Are pros really homies with their teammates?

[CatBoy]

I've always wondered the dynamic of company teams and how well everyone gets along. Coming from a sport with big personalities and a certain confidence factor, there has to be some teammates who just can't stand each other; thus making photo-shoots and team trips super uncomfortable.

Take the faction collective edits for example- are they truly just chilling and having a grand old time? Or do some just put up with it to keep the sponsor happy? Would a company force athletes to be together or schedule around to avoid confrontation?

stories would be cool too

 

[ascent_studios]

Of course every once and a while someone will not enjoy someone on their teams company but I highly doubt that a large group of the team hates each other

For example: https://www.factionskis.com/content/behind-the-scenes-filming-s03e03-in-verbier/

 

[..=]

Good question here. It's the same in filming, for example, on some of the Level 1 trips the riders sometimes have vastly different styles. It does make you wonder, do they always get along with one another? Or does everybody kind of get together for the same purposes, and that's it?

 

[BushDid9-11]

Homies: B&E, the whole traveling circus squad, Delorme and Will Berman, ect

Non-homies: Probably everyone on the Volkl team and Nick Goepper

 

[brend]

Amateur ski radio talked about will/andy/ian getting into fights sometimes in one episode.

 

[270on420out]

Nah they all secretly hate each other. They usually have to stop Duncan Adams and Alex Hall from pulling switchblades on each other during the filming for Faction Collective episodes. And Riot Skis are made with pointy tips so it's easier for Corey Vanular to shank the Simple Kids at Whistler.

 

[-Dan]

Not sure if this counts but I hate Gibson.

 

[tdollo]

Gus kenworthy gets along with all his male team mates

 

[freeskibum82]

everyone is a skier and its more fun to ski with a group that pushes each other. why wouldnt they get along while skiing? now for the down days, who knows once alcohol is involved

Gus kenworthy gets along with all his male team mates

well... that didnt take long.

 

[bait]

Inspired? yes.

C-Crew? yes.

I think that if a company's team isn't tight then they just do individual projects.

 

[.otto.]

Amateur ski radio talked about will/andy/ian getting into fights sometimes in one episode.

i can imagine, spending that much time, even with your best of freind could bring out conflicts, especially being stuck in a stinky van.... its kind of like its reccomended not to room with your best friend for college because you most likely wont be freinds with them after

 

[MNSkiers]

If you remembered watching bobby's life he always hung with Gus. Along with chug life. He hung with Wallisch & Dumont along with others!

 

[wameron]

If you remembered watching bobby's life he always hung with Gus. Along with chug life. He hung with Wallisch & Dumont along with others!

RIP Chug Life.

 

[MNSkiers]

RIP Chug Life.

He gave up Chug Life to be a commercial airline pilot

 

[GayWolf420]

nah they all hate each other

 

[Elg]

He gave up Chug Life to be a commercial airline pilot

Stupid fucking decision. Should have kept drinking.

 

[Park_Ranger]

I wonder if it is weird for Good Company when Tim McCheese and Joss Christensen are both at the feature @BRITASIG

 

[zakattack66]

I wonder if it is weird for Good Company when Tim McCheese and Joss Christensen are both at the feature @BRITASIG

how come?

 

[reecemasters0]

[VIDEO]https://www.newschoolers.com/videos/watch/779125/What-is-Good-Company-[/VIDEO]

This video kinda describes it at 2:27 and 3:15

 

[Big_Mtn]

The industry is too small to be a dick to people. Word gets around about people quickly. There's a lot of invite only events (B&E, WCS, etc...) and if you have a reputation for being a douche you're greatly reducing your chances of being invited, regardless of your skiing ability. The same can be said about sponsorship. You need to remember that a bunch of the same guys are traveling to the same comps every weekend, all winter, and they all get to know each other to some degree just from being around each other so much.

 

[Rusticles]

This was a long ass time ago, but I remember an article about an Oakley team trip in the back country, I think it was Jon Olson, Tanner, Simon and Jacob wester (maybe) but I guess it was a bust because tanner and Jon wanted to build different jumps, basically came down to Jon and tanner splitting up and doing their own thing

 

[Park_Ranger]

how come?

Cause they both hit dat

 

[SofaKingSick]

This was a long ass time ago, but I remember an article about an Oakley team trip in the back country, I think it was Jon Olson, Tanner, Simon and Jacob wester (maybe) but I guess it was a bust because tanner and Jon wanted to build different jumps, basically came down to Jon and tanner splitting up and doing their own thing

i remember that for some reason. tanner wanted to build small lips on top of natural shit and jon was more into building nice big cheese wedges in more typical places

 

[K-Dot.]

Armada seems like they all are on a similar wavelength.

I wouldn't be surprised if Ahmet doesn't care for Goepper.

