After years of thinking, trying out different ideas, and figuring out who I am, I finally found a business that fits the bill.  It’s called PARX.  I started PARX in early July and am now working on this business full time. So pumped!

My New Website

Click on the logo and check out PARX.  PARX officially brings the means to Board the Midwest All Day, Everyday.  Summer, Winter, Spring and Fall, we can board through it all.

All the videos and blogs I do from this point on will be done through my new business.  Please check us out and follow us for updates.  We are going to be doing a lot of boarding, and you don’t want to miss out.

Sometimes that is all you need to know.  The rest can be seen in this video which was taken in my home state of Minnesota.

These guys probably lap the park all day, and if I was in their shoes, I would do the same. Either way you can’t deny Midwest skill.

Summer is here the snow is gone, so what are you going to do to snowboard?  Midwesterners have the tendency to hang up the board and forget about it until winter.  I say forget that.

Build  Backyard PARX

Check out this little set up I brought over to a friends house to test out.  He had a drop in already built for riding in the winter, so we threw up some powderpak, dragged out a 12′ piece of PVC and got after it.

If you think it looks a little sketchy, that is fine because it was.  This was only a test.  I would suggest a wider run in and more of a landing.  I would also suggest using a rail that will not move.

Other than that…, I love how simple it can be.  You can put it up and take it down in minutes, and it allows you to Board the Midwest All Day, Everyday.

I know some of you out there  board the summer too.  Post up some pics of your set up and maybe we can encourage more to build year round parks.  Check out my Facebook Page if you like to board.

For the past three years Kelly and I have traveled east for a snowboard trip.  Well this year we did it again.  We met up with our friends in Boston and then took off to the mountains of Vermont.  One of our stops during the trip was Mt. Snow.

Mt. Snow 2011

As we drove to Mt. Snow mother nature dumped on us like it was never going to end.  And it didn’t.

Besides the fact that this much snow could make snowboarding down stairs fun, Mt. Snow was a great Mountain.  We parked within walking distance to hill, lift lines did not form, and the variety of terrain Mt. Snow provided made for a good day.

Being from the Midwest I am always interested in what the terrain parks at different resorts look like.  Mt. Snow has a whole mountain that is dedicated to the park.  For us the park ended up sucking, but that is because we were not supposed to be in the park at this time.  We were supposed to be hitting the pow while it is fresh. Check out Adam and Jessica’s hats.  I’m telling you, it was puking out.

Seriously, it never stopped snowing on us the whole time we were at Mt. Snow.  I really hope I can make it back there to ride again.  It felt like we were only there for minutes, and I would like to spend months and months at Mt. Snow and in Vermont.

If you have never been out east because you think there is only good snow in the west.  Think again and give the east a try.  If anything, go to Vermont and drive around in the woods.  Maybe you will see a moose.  You never know.

Summer, Winter, Fall, and Spring.  The Midwest has all four, and I want to snowboard during every single one of them.  If you are a reader of this blog there is a good chance that you want to do the same.  Let me help you out with this because I think I have found the answer.

Powderpak

Not many people have it, some don’t need it, and until a few years ago I didn’t have the slightest idea what it even was.

Now I have rode it, tested it, and bought more of it.  Want to know what “it” is?

“It” is a carpet like material that is made out of plastic.  There are two different types of “it”.  One type is like a berber carpet with tight loops, and the other type is like short turf or grass.

With “it” you can ride on flat ground and use a Banshee Bungee to pull you.  You can roll it out on a hill and slide down.  You can build a drop-in ramps with “it” attached.  You can let your imagination roll and do anything you want with “it”.

Powderpak is an artificial snow surface that will allow you to snowboard, ski and sled all year.  I plan on using it for all three.  What would you do with it if you had it?

Would you have a year round backyard terrain park?  Would you build toboggan runs?  Would you open a year round terrain park in the Midwest?  Would you have it at your corporate event as something new to due, something to spark the interest?

Powderpak has made it possible for us all to Board the Midwest All Day Everyday.  Heck even Texans will be able to board with this stuff!

If you want to know more about the pak, shoot me a message and I will be happy to answer any of your questions.

