http://photos-h.pe.facebook.com/photos-pe-sf2p/v162/128/108/19700857/n19700857_33204887_5788.jpg

    Eric Le
    rougheo@gmail.com

  • Han
    March 16, 2009 at 4:01 am

    Dear Shayboarder.com

    “Snowboarding is My Life”

    Snowboarding is that one passion you find in your life to me. There are those Bobby Flay’s that love cooking and do it well, there are those Manny Ramirez’s that are great at baseball. I just really love snowboarding. its the reason people like us move up to the mountains and bust our asses busing tables and cater to weekend warriors to EARN the mid-week, no lift line, locals only runs. Its when you count up days riding with your friends to see whos got the biggest d**k. Its the wake up at 5am to throw on smelly socks and damp gear to get the first lift and try to land that McGaper to switch nose scooter noodle to cab 7 i’ve been working on since HCSC last year. its selling your truck so you have rent money to pay for another months rent and food and beer. It becomes going to college to get a job so you can pay for those decks you snap casing it on that hip that you McGaper to switch nose scooter noodle to cab 7. Its when you realize any day on snow is good day when that one dude that you knew that said “man i hate riding on ice and whiteouts and skiers taking up the whole run.” I love my life.

    Han

    ugly_drunken_retard@yahoo.com

    i love capita too

  • GhostMane
    March 16, 2009 at 6:13 am

    It is the only thing I have found that gives me the feeling of being 8 years old on Christmas Eve. I live in Ohio now but grew up in Idaho riding Grand Targhee and Jackson Hole. So now every chance I get to ride it is the same feeling as trying to sleep but being to excited to see what Santa brought. Nothing else compares! And board jumping is fun too.

    tysonschenk@gmail.com
    keepyourfaceradical@blogspot.com

  • Scott
    March 16, 2009 at 10:04 am

    Why I love snowboarding? Such a simple question, but such a complex awnser. Snowboarding is such an important part of my life because it keeps me sane in this crazy thing we call life. Im 23 years old, I am a full time college student and i work 48 hours a week. Throw in some mixed martial arts 4 days a week and add a pinch of a social life and thats alot to handle. Snowboarding is my way out of that. Its the only time that I feel completly free, with nothing but some friends, bunch of laughter, and good times. Snowboarding is such a big stress reliver for me. I am completly disconneted from the crazy normal every day life I live, and because of this some of my best memories are from snowboarding, the epic powder day before my friend moved to ak, the tellietubbie outfits after his brother died, losing my keys in the snow and having to wait 6 hours in the parking lot for someone to bring a spare set. The snowboarding life style is the perfect one, living each day to the best of your ability and keeping things fun in the process, and besides, who doesnt love goggle tans and powder turns!

    http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b390/hose406/tubbie.jpg

    Scott Carvalho

    Carvalho.scott@gmail.com

  • Mariana
    March 16, 2009 at 11:26 am

    Shayboarder –

    Love the blog! How much does Sierrasnowboard rock?? Way cool that you are doing a promo with them!

    I’m a Florida girl recently turned into a west coaster along with my husband and one of our best friends (also Florida kids!). Growing up, outdoor time had tropical undertones and palm trees. Nor Cal traded in palm trees for snow covered pines and the opportunity to snowboard (skiing was never even an option!). To say an obsession was born is an understatement. From December to April, months are measured in days on the mountain and I wonder how I ever really lived without mountains nearby. I love snowboarding because of that feeling you get when you’re on first chair and the mountain looks likes your personal playground. I love it because of the feeling you get when you finally land a new trick. I love it because it’s usually the three of us and I get to show that the ladies can keep up with the guys! I love it because it’s an awesome time with my friends and in one short year I’ve found something that I’ll never stop doing.

    http://shawnandmariana.blogspot.com/2009/02/epic-snow.html

    http://shawnandmariana.blogspot.com/2009/03/ale-in-tahoe-video.html

    http://shawnandmariana.blogspot.com/2008/05/epic-season-ends.html

    Mariana
    marianaalvarez@gmail.com

  • Zhong
    March 16, 2009 at 12:10 pm

    You can’t really explain the LOVE. I love snowboarding like loving my girl, no reasons…. First time I strap in a board on the slope then I knew I love it, even though it was one of the hardest time in my life.

