If you were one of the hundreds of thousands of people to check out Absinthe's Neverland Tour throughout the world, you would have seen this Slytech Protection section somewhere along the line...
Arguably one of Snowboarding's biggest risk-takers, Romain de Marchi -- while oddly not wearing a helmet (he says he's too old-school for it) -- he relies on his Slytech 2nd Skin Back Protector at EVERY SESSION. Whether he's charging big mountain or is on piste for a quick late afternoon cruiser sesh, he straps it on.
"Why not?" he once told me, "I can't even feel it!"
You look at something like this, listen, and feel the tension in the rider's voices, and you know it's serious business. It shows you that even the most experienced riders can get themselves into perilous situations. I'm not sure whether DCP is wearing a back protector in this avalanche, but if you're tumbling down the mountain like this, your body is taking a pounding... unreal.
Keep this from happening to you. Trust your gut. Wear your back protector.
It's just one of those things... A shredder from Austria hits her local shop, browses the newest gear and stumbles upon the protection section. She tries on a traditional plastic back protector and is not that stoked on it. Then the shop owner shows her the memory cell line-up and it takes only strapping it on one time for her to decide to demo it. She straps it on down in Bardonecchia, takes the liftline up and in a matter of 5 minutes, the protector is heated up to her body temperature, then bends and molds to her curves. She's free to move, free to ride.
She's hooked. She shreds. She's Lisa Filzmoser.
As a snowboarder, pushing her limits, back protection is no longer a luxury, but a necessity.
THE DATA
Date of birth: 08.08.1981
Hometown: Thalheim/Wels, Austria
Favorite board(s): Trinity 152 and 156
Stance: regular +18 front & -9 back, around 60 cm wide
Home mountain:Â Dachstein Austria where my aunt lives there and where I started snowboarding
Favorite mountain: the Alps, interior BC (Canada),
Favorite summer riding: Hintertux, Dachstein
Riding since: 1994
Videos 09/10: STANCE, watch it at http://www.stancemovie.com
Other sponsors: Helly Hansen, Nikita, Vans, Smith, Les Ettes, Dakine
Just got a note from Naku who's up in Lapland, Northern Scandinavia tearing up the terrain. Not sure he actually saw any northern lights (he didn't say anything about it, but I figured, what the hell, might as well post a pic about them). What he did say is that he's having an awesome time at the park and post-sesh brews. Sweet!
Borealis Action
Naku writes:
"Well, on a wrap up Lapland is about big booters, beers & never-ending sunshine!! The hills aren't very big so i guess that's what draws the line between the Rockies or the Alps... You can find some powpow during the winter, but in the springtime it's quite warm so park-riding is what we're after. Sesh goes on and on and after that it continues in the multiple roadhouse boozers around. Beautiful.
Peace!
-naku"
How's your spring riding? Been able to get out much?
Germany's Pleasure Magazine recently highlighted Wolfgang "Wolle" Nyvelt's favorite gear. His usual Salomon, Billabong and DaKine favorites are in there, as well as the Wolle Edition Slytech 2nd Skin Backprotector.
Here's the English translation:
"Slytech Backprotector
Wolle is even enticed by his Signature Series stuff. The Slytech Backprotector protects the spine, the coccyx, and the shoulder blades, as well as the important lower-back area. To keep free range of motion and comfort, this 'back caresser" avoids the use of hard plastic components. The only thing left to say is a loud 'Eööööh!"
Just got a super enthusiastic email from Naku, our power rider from Finland... he writes:
Just came back from rail sessions and found that i'm right on the website frontpage of the largest newspaper in Finland, Helsingin Sanomat.. Few reporters walked by and here's the result:
Hahaha! Pretty classic "sport photo" i must say... Way to go.
-naku
Uhhhh... What's It Say?
Not sure whether you've ever made it into your hometown's paper, but it's a pretty cool occasion. I personally found myself on the cover of my hometown paper in 1991 for windsurfing in a tropical storm. The other stories around it talked about downed powerlines, thousands of homes without power, the FBI nabbing some killer and right there in the center was a color picture of me jibing (what you don't see is me falling in afterwards... heheh).
Romain de Marchi once told me: "whether I hit the big mountain or just go for a joy ride at my local resort, I always strap it on."
I'm not sure what the dudes are doing in this video, whether they're "strapping" or going without, but if it's the latter, you gotta ask yourself: how much higher is the risk of back injury?
Romain gets top honors in this video for "TOP 10 ALMOST LANDED TRICKS." There's no secret now why he chooses to strap on his Slytech 2nd Skin Protector wherever he rides. Whether a small joyride at his local resort or big mountain, he straps it on.