 

[S.J.W]

Armada seems like they all are on a similar wavelength.

I wouldn't be surprised if Ahmet doesn't care for Goepper.

I think LaFa's hate is towards comps and not necessarily the skier in general. Nicks a nice guy and if you're immature enough to hate on someone just because they do comps then you seriously need to reevaluate your life.

 

[whiteboi]

everyone on K2 probably gets along nicely because they know that if they fuck around Shea Flynn will put his fist in their asses

 

[-Dan]

I think LaFa's hate is towards comps and not necessarily the skier in general. Nicks a nice guy and if you're immature enough to hate on someone just because they do comps then you seriously need to reevaluate your life.

What about hating on someone for not doing anything new? Or not hitting street at all? Not specifically referencing Geopper but I hate on comp skiers for their skiing and never for their character. This tends to not include vinny cash or Henrik for what should be obvious reasons.

 

[S.J.W]

What about hating on someone for not doing anything new? Or not hitting street at all? Not specifically referencing Geopper but I hate on comp skiers for their skiing and never for their character. This tends to not include vinny cash or Henrik for what should be obvious reasons.

hitting urban isn't fun. And it's dangerous. A comp skier isn't paid for his urban shots. He's paid to get on the podium. Why would a comp skier go hit urban when it has no benefit to them?

And as far as progression, I know you don't like future spins or anything bigger than a 270. But progression still exists outside your little bubble. Let's take Goeps for example, who else was doing switch dub 9 screaming seamen? What about Henrik? First nose butter trip 16. Vinny, those dub bio dub grabs. There's plenty of examples of skiiers progressing the sport through competition. And if you were to argue who pushes skiing more, urban or comps? I would say comps. Competition is exactly that, a competition. It's who is the best, and you can't be the best by not progressing.

 

[Twig]

hitting urban isn't fun. And it's dangerous. A comp skier isn't paid for his urban shots. He's paid to get on the podium. Why would a comp skier go hit urban when it has no benefit to them?

And as far as progression, I know you don't like future spins or anything bigger than a 270. But progression still exists outside your little bubble. Let's take Goeps for example, who else was doing switch dub 9 screaming seamen? What about Henrik? First nose butter trip 16. Vinny, those dub bio dub grabs. There's plenty of examples of skiiers progressing the sport through competition. And if you were to argue who pushes skiing more, urban or comps? I would say comps. Competition is exactly that, a competition. It's who is the best, and you can't be the best by not progressing.

Firstly, you can't just say urban isn't fun. That's exactly the same as someone saying 'comps aren't fun'. Some people enjoy riding comps, personally I always hated it. I always loved going out, finding a spot and trying to find a way to ski it though.

You're wrong about the comp skier / pay thing too. A skier gets paid to market skis/gear, not specifically to ride competitions. Increasingly pure comp skiers are finding it hard to get sponsors within the ski industry. Part of that is because as solely comp skiers, they aren't going out and filming so they aren't getting much attention from their target market, people who actually buy the skis they are trying to sell. I think comp skiers are insanely talented and definitely pushing the sport with that talent, but they are also failing to engage skiers and sell them product.

_

Also, to answer the OP. I travel around with 'pros' quite a bit as a result of the job and yes, they are homies. Every trip I've been on has pretty much been nothing but good vibes. My latest trip with Faction was a perfect example of a whole squad getting on really well, but I've experienced the same with Line, Armada etc too.

**This post was edited on Apr 21st 2016 at 8:08:17am

 

[S.J.W]

Firstly, you can't just say urban isn't fun. That's exactly the same as someone saying 'comps aren't fun'. Some people enjoy riding comps, personally I always hated it. I always loved going out, finding a spot and trying to find a way to ski it though.

You're wrong about the comp skier / pay thing too. A skier gets paid to market skis/gear, not specifically to ride competitions. Increasingly pure comp skiers are finding it hard to get sponsors within the ski industry. Part of that is because as solely comp skiers, they aren't going out and filming so they aren't getting much attention from their target market, people who actually buy the skis they are trying to sell. I think comp skiers are insanely talented and definitely pushing the sport with that talent, but they are also failing to engage skiers and sell them product.

_

The level that Stept, Level 1, Good Company film at. That type of skiing is not fun in the moment. There's satisfaction once you get the shot, but I would be very surprised if any pro in those crews came in and said "I have fun constantly failing a feature to get a shot".