    http://picasaweb.google.ca/kimkimjjoo/Snowboarding#5313849330143357650

  • Zhong
    March 16, 2009 at 12:13 pm

    You can’t really explain the LOVE. I love snowboarding like loving my girl, no reasons…. First time I strap in a board on the slope then I knew I love it, even though it was one of the hardest time in my life.

    http://picasaweb.google.ca/kimkimjjoo/Snowboarding#5313849330143357650

    Zhong

    kukabox@hotmail.com

    (Sorry for re-post, forgot leave my email address)

  • ktmbryson44@hotmail.com
    March 16, 2009 at 4:15 pm

    i love snowboarding because life is stressful. i go to school most of the week then work after school my days off i head up to the mountain to go snowboarding. It’s the ultimate way to relieve stress have fun and have no worries all at the same time. Being with friends having a good time and just messing around is the best day i could have.

  • peter
    March 16, 2009 at 4:45 pm

    Why I love snowboarding? Snowboarding is a great way to interact with people and share in a common love or passion. Its great to include people in and be a group thing.

    Peter Kang
    kang.peter@gmail.com

  • Jake
    March 16, 2009 at 4:47 pm

    Now everybody is posting a comment, though more of a paragragh, on why they love snowboarding, but I will choose to sum it up with a simple Haiku.(The Japanese poems with 5-7-5 sylables)
    Here it goes:

    Snowboarding, an art?
    Fluff the pow or ride the rails
    Always feels abstract

  • Jake
    March 16, 2009 at 4:49 pm

    Whoops here’s my email:

    Snakehockey2@aol.com

    -Jake

  • Alex
    March 16, 2009 at 6:37 pm

    Dear Shay,

    There are many reasons why I love snowboarding. When I first started to ride I became addicted to it because it was extremely fun. Then snowboarding became a way to express my own individual style on the hill. Once I started doing contests and went to snowboarding camps I began to have a lot of friends that I would not have had if it were not for our love of snowboarding. Now with school and other obligations, my life is stressful. Whenever I ride all my stress and worries go away. It doesn't matter if I failed the test, humiliated myself at school, or if I lost my wallet, because for the next few hours my life is perfect, and nothing can ruin my time on the hill. When I ride I am in my own little world. I don't think while I ride, I just do it. I just shut my brain off and live in the moment. These are the major reasons I love to snowboard. I get to be with my friends, that I only see when I ride, I have fun, I can express my self in the way I ride, and I just feel great while I am doing it.

    photo at
    http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=147618&l=bdc9fc26ea&id=1637654322

    Sincerely, Alex
    amobashery@comcast.net

  • Kevin
    March 16, 2009 at 7:56 pm

    Shayboarder

    “Snowboarding is my Life”

    The simple answer is that because it is fun, but what makes it fun. Its fun because you get to hang out with your crew of friends and just shred, there is no drama. I love snowboarding because of the roadtrips across states, when it takes you longer to get there than you are at the resort, or those days when the snow sucks but you still go up because you LOVE IT. Or when you wake up and skip school just because you LOVE IT. The days when you land a new trick and its the best day in the world, why, because you LOVE IT. The days when on the weekend when the whole mountain is skied out but you know those secret stashes. You do this all because you love it. I am not saying that i am the only one, there are lots of us, I am just saying I am one of them.

    Sincerely

    Kevin

    kevin.katsafanas@rocketmail.com

  • Ming
    March 17, 2009 at 12:04 am

    Well, what can I say. I love snowboarding – it’s probably one of the most fun and relaxing things in my life (even better than skiing!) and well, its made me rekindle my love for snow sports.

    I mean, I’m stuck with one cruddy mountain that overcharges way too much ($460 for the pass for a meh mountain?!) but still managed to get out there about 35 times this year, with a 45 minute drive each way.

    Anyways, it’s one of the few things in life that i’ll get something like

    http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c213/Ming3r/ouchies.jpg

    and still keep going without a second thought (Pole Vault and soccer come as close seconds). Actually, there was one second thought…me freaking out whether my goggles were damaged or not, but they luckily weren’t.

    -Ming

  • hoon
    March 17, 2009 at 8:24 am

    question: do people love snowboarding or free crap? or is it free crap to snowboard on?

  • )(nfinit)(
    March 17, 2009 at 9:42 am

    hoon. capita isn’t crap. therefore people love free capita.

