A Letter From Terry Kidwell To Snowboarding
March 9
Just received this short message below from Terry Kidwell. For those who don’t know TK he is widely regarded as “The Father Of Freestyle Snowboarding” and for good reason. Not only did Terry bring the first signature models and kicktail board to the masses he also was the first to translate handplants, mcTwists, fakie tricks and flatground from the skate to the snow. Looks as though Terry hasn’t lost his drive to keep teaching or his stoke to keep shredding.
“Hey,
I just wanted to let you know how stoked I am on the snowboard scene. I have been riding for many years, but at the same time I became disconnected with the industry and scene. I just finished a tour that has taken me to the SIA and ISPO trade shows in Denver and Munich. It is so great to reconnect with old friends and meet many new ones. So cool to see so many young riders stoked for all the right reasons. Rails, parks, just taking runs all day, powder….it’s so great to see all the diversity and stoke in every aspect. Today’s new generation of riders seem to have a new energy and that fires me up!
Riding is one of my biggest passions in life and hitting these trade shows has not only been fun to see the faces, but it has driven me even more to get out and ride. I hope everyone in the industry has as much stoke as I do for snowboarding. When I saw the display of old boards at the Skullcandy booth and realized how the history is important to a lot of people, I knew I had made the right decision to go to the shows. Keep riding and you won’t ever lose the stoke. It’s easy to say, especially when you’re in your early 20s. Now that I’m in my mid 40s, I have had to make sure I get out there and ride as much as I can. The past few years have opened my eyes to what I missed when I took riding for granted and didn’t force myself to go. I will never make that mistake again. Riding, even at my age now, is more fun than it ever was! Life takes you down interesting roads and snowboarding is by far the most interesting thing I have experienced. It’s been more than 30 years of riding for me, here’s to another 50!” -Terry Kidwell