And I don't know much about a pro skiers contract, but it would stand with reason that the better someone does in comps, the more money they get paid. The amount an athlete is paid is determined on how well they sell a product. And if you see that ski on the X games podium, chances are you're going out to buy that ski, or that ski brand. It's known as brand recognition, it's marketing 101. Nick Goepper isn't used to sell Volkl Walls to NS, he's used so that the average skier will see Volkl, and recognise volkl as a top tier brand. Same in the race sector of our sport. How many race skis do you think Lindsey Vonn sells? Chances are it's low. But how much brand recognition do you think Head gets from her podiumming? This is evident in every industry, racing. Mercadis isn't producing an F1 car in hopes someone will buy an F1 car, they're producing it in hopes of positive brand recognition. Why do you think red bull sponsors every athlete and their dog? Brand recognition.

Brand recognition I would argue is alot more important than trying to sell a single type of ski to a single group of people. I remember a freeskiier survery a few years back and one of the questions was "why did you buy your ski" and one of the top answers was "saw a pro using it" Now I doubt an old man is buying Armada because he wants to be cool like Henrik, I say he would buy Armada because he associates it with a top tier ski.

 

[jamodeo]

Not sure if this counts but I hate Gibson.

i second this. Also from what i've heard with level 1 is that each shoot sponsors need to buy in per rider. So, even if they get along in the end they're just there for personal exposure not because they have a mutual interest in making everyone in the crews' part as good as it can possibly be. The second part is what makes movies have something beyond a 4k trick compilation that's filmed like a documentary about young adults trying to hurt themselves

 

[FrenchFry]

No never

 

[Twig]

The level that Stept, Level 1, Good Company film at. That type of skiing is not fun in the moment. There's satisfaction once you get the shot, but I would be very surprised if any pro in those crews came in and said "I have fun constantly failing a feature to get a shot".

And I don't know much about a pro skiers contract, but it would stand with reason that the better someone does in comps, the more money they get paid. The amount an athlete is paid is determined on how well they sell a product. And if you see that ski on the X games podium, chances are you're going out to buy that ski, or that ski brand. It's known as brand recognition, it's marketing 101. Nick Goepper isn't used to sell Volkl Walls to NS, he's used so that the average skier will see Volkl, and recognise volkl as a top tier brand. Same in the race sector of our sport. How many race skis do you think Lindsey Vonn sells? Chances are it's low. But how much brand recognition do you think Head gets from her podiumming? This is evident in every industry, racing. Mercadis isn't producing an F1 car in hopes someone will buy an F1 car, they're producing it in hopes of positive brand recognition. Why do you think red bull sponsors every athlete and their dog? Brand recognition.

Brand recognition I would argue is alot more important than trying to sell a single type of ski to a single group of people. I remember a freeskiier survery a few years back and one of the questions was "why did you buy your ski" and one of the top answers was "saw a pro using it" Now I doubt an old man is buying Armada because he wants to be cool like Henrik, I say he would buy Armada because he associates it with a top tier ski.

I don't understand how you can categorically say that type of skiing 'isn't fun'. I don't enjoy skiing big jumps. I wouldn't even consider saying that nobody does because I know they do. I know plenty of skiers who ski urban at the top level and enjoy doing it. I've been there, on big urban shoots, they enjoy what they are doing. Not all the time, exclusively. It fucking blows when you crash and get hurt but plenty of guys love it and have fun doing it.

You're 100% right about brand recognition, but it only works as long as a brand sees value. How many car brands have pulled out of F1 because they decided it wasn't worth the expenditure for example. There is no question that the big (ski) brands and big money are moving away from freeskiing competition as a source of brand recognition. By which I mean that ski brands are losing faith in freeskiing contests as a marketing exercise. I imagine because the skiing your average punter envisions himself doing and the skiing he see's in X-Games don't really equate in his mind, where as racing is much easier to relate to but I have no proof of that.

We haven't reached a critical situation yet, but I can think of at least 5 guys who've podiumed at X Games, Olympics or Dew tour recently who can't find a clothing/ski sponsor. At the same time, I can think of a lot of big ski brands who's highest paid freeski riders don't prioritize competitions. Your stance is that comp skiing pushes skiing the furthest, and in one direction, I agree with you. But in terms of profitability for both brands and skiers, that doesn't seem to be what the evidence suggests.

This thread isn't meant to be about this, so I'm going to leave it at that. It's a good discussion and a very important one for the industry. If you fancy it, maybe write something about it or start a thread and the discussion could be better placed there.

 

[Peter.]

typical SJW, believing that his opinion is everyone's opinion

if SJW doesn't think urban is fun, then it must not be fun. everyone who does urban absolutely hates it

 

[-Dan]

typical SJW, believing that his opinion is everyone's opinion

if SJW doesn't think urban is fun, then it must not be fun. everyone who does urban absolutely hates it

It's not his fault. He probably watched for lack of better.

