By Dave Sypniewski

October 11, 2000

There�s a guy, "One-foot" (we�ll call him "One-foot" to help keep his anonymity since he was about fourteen at the time), who used to get his mother to buy him stuff at our local shop, The North Shore. The technique he used to obtain his first snowboard was fascinating: "One-foot" hung out at the shop all day. When his mother finally came to pick him up, he waited inside until she actually came in the shop to get him. While in the shop he pointed out the board he wanted. When she said he had to wait to get it, "One-foot" simply started screaming obscenities over and over again until she bought it for him. He later used this technique throughout his teens to obtain everything else he ever wanted, be it a coat or a skate deck, and his mother always caved in. I always wonder if "One-foot" used this technique to get girls, too.�David "My Mom Wasn�t Scared To Smack Me" Sypniewski

What was your first snowboard and how did you get it?

Chad Otterstrom
Age: 23
Sponsors: M3, Four Square, 32 Boots, Active Ride Shop, Smith Goggles, Flux Bindings, and GMC Gloves.

"My first snowboard was a Black Snow Legend that I bought from Target. I never rode it at a resort, though�only in my backyard�because the resorts didn�t allow snowboards then."

J2 (Jason Rasmussen)
Age: Older than you
Sponsors: GNU, Rip Curl, Northwave, Drake, and Anarchy Eyewear. "It was a Burton Mystery Air�the one with the orange and black Halloween graphics�and I got it from J1."

Josh Dirksen
Age: 23
Sponsors: Morrow Snowboards, DC Shoes, Spy Optics, Volcom Clothing, and Exit Real World Shop.

"My first board was a Burton Cruiser 135 with the rainbow zebra graphics and a swallowtail. My first two years of snowboarding I just rented boards from a shop near the town where I lived. At the end of the season, the shop gave me a deal on the board because I�d rented it from them so many times."

Ingemar Backman
Age: 24
Sponsors: Allian, We Clothing

"It was a Burton Cruiser 128, and I bought it from my friend, the best rider in my hometown."