Jeff Johnson
Snowboard Pro Forum

Name: Jeff Johnson

Nickname: Last Call

Date of birth: 12/20/1978

Started riding in what year? 1985

Sponsor/s? Lucid Notion Snowboards, Drake, Northwave, Dub, Grenade, Smith, Skullcandy, Epic Headwear, Colonie, Fortress Watches and Rockstar

What snowboard related business activites are you involved in? Put on my own charity snowboard event, volunteer coach at numerous summer camps in the US and Austria, sponsor local Portland area Highschool snowboard team, co-owner of 2 snowboard industry businesses.

Where did you grow up? Ellensburg, WA

Live now? Portland, OR

Fave places to ride? Valdez, AK

Do you warm up each day before you ride? If so, what do you do to warm up? I sure do. I run most every morning from 4:30am to about 5:30, even the days I ride. Then I do a little stretching routine at home after that. After the drive to the hill, I stretch out again.

How keep in shape in season? How keep in shape for snowboarding out of season? I am out here by Hood, so my season begins in October, and ends in September. Doesn't really leave much for an off season. But I do run every morning, as I mentioned earlier. Usually just 3-5 miles. Especially if I am going to be riding a little later. I also work out at a gym lifting weights and stuff 3-4 times a week. I also play basketball a couple times a week.

Fave riding buddies? All of my teamates.

Who do you admire in snowboarding or outside and why? All the old guys; Craig Kelley, Jamie Lynn, Damian Sanders, etc. Those guys had it right, ever since the beginning.

Do you ever get bummed out about your riding, and why? All the time. I think the snowboard park is the worst thing to ever happen to snowboarding. I get super bummed when I travel halfway around the world for an event, just to ride the same type of crappy park I could've ridden at home. I hate the fact that we are told that we have to ride that type of stuff. It really makes it hard to have fun sometimes.
How do you fix it? Stay the hell away from the park/pipe. Go out and find some fresh snow, with nobody else in sight.

Do you use visualization, and if so, how? It's always good to visualize your trick, before you throw it.

What safety equipt. do you wear, use for snowboarding? I blew out my right knee a year ago, so now am forced to wear a big clunky brace that goes from the top of my boot, to my boxers. Not really considered safety equipment I guess, but it does hold my knee together.

If you're pro, when did you decide to “go pro” — and what happened to get you there? I went pro back in 1997. I was riding for a couple of companies at the time, but just getting flow and a little help to travel. In 97, I was invited to compete in the King of the Hill event in Valdez, AK. (For those too young to remember, it was a 50 man invite only extreme event, ran out of heli's in the Chugach Range, AK) Anyway, from that event, I gained a bunch more support from sponsors. It was pretty much on after that.

What have you read, listened to seen that you liked lately? Always listening to AM radio. Lot's of talk radio, sports talk radio, political stuff, and NPR of course. Knowledge is power, and you will learn a ton from that stuff.

As for the reading, I am pretty much a business nerd. So I read a bunch of business type books; Good to Great, Freakonomics, Tipping Point, etc. But, I did read to books the other day on sailing techniques.

Where have you traveled to lately that you like? I took a trip out to Toronto a little over a month ago. I had been there once in the winter, on the way to the mountains. But being there in the summer was a whole new experience. I absolutely loved it! What an amazing city.

Any guilty pleasures? Taco Bell!?! Oh, and while at a bar, I enjoy a nice PBR as much as any fancy micro.

Have you done well in any contests lately that you want to tell us about? I HATE contests. They are stupid, they are a popularity contest and they all suck. I pretty much try to avoid them like the plague. But, I did take down a couple this year, which does help the pocketbook a little bit. I highly recommend staying away from them though.

Anything that not many people know about you that you would like to share? Uhhh? I have a cat named Rudy.

Encouraging words for beginners? Just get out there and have a good time. Don't worry about what everyone else is doing, saying or thinking. Go snowboard because it is fun.

Advice you want to share? Be aware of what is going on in the industry we all love (Snowboarding). There are a lot of things that are bad, going wrong or hurting the industry. A lot of them can be easily avoided too. We are at risk of losing complete control of our industry to big business. K2 and Ride have sold out, Mervin (GNU, LIB, etc) sold out, Rome is currently for sale with an offer pending, Burton is selling out to Nike, and the list goes on. These large companies have been dragging down the industry bit by bit each year, all to turn a better profit. Now I am all about making money, but at what cost?

I say let these companies do what they want. They will all end up with the same fate as M3, Lamar, Sims, Rossi, Morrow and all the others that sold out years ago. Eventually the governing body, which will be a boardroom full of suits, will realize their company isn't turning the numbers it used to. And since they already moved production to China to save a buck, they have no other option but to sell it off or close it down. Bad for them, good for us and the industry.

We, the riders, have all the control of this industry. Not the companies like Burton and K2 that have completely lost sight in the name of higher profits. We can choose not to support their cause. We can support what is right for the industry. There are companies out there like Lucid Notion, Stepchild, Dinosaurs Will Die and so on, that are doing the right thing. THey aren't selling out, just to make more money. They love snowboarding too much for that. And so do I.

Take a look around. Pay attention to the industry. Support what you love, and those companies that love you back.