  • Superorb
    March 17, 2009 at 10:04 am

    I just recently got into snowboarding a few weeks ago with my girlfriend. I love snowboarding because it has been the one thing that we can both do together and have fun instead of us hanging out with separate friends all the time. The ride out to the closest crappy slopes are 3 hours each way. I thought it would suck, but that gives us at least 6 hours each trip for just the two of us to talk about whatever pops into our minds. I’ve actually been looking forward too weekends now since we can spend them together on the slopes rather than apart at home. We’re still beginners, but it doesn’t matter how many times we fall as long as we fall together.

    Ken McClure
    superorb81@gmail.com

  • hoon
    March 17, 2009 at 11:36 am

    clarification: crap is a ubiquitous term. not a reflection of capita’s level of awesomeness (or lack thereof depending on who you talk to).

    alternates would be: stuff, things, gear, items, etc.

  • Jonny
    March 17, 2009 at 1:05 pm

    Point of clarification: Sierra didn’t just launch their 50-70% off sale they expanded it to include lots of 2009 gear. Sierra does an interesting job of keeping things ultra cheap on the internet. All in all it undercuts multiple local shops who are founded in brick and mortar with a different business model.

    Not hating on Sierra just pointing out that this does support your local scene. That might not be important but in a world where most financial/consumer trends are cyclical it’s good to support local business at all time not just when it suits your needs.

    On the flip side not everybody has the dollars to support a never ending shred habit so maybe your local shop will price match with Sierra. If they are smart, they will do what it takes to retain your biz. Just a thought and for the record. I love snowboarding because it makes me smile. Now give back to snowboarding and support your local scene.

  • Erik
    March 17, 2009 at 4:30 pm

    http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=411288&id=641602479&op=1&view=global&subj=1294131756

    Snowboarding is the most fun you can have. Alone or with friends it's something you look forward to whenever you're not on a board. Whether you're out there pushing yourself, scared out of your gourd, or just dweebin' around with your best pals, you're having the time of your life. The only thing that makes it more enjoyable is doing it with a CAPiTA strapped to your feet. Thank God for snowboarding…

  • Wayne
    March 18, 2009 at 2:10 pm

    what’s not to love about snowboarding? most of the time when you’re out on a mtn somewhere you literally almost are on top of the world. i love snowboarding more than a fat kid loves cake 😀

    wayne zhou
    wayner516@gmail.com

  • Jay Yoo
    March 18, 2009 at 4:44 pm

    The very first day that I stepped on a snowboard, I fell in love with the sport. (actually it was a night, for night-boarding…and i literally stepped-in to the bindings…remember switch step-ins? no one seems to rock those anymore..) Well, that was 10 years ago… and i still find new things that i love about snowboarding. I like this Capita board because the new thing i’m really getting into, that i love, is freestyle. I give all my money away to my college…so i am a poor student that can’t buy a good board. I’ll be rockin my Ride Decade for a decade if i don’t get a new board soon.

    p.s. i enjoy reading your reviews.

  • Martin Hattas
    March 19, 2009 at 1:44 am

    Because snowboarding makes love
    http://picasaweb.google.sk/titlak/Snb#5314799548392437602

    Because snowboarding are friends
    http://picasaweb.google.sk/titlak/Snb#5314799538864531794

    Because snowboarding makes coool feelings
    http://picasaweb.google.sk/titlak/Snb#5314799543988647442

  • snowdrift
    March 19, 2009 at 2:38 pm

    I love snowboarding because I love the mountains and riding them is the best kind of zen high there is.

  • Alex
    March 19, 2009 at 5:27 pm

    Hey Shay, this is a continued version of my first post.

    I have done a lot of sports other than snowboarding. I like snowboarding a lot more than other sports. In other sports I feel that I am constantly being told that I am doing it wrong. In snowboarding there is none of that. I love snowboarding because there is no right or wrong way of doing it. This sounds weird in a sport where style is so important, but I feel that there is no good or bad way to ride; there is your way. When I ride I do whater my heart desires. If I want to pop of of that, slash this, or jib whatever, I’m going to go do. there is an amazing feeling of freedom when I ride. It is probably the only thing I can do and not feel criticized or judged(unless I am competing.)

    Sincerely,
    Alex

    amobashery@comcast.net

  • Brandon Wong
    March 20, 2009 at 12:41 pm

    Hi Shay,
    I enjoy snowboarding because I get to spend time with family and friends. We’re a group of boarders and skiers, but we all have the same passion and love for snow sliding.