Picture Taken by: David from Think Feel Pictures

In the good old Midwest the snow is gone, and you can bet we are still snowboarding.  It’s unreal, but it’s real.  Some might say it is fake, but you better believe  it.  I believe we will snowboard all summer long after a couple more test days like Day #2.  Check out our test scene.

Drop-in Test Day #2

Day two of testing actually happened a few weeks ago when we still had a couple piles of snow as you can see in the pic.  Either way this is what went down.

The sketchy ramp started 10ft in the air.  It was only 2 feet wide.  NOT wide enough, but it did get the job done.

With some Powderpak, some tire shine, and a couple of nerves the test was a success.

The goal was to be able to drop-in at 10 feet and hit a 12 foot flat rail.  I think I could have hit a 25-30 foot rail with the speed I was carrying.

All in all, we had a great night.  Andrew was the only one who fell off the ladder, so we will opt out of that design.  Have to thank him for being the crash test dummy on that one, and I am glad he is still alive so he can Board the Midwest All day Everyday.

Keep your eyes open for more test days to come, and if you would like to be a dummy like Andrew, let me know!!

After a continuous seven days of working straight and five more to go, I could sure use another snowboard vacation in Vermont.  Check out the cabin we rented a couple of months ago.  I could go back to this place in a second.

Vermont Cabin

Nothing is better than being out in the woods in the middle of Vermont.  If you have never been out east to snowboard, I suggest you go to Vermont and get it done.  Find a cabin from Craigslist, snowboard, and relax!  It’s what living is all about.

Here we are….  The Midwest Slump.  Winter is over, the snow is gone, and summer is not yet here.  We are in it.  What are we who love to snowboard, wakeboard, and wakesurf to do?  Do you feel stuck?  Do you really want spend outrageous prices on gas to travel 4-5 hours up north to snowboard?  The water is still frozen, how can you even think of being on it?

Midwest Board Slump

What do we do??  Skateparks, hiking, canooeing, mountian biking, long boarding, training, traveling out west, and  moving, are all options.  During the spring and fall we can do any of these, but who really wants to ride this way?

I want to snowboard, I want to wakeboard, I want to wakesurf, and I can’t.

Yeah there are many other ways to solve this issue, but I really don’t like any of them.  To me the Midwest slump is one of the biggest issues people in the Midwest have to deal with.  The slump is an issue I am passionate about solving and one I have been trying to solve for a couple of years now.

This is where I am at in solving this issue.

The picture above shows day three of testing a way to beat the slump.  As testing continues, a new company is also under development.  I’m super pumped and super excited to bring you a way to connect the summer to winter, winter to summer, and to help you beat the slump.

As I move forward with this idea, I will keep you posted on my latest findings and I would love to hear what you think of Boarding the Midwest All Day, Everyday because I am going to make it happen!  Actually it is happening, so let me know what you want to see, and I will try to make that happen for you!!

Here it is Ladies and Gentlemen.  A sequel to one of our only urban snowboard sessions this year.

Think Feel Pictures

I talked recently about the Urban Shred Night we had, but what I never mentioned is that David from Think Feel Pictures was there filming the whole night.

David and I met this year and I have to thank him for putting in the time to put this video together.  If you have not watched the vid in 1080 yet, you need to.  And blow that crap up, because it is one minute of a full blown HD movie.  So sweet, and I am pumped to have some more fun with filming as we continue to Board the Midwest All Day, Everyday.

A few weeks ago Kelly, Adam, Jessica, and I took a trip to Vermont to snowboard at Stratton Mountain.  The resort was great, the park was killer, and fun times were had by all.  Enjoy a few pics from our trip!

Stratton Mountain, Vermont

This is the view from our car as we pulled up to Stratton.  Tons of energy at this point.

The Crew -  Jon, Adam, Kelly, and Jessica (front to back)

A nice view from the Lift.

A view of Stratton Village.  Cool place to be!

Adam strolling through Stratton Village.  Can you guess what he is looking for?

You guessed it.  Apres!!  We stopped into Mulberry Street to finish off a great day at Stratton Mountain.

We also shot some riding footage while we rode at Stratton. I will get that out to you when the time is right.  I hope you enjoy the pics and if you have never rode the east side of the US, you should get out there.  Then you can come back and tell your friends how you don’t just Board the Midwest All Day, Everyday, you board the East too!