| Although the Eastern slopes of the Rockies offer some of the deepest snow and gnarliest terrain in Canada, if not the world, Alberta’s snowboard scene has long been cast in the shadow of the pro name-check appeal and glamorous lifestyle offerings of Whistler. For years, riders and media alike have migrated to the relentless wetness of Whistler to live the dream; the environment of the resort encompassing an established who’s who of industry types and pro riders with the benchmark power to transform a kid into a poster child or toss them to the street.
But it wasn’t always this way. In snowboarding’s early years, Calgary and the area around Banff and Lake Louise were cultivating a burgeoning snowboard community. In its infancy stage, snowboarding pioneer Ken Achenbach opened up the Snoboard Shop in Calgary. It was Canada’s first exclusive snowboard dealer. Riders like Greg Todds and Al Clark helped define and progress freeriding and gave Alberta a solid reputation amongst shred circles all over the world.
In the last few years, there has been a resurgence in amplifying the Alberta riding community. With local pros like TJ Schneider, Andrew Hardingham, Dwayne Wiebe, and Dustin Craven planting roots in the area rather than busting a move to the coast, the legitimacy and credibility of the local picture is strong once again. Brad Hays is another Calgary rider who helped shape the sport on a local level and now focuses his efforts on documenting its progression with his film company, WMH Productions.
"Whistler will always be a thriving snowboard community because of its proximity to world-class facilities and terrain, but over the past few years many riders looking to further their careers as professional snowboarders are making the choice not to move," Hays says. "This is partly due to the fact that Whistler has been so over-saturated with both the talent and the media that it sometimes makes it hard to get anything done. The other reason has to do with snowboarding’s sheer size and the commercial acceptance of the sport now. Riders, photographers and businesses can now make money by playing the game and big corporations are willing to pour money into it looking to buy advertising space because there is a market."
Hays says his film company was created out of a lack of media exposure outside of Whistler. Since establishing WMH in 2003 and releasing the premiere film, Orion: The Blank Generation, Hays and WMH have built upon a dedication to showcasing local talent and raising the standard in filming and editing techniques. His most recent video, Days Like Today, came out this fall and was put together with the strongest footage from last season.
"The idea behind WMH is to progress and promote snowboarding through park, pipe, backcountry, freeride, urban jibbing and competition," Hays says. "We document the people and culture that influence the vision of snowboarding and promote the locations in which they ride."
WMH was originally spawned as an outlet of expression that would allow Hays to stay connected to the snowboard community and bring exposure to local talent. "The Alberta scene varies quite a bit due to the size and geography of the province, but on the whole I think it’s very competitive and progressive."
His past releases have incorporated a fair amount of visual design rather than straight footage, a trend that is starting to become more popular in snowboard films. "I guess sometimes I try to communicate messages in my design, but I think for the most part art and creativity surround us; it’s everywhere we look and in everything we see."
According to Hays, the intention behind Days Like Today was to edit the riding footage less like a typical snowboard video with specific rider sections, and more like a video journal through the eyes of the filmer – event atmosphere, daily occurrences and thoughts on what’s going on all around.
"Creative camera angles and proper lighting are important to me," he notes, "but they are definitely restricted because of tight budgets and little equipment. I always try to use light to help capture colours that will intensify the shot or atmosphere."
Hays’s goal is to develop what he calls the Community Collective Development Program that will eventually allow people within the snowboard community to work together and pool their talents on various projects regardless of whether they once viewed one another as competition.
"I’m thinking about taking a different direction with the video next year," he says. "I want to go online. The technology and the way you can press videos for the web is a lot better so it makes it possible to expand that way rather than confining my sales to a certain area. If I have it online, everyone can watch it – and it’s a lot cheaper." |
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