    Here’s a pic of family and friends, both skiers and boards. Younger boarders and older boarders, as well as younger skiers and older skiers. We all get along and have a great time on the mountain.

    http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v432/Jumbotummy/IMG_0016.jpg

    Thanks for the awesome blog. I enjoy reading your updates.

    Brandon Wong
    bbwong_is@yahoo.com

  • Ryan Grab
    March 20, 2009 at 5:46 pm

    snowboarding is amazing. i love it because it is a way to get in touch with your inner chi. it is very relaxing, however, at the same time it is insane. snowboarding gives me the best. you know you really love something when you crash and burn but you get up and laugh about with your friends. snowboarding is the greatest.

    Love,
    Ryan Grab

    Shortguy255@hotmail.com

  • Peter
    March 21, 2009 at 1:58 am

    why do i love snowboarding? heh…

    well lets just say its saved me from this cruel world. my weeks are so depressing and everything seems to go wrong for me but twice a week i go boarding and all my worries are behind me. i feel completely rejuvenated and i feel like i can take on my problems head on after i finish boarding. before, i had contemplated suicide a few times and i began to rely on drugs to escape my problems. but when the drugs are done my problems hit me harder. then i found my passion for snowboarding that grows stronger every year. it replaced all my drugs and i have been sober since November. so thats why i love snowboarding, it takes care of me.

    btw my birthday passed very recently and i didnt get anything *hint hint* hahaha

    -peter
    Peterj.92@gmail.com

  • Jdunn
    March 21, 2009 at 2:20 pm

    Why do I love snowboarding? That’s like asking me why I love my life. Snowboarding is my life. I live to snowboard. It completes me and has made me who I am. I live, breathe, eat, sleep, relax, watch, talk, sing, listen, party and love snowboarding.

    I have centered my college career on snowboarding and even chosen my major because of it. Almost every class final has something to do with snowboarding…for example: in my video production class this semester I’m making a snowboard movie. It’s what has kept me focused and enjoying school. It’s also kept me sane…snowboarding is my stress reliever. I can forget about all the homework I have or how stressful a class is when I’m on the mountain.

    I choose jobs that either 1) are centered on/sell snowboarding and I get sweet discounts from or 2) allow me to snowboard all day and then come in to work at night. Snowboarding keeps me from hating my job if it fits those standards.

    I meet the majority of my friends and acquaintances on the mountain snowboarding. Because of snowboarding I have friends from all over the world (including New Zealand, Chile, Germany, Canada and all over the U.S.) and tons of people with similar interests to chill with. I love all my snowboarding friends.

    I spend the majority of my time snowboarding. Just in March, I’ve been riding 16 of the past 21 days. Yea my legs kill. And I’m still riding through another knee injury. Yet, I keep on because of snowboarding because I know that even though I can’t hit a jump that I used to or ride how I want, I’m still riding and that’s better than nothing.

    I love snowboarding because snowboarding is my life.

    jessica_roxors@hotmail.com

  • lee durfee
    March 21, 2009 at 4:53 pm

    why do i love snowboarding? because it touches every part of my life. i have lived eaten and breathed snowboarding for the past 15 yrs of my life. i wait patiently for that first seasons snowflake with all of the excitement that a five year old has for santa’s arrival. the seasons first turn is just as important to my well being as water is to a desert camel.

    even though i love snowboarding i hate it. as of right now(march 21st)i am typing with only one hand. snowboarding has taken my other for the time being.i am now looking at 15 weeks in a cast for my left wrist.(ill send pics if you want.gnarly screw and pin action in there) all because i wanted to go out riding. no insurance and a season cut abrubtly short really suck. but i wouldnt trade any of it at all.it just wets my appetite for next year.when the snow starts falling again ill be waiting. ill be rested and hungry. and best of all snowboarding will be there for me again. i will be in love all over again!

    leedurfee@yahoo.com
    lee durfee
    sorry this is typed shitty. i really have only one hand to type!!

  • Jed
    March 21, 2009 at 6:51 pm

    Why I LOVE SNOWBOARDING:
    All though I’am new to snowboarding (this is my second season) I have found it to be my other nirvana for the winter months. For the summer I had a motorcycle till I wrecked it in the mountains, and then I was sad. Then came winter, got a new board cause the first day of last season my board got stolen. Now I was happy again! But hitting the mountain many times this year was more than nirvan this time, it became a passion. One that I have never had in the past. But just resently I became sad again because while up at copper with a couple of buddies, two of the three boards got jacked! One was mine, again!! But to no dismay, I will be back agin in my nirvana next season with a new board……and with a pit bull chained to my board when I leave it at a resort. RIDE TO SURVIVE!!