 

[Park_Ranger]

I wonder if it is weird for Good Company when Tim McCheese and Joss Christensen are both at the feature @BRITASIG

for real can we get an answer on this one

 

[S.J.W]

typical SJW, believing that his opinion is everyone's opinion

if SJW doesn't think urban is fun, then it must not be fun. everyone who does urban absolutely hates it

It's not his fault. He probably watched for lack of better.

I never it was the only opinion out there and you have to believe it. I just it find it very hard to believe that the level at which level 1, good company, stept film at is fun to constantly hit one feature over and over again and keep failing. That doesn't sound fun to me.

But apparently, since Twig is an orange name or whatever and I disagree with his opinion then I'm not allowed an opinion right? Is that it how it works? Everyone has to agree with the orange name or whatever?

 

[ned_plates]

Yea im pretty much best friends homies with all the pros and I have mad hook up sponsors to duh yea fuckin right, HOW YA DOINNNNN?

 

[S.J.W]

I don't understand how you can categorically say that type of skiing 'isn't fun'. I don't enjoy skiing big jumps. I wouldn't even consider saying that nobody does because I know they do. I know plenty of skiers who ski urban at the top level and enjoy doing it. I've been there, on big urban shoots, they enjoy what they are doing. Not all the time, exclusively. It fucking blows when you crash and get hurt but plenty of guys love it and have fun doing it.

You're 100% right about brand recognition, but it only works as long as a brand sees value. How many car brands have pulled out of F1 because they decided it wasn't worth the expenditure for example. There is no question that the big (ski) brands and big money are moving away from freeskiing competition as a source of brand recognition. By which I mean that ski brands are losing faith in freeskiing contests as a marketing exercise. I imagine because the skiing your average punter envisions himself doing and the skiing he see's in X-Games don't really equate in his mind, where as racing is much easier to relate to but I have no proof of that.

We haven't reached a critical situation yet, but I can think of at least 5 guys who've podiumed at X Games, Olympics or Dew tour recently who can't find a clothing/ski sponsor. At the same time, I can think of a lot of big ski brands who's highest paid freeski riders don't prioritize competitions. Your stance is that comp skiing pushes skiing the furthest, and in one direction, I agree with you. But in terms of profitability for both brands and skiers, that doesn't seem to be what the evidence suggests.

This thread isn't meant to be about this, so I'm going to leave it at that. It's a good discussion and a very important one for the industry. If you fancy it, maybe write something about it or start a thread and the discussion could be better placed there.

You bring up good points and I agree pretty much all of them. These discussions are always fun.

 

[TACO-DOG.exe]

i think it would be weird riding somebody's pro model but being on the same pro team and traveling with them a lot.

 

[-Dan]

But apparently, since Twig is an orange name or whatever and I disagree with his opinion then I'm not allowed an opinion right? Is that it how it works? Everyone has to agree with the orange name or whatever?

You bring up good points and I agree pretty much all of them. These discussions are always fun.

 

[MikeWeinerONE]

Why wouldn't most skiers get along together. We're all one team. Skiers. How can you not go out and have together, skiing isn't 8th grade. It's skiing. Get over it and have fun. That's why we do this.

 

[dan1080]

I'm sure no one gets along 100% of the time. I'm also sure that a lot of the time, dudes on most teams are at full stoke, loving the fact that they get to shred sweet places and make the most of their experiences.

 

[S.J.W]

An issue like the one Twig and I were discussing is multifaceted and just because one part I disagreed with him on (urban being fun) doesn't mean I disagree with his entire post. Also, with multifaceted issues, you can agree and disagree on very similar topics. Let's take my post on comp skiers and twigs post on brand recognition. While we may disagree on to what extent a comp skier is responsible for brand recognition, I did agree with his post about brand recognition overall. Get it? Issues have more layers, than just right and wrong.

 

[NewEscuelers]

Why did this thread have to turn into the "we hate comps" vs "we don't hate comps" thread?

Let's get back to the topic at hand.

I feel like joining a brand team is like getting into a frat. There's the guys there that everyone loves and goes hard, there's the guys who try to fight you as soon as they get past their fourth shot, there's the reclusive guys who only come out when it's time to party, and so on and so fourth. But naturally everyone can't always agree.

 

[johnk]

What about hating on someone for not doing anything new? Or not hitting street at all?

Hahahahaha both of these points are extremely flawed. "Comp" skiers do in fact do new tricks. They may not tickle your fancy but they 100% do new stuff, and they do it often. This demonstrates your closed mindedness, seeing as you're only respecting one form of skiing: the progression of style, which I respect, in addition to respecting the progression of comp skiers.

The second thing I find pretty humorous about your post is how you say you hate on comp skiers for not hitting urban. Well, I can barely think of any urban skiers who do contests, but I can think of plenty of contest skiers who hit urban...

So next time, review your arguments from a perspective other than your own before you post. /rant