December 27, 2000

Do you remember what you used to want to be when you grew up? Actually, some of you are probably still at that dreamin’ age, but nevertheless, interests change, realities bite, and we most often find ourselves in completely different situations. Just around the office here we’ve got Shem, our photo editor, who wanted to be in Thin Lizzy; Mike, our assistant art director, who dreamed he’d be an archeologist after watching Indiana Jones; Amber, our photo department manager, who gave acting a try but decided she didn’t like it; and Leah, our managing editor, who loves animals and wanted to be a veterinarian. As for myself, I always wanted to be a whale trainer at Sea World.

Now we sit at our desks, laughing about our childhood ambitions, wondering deep down how we ended up where we are, and trying to figure out what’s to come. The best advice I can give is to take life day by day, pay attention to your instincts, don’t overfeed your goldfish, and only time will tell.–Tara Miller

When you were younger, what did you dream you’d grow up to be? And, what do you see yourself doing in five to ten years?

Barrett Christy

Age: 29

Sponsors: Mervin/Gnu, and Nike.

"When I was little, I wanted to be a Solid Gold dancer when I grew up. I thought for sure I would grow up to have long legs that could dance like that. And I thought disco would still be in. I’m glad that didn’t work out. I practiced in front of the TV, thinking there were Solid Gold ‘scouts’ who could see through the screen into our living room … and they would discover me, and that would be it. I’m glad they couldn’t see through the TV screen.

"What do I see myself doing in five to ten years? I’m not at all sure. I’ve conditioned myself not to plan ahead. I can’t plan ahead farther than tomorrow now, because obviously things are

always changing. So if I find myself unable or unwilling to ride as a

profession in five to ten, I think I will get a dog. Maybe a horse, too. Maybe I will work in the snow industry consulting or something. There seem to be a lot of big companies out there that want to be cool with the twelve-to-24 age group, but are too old or too out of touch to figure it out. Maybe I’ll work in the food-service industry. Maybe I’ll cash in my frequent-flyer miles and travel around the world … to all the warm and sunny spots. Maybe you’ll have to

ask me that question in four and a half years."

Marc Frank Montoya

Age: 26

Sponsors: Sims, Technine, DUB, Smith, Northwave, Osiris, Drop, Apollo, and Hotskates.

"When I was younger, I didn’t have any dreams of what I wanted to be. I didn’t have anybody to look up to or anything like that. My life didn’t look too promising at that time, come to think of it! I remember just wantin’ to have sex with every girl and skate for the rest of my life.

"Now that I’ve been able to travel and see what else is out there besides the city life, I have things I wanna accomplish and experience. I wanna be able to do whatever I want whenever I want without having to stress over money and other petty little things. I have plans now I’m workin’ on that are gonna set me up–in the next ten years. If not, I’ll just keep workin’ hard at it."

Devun Walsh

Age: 24

Sponsors: Forum, Special Blend, Iris, Hotskates, Premier Snow Skates, and Yride.com.

"I had hoped to be a pro skater one day, but then I started snowboarding because it rains so much during the winter in Vancouver. It was hard to find anywhere to skateboard, so I thought, ‘Why don’t I at least give snowboarding a shot, ’cause it looks similar?’ I never ever thought I would make anything of it. When you’re thirteen or fourteen, you never really think about the day you’re going to be 24 and what you’ll be doing then. For me, I just looked forward to the next day, or maybe even as far as the next summer.

"Now that I am 24, I’m constantly looking into the future, and I think the one thing I’ll be doing is working at a company making sure all the next-generation snowboarders are taken care of the way I’ve been taken care of through snowboarding. I want up-and- coming kids to have the same chance I did."

Scotty Wittlake

Age: 21

Sponsors: Millennium Three, DC, Oakley, and Technine.

[First Response] "I was asked this morning to answer a question for the point-of-view section of this magazine. Unfortunately, right after that I went snowboarding, crashed, and knocked myself out. I can’t remember what the question is, and it’s too late to call. The only thing I wrote down was the fax number and TWS, so that’s all I could remember. Sorry.

"P.S. This is 100-percent true, and is not a joke."

[Two weeks later we’re still waiting for the second response, so this will have to do.]