  • Alex
    March 21, 2009 at 7:39 pm

    Hello Shay, this is my 3rd addition to my essay.

    I love snowboarding because it never gets old. I just can’t get tired of riding; even though, I ride on hills that are tiny. It is that constant search for the next great thing to ride. The mountains are just like a endless maze of fun. If I get bored I can just go to another resort and that rush just starts back up again. It is the rush of wind in your face and adrenaline surging through your veins that keeps me coming back for more each year. It is just impossible for me to not have fun while I ride. It is that feeling of falling so hard and eating it, and then coming back up and stomping that trick. I love snowboarding for its endless possiblities and just the way it makes me feel great.

    Again this is the 3rd continuation of my essay.

    Sincerely,
    Alex

    amobashery@comcast.net

  • paul S.
    March 22, 2009 at 12:30 am

    It seems like a lot of people these days use "fun" as an explanation for why they love snowboarding and to sell a lot of their products. But, snowboarding isn't always fun. Trying the same trick for hours is one of the most frustrating things in the world, or getting up at 6:30am to walk to the hitching spot to get a ride up to your job on the mountain and wash dishes for 6 hours isnt fun either. Sometimes i dont even understand what pushes me to get up in the morning after a long night out and 3 hours of sleep to go snowboarding. But when i strap in and make my first few turns with all my friends around me, it makes me realize why i force myself to do things that really suck to go snowboarding. Like everyone else said, i too love snowboarding. But its not because its all smiles and fun. Its because of the freedom. Unlike football or some other bro sport, theres no coach or teamate telling you whats right and whats wrong and how you have to follow rules. When your snowboarding you can really do whatever you want, sometimes its means getting a few cuts in your pass, but its worth it. You can ride anywhere, anything, make up your tricks, hit features from different angles, its seriously endless. I cant think of anything else you can do that allows so much freedom. And that, I believe, is what snowboarding is about. Not entirely for fun, or even because of a certain passion, but the freedom you have when your snowboarding and how that makes you feel inside. When im sitting in class with 300 other kids listening to a professor speak jibberish, i think of snowboarding. It is the one thing in my life that lets me express myself and takes me into another world, where i dont worry about about my schoolwork or how i cant find a job. It frees me from my problems in life and just lets me focus on trying to have fun and stay positive. I could go on and on about why snowboarding is truly the best thing ever, but ill let whoever read this far take a break.

    – some pictures of my friends and I hiking an hour and a half up st marys glacier in late july to ride a patch of light brown snow.
    http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=26912&id=1074720315

    – little edit of my friends and I riding a small hill in pennslyvania.
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OhSgY3CrNAg&feature=related

    paul smith
    paul.a.smith@colorado.edu

    snowboarding=freedom.

  • paul S.
    March 22, 2009 at 1:36 pm

    pictures were from early september not july, sorry.

  • David
    March 22, 2009 at 4:18 pm

    Four Quick Generalizations:
    Snowboarding is community …exemplified by sierrasnowboard.com/forum

    Snowboarding is an evolving, ever-growing industry …documented by shayboarder.com

    Snowboarding is competitive …exemplified by national/international/local/buddy-to-buddy competitions

    Snowboarding is leisure …illustrated by the busloads of people that pay the big bucks to hone their skills on the bunny hill. It is money well invested though of course.

    Ultra-encompassing Generalization:
    It’s the combination of the four points made above that makes snowboarding oh so glorious to me.

    Three Sentences of Varying Length:

    Simply put, snowboarding is a fun sport, whether it’s going down the bunny hill for the first time without running into any of the well-placed obstacles (ie. the other “not-so-great” skiers and snowboarders) or building up the courage to move on up to a bigger kicker to perfect your repertoire of tricks. There is always a reason to go harder, faster, and higher to see how far you can push yourself. It is the mere satisfaction of reaching the one goal that I set for myself back in the fall before the end of the season that makes me love snowboarding. It is also the disappoint of not reaching that one goal and having the whole off-season to think about it (aka think of creative ways of practicing in the summer without the luxury of snow) that has me love the sport as well.

