A man that needs no introduction (although I am going to do it anyway), that single-handedly changed the direction of backcountry snowboarding and has been killing it for years, finds himself at the helm of yet another industry-leading snowboard team. Devun Walsh, who's been rocking DC boots for over seven years, made the move to a full "head-to-toe" deal with the brand two years ago. Since then he's continued his onslaught on the global shred community, all the while grooming what has arguably become the best team on snow. The decision by DC to take on Devun could easily be viewed as one of the best power moves in snowboarding in a long time, but was it a conscious strategic move to improve the whole team, or just one in which DC didn't think Devun was quite finished what he had started in snowboarding? Let's find out.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but it seems that your role at DC is sort of shifting into a "Team Captain" situation, one where you may be showing some of the younger riders the ropes and that sort of thing.
Yeah, yeah... that's kind of what has been slowly happening over time. I've been showing some of the younger guys around, definitely in the backcountry, but for me I didn't really expect it to be like that but it turned into that. Which is pretty cool... Like a mentor kind of role.

Are you stoked on the overall direction this is taking and the way that it's changing?
Ah, yeah I am! You know what it's doing? It's actually really helping my snowboarding. I am helping them with their backcountry knowledge and experience, like filming in general, and those guys are kind of showing me what's possible on a snowboard still, you know? You're old mind starts to get a little crowded with fear and doubt and those guys don't have that, so I start thinking, "Yeah, I can do that, I can try that!" So it really causes me to push myself a little bit.

Devun Walsh, Cab 5.

You used three words in that answer that people don't really associate with you; old, fear and doubt. Do you find those creeping in more now in your thinking?
Well yeah, of course. I mean, you don't snowboard all summer and you start thinking at the beginning of the season, "Man, can I still do this, what's the deal?" You do start to have those things creeping in, but once I get out there again it's mellow. [laughs]

Was it a conscious decision to evolve your role at DC? Was it outlined when you first locked in to your head-to-toe deal?
Well, I guess I was kind of supposed to be the experienced veteran and kind of show those guys the ropes. It was sort of stated, but it's not in my contract or anything. It may have been a bit of an undertone when I first went back. I think that's how it will keep moving forward as well, where I will probably start working with the even younger guys. I mean right now I only really ride with Iikka [Backstom], Lauri [Heisikari] and [Aaron] Bittner, you know?

Devun, circa 2001. Nothing has changed.

So moving forward, do you have any specific goals that will be more of a conscious decision, or will you keep rolling and just see what happens?I don't know... right now, no. I will probably be more into doing stuff like that when I start to wind down, which I'm sure will be sometime, but definitely not now! [laughs] Seriously though, I don't think it's going to be for a while.

That's what I like to hear, keep the dream alive for the rest of us! [laughs] It definitely seems that on the overall snowboarding landscape, it is taking much longer to have a changing of the guard than it has in the past. The younger riders certainly don't seem to be stepping up to take over the reigns, know what I mean?
Totally! It's weird, I was riding Mount Seymour a bunch over the holidays and all the young kids don't know how to snowboard. No one jumps cliffs, no one rides the side hits. If it's not a clear, mapped-out jump with a take-off and a landing they have no fucking clue. [Chris] Dufficy and I were riding around waiting for one of these kids to impress us, you know? And all of a sudden we were like, "who's that!?" And it ended up being Jon Cartwright and this longtime Seymour local, Jeff. So we were like, "Fuck! Where are these kids!" It was hilarious. I just don't think these kids know what to look for. It seems if it's not in the snowboard park, then it's not jumpable. It's like they don't understand doubles or anything. I don't know, it's weird. It seems like a lot of them don't skateboard either. You know in skateboarding you learn how to pump around and ride little transitions and stuff?

Yeah. So if you had any advice for these kids, what would it be?
Start using your natural terrain! That's what I think.

And that's it?
Yeah! [laughs] I think it's just getting out there and riding the mountain more, learning how to snowboard... A lot of the kids in the park now can barely carve. I'm not saying go jump huge cliffs or anything, but just boot around the hill and hit those side and wall hits and have a blast. That's where you learn how to snowboard! That's where you learn your balance and board control...everything after that is gravy.

Devun proudly rides for DC, Wildcats, IS Eyewear, Skull Candy and The Source.

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Related:
Shooting with DC
Chris Dufficy, Body and Mind