    50-Second Video Clip with a 24-Second Explanation:
    (Actual explanation time varies accordingly with your reading speed)

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MJ_LOGKkfJA

    Since I think having a video can’t hurt my chances, here is a clip of my girlfriend showing off her mad skills. Some of you may be wondering, “What was the point of that. My 4 year old son can already catch big air and tweak the heck out of all his grabs.” Well, the thing is: my girlfriend is not that athletic. As a matter of fact, she’s not athletic at all, but hey, I duped her into the fun sport of snowboarding and now she loves it. Because of her new found love for the sport, our relationship is safe for the time-being. Let’s keep our fingers crossed for the off-season though! (jk)

    I love snowboarding, and snowboarding loves me!

    David Ladao
    dladao@gmail.com

  • David
    March 22, 2009 at 4:21 pm

    Four Sentences of Varying Length*

  • Lauren
    March 22, 2009 at 6:03 pm

    Well, Shay… the reason I love snowboarding is because it reminds me of who am I and where I come from

    I am 24 living in NYC, working for the man. This concrete jungle is a prime location for wannabe’s, has been’s, and people constantly challenged by who they are and what people want them to be. Snowboarding for me is my solid ground – my positive reinforcement in a crazy world of lies and deceit. I point my board down a mountain and it leads back to my childhood, my family, and the values that I hold in my life.

    During the snow season my weekends are filled with waking up at 3:45 am to catch the 4:30 am bus that takes you to Okemo, VT for the day. As soon as I sit down on the bus, I am taken back to my childhood in San Antonio, TX when my parents would shovel my sister and I into our mini-van at the butt- crack of dawn to make the long trek to Wolf Creek, CO or Santa Fe, NM just for the good snow. These trips weren’t just for family bonding time, but a time that my parents used to teach us the values of life. Maybe it was the thought of fresh snow that got my parents high on life or maybe it was because they met on a ski trip in Santa Fe, NM twenty-three years ago and are still madly in love today – Whatever the reason, these ski trips made me who I am today and that is why I love snowboarding.

    lleonard@unitedmedia.com

    http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=viewImage&friendID=14246716&albumID=190944&imageID=4209709

  • Lauren
    March 22, 2009 at 6:09 pm

    Forgot my name – Lauren Leonard and the link to my pic isn't working so I'm trying again.. sorry for the re-post

    http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=viewImage&friendID=14246716&albumID=190944&imageID=4209709

  • Anonymous
    March 22, 2009 at 8:08 pm

    Wow…how many sappy, reminiscent stories are we going to see here? haha

  • Laurent
    March 22, 2009 at 9:25 pm

    Time seems to stop when you are snowboarding. No more needs, no more fears, no more responsability, no more more stress… just fun.

    -Laurent

  • Pete
    March 22, 2009 at 10:28 pm

    I threw together a quick vid showing just one reason why I love snowboarding. Hope this finds everyone well …

    http://www.petekinser.com/shayboarder-contest.html

  • Shayboarder
    March 23, 2009 at 12:03 am

    CONTEST HAS ENDED!!!!!!! Thanks to everyone who participated and put in submissions. I’ll be going through all of them tomorrow and selecting a winner soon, check back to shayboarder.com for the announcement!

  • DaddyG
    March 23, 2009 at 9:17 am

    Ah… man… I wanted to participate, but I went for a riding week end in Quebec City… You see we «Québécois» are hardcore snowboard lover… Conditions we’re like crap, icy and no new snow. Still we go to the mountain and we like it 😀

    But sometimes, just sometime it just rocks:
    http://g.mouciel.com/ss/snow/jay20071206/

    Love is all about sharing, respect and passion…

    Share your knowledge and/of the mountain. Respect others and realize that their path to and from riding are different and that’s the beauty of it. Passion is just the feeling of completeness and union with the mountain, your board and others. It’s like going downhill on crazy carpet, flying saucer or what not (in Montreal everything goes)… The adrenaline rush, the heart that is left on the top the hill and slowly meets you back and the bottom in a sweet sweet euphoria.

    Finally, it made me fall back in love with the least loved of season. As a kid I was always outside in winter. Protected me from depression and the february blues…

    PS: Loving snowboard is sending you’re entry late and not really caring about winning a board (just got a new one). Bindings and boot would rock though 😉

    PPS: I’m tempted to sticker up my board with your sticker… Never put a sticker on my boards, I don’t wear bling/logos so my board is the same… But your work makes me think twice about it…

  • Shayboarder
    March 24, 2009 at 9:05 pm

    Thanks to everyone who entered! I just announced the winner here