"Daryl Trinidad, Esquire." That is the recording I heard on Daryl Trinidad's voicemail for years and also his title on his business card. Right around this time his ‘business' card was a hand written square of paper that he took into a printing shop and had screened onto a thicker stock of paper. In the end his card even had the blue and red lines from the notebook paper he had torn the original sheet out of. I also have to mention the card was written with his left hand even though he is a righty, and that when you turned the card over there was his rendition of a slice of pizza also in blue Bic ink. I am going to see if I can dig it up...
From humble beginnings in Toronto, Daryl, ‘Trini' to his friends, made his way to Whistler and had a modest career as a pro-shred with the likes of Limited Snowboards, Helly Hansen Clothing, Supernatural Snowboards and finished it all off at Sims. He currently sits atop the food chain as the Canadian Marketing Manager at Spy Optic. I managed to catch him at home, the current Canadian HQ of Spy, and inquired about how it all evolved.
Pete: You have a long and distinguished history in Snowboarding. Explain to me how the transition from pro-shredder to the management side of things went down.
Trini: Uh well, Peter, originally when I was snowboarding, I took advertising in college and I already knew a lot of the Snowboard Canada Magazine media types through competitions and the such, so I interned at the SBC offices (in Toronto) when I was still in school.
P: What exactly did you do during your internship at SBC?
T: [laughing] It was neither here nor there really. I would go in, tell some jokes, you know. No, seriously, what I started doing was the survey, the SBC survey that is still published to this very day. I collected all the data for that and then got a little more into the retail and the business publication that SBC does. I would contact all the shops and collect info mostly. I was bottom of the barrel at ‘ol SBC (laughing).
Clearly the hardest working man in the business.
P: And where did you go from there?
T: From there I was supposed to go to Whistler but right at the end of my internship I blew my knee skateboarding on a handrail. Then from there, actually, I didn't know what I was going to do. I had to get an MRI and was told my knee was indeed blown so I wasn't able to move to Whistler that year; I was about 20 years old. That was when Stevie J from SBC (Steve Jarrett, Owner and Publisher of SBC) sat me down and he just laid it on me. He told me "You know what Trini? You are going to work for me for the 6 months until your knee gets better and then you are going to move to Whistler." I owe that guy more than you could know because he really set a path for me and what I wanted to do because he told me that if I didn't go out and really try my hand at being a professional snowboarder then I would regret it my whole life. That was some great advice that I took and followed to a ‘T'. Steve hooked me up with a great surgeon who happened to be his high school buddy and he also got me into a great physio program. I really got set up in Toronto and I was able to work there for the year, get my knee better and head out to Whistler that summer.
P: So how did you did you get linked up with Spy?
T: While I was still riding for Sims I met up with Nelson Phillips, who was working for Spy at the time and he basically told me that he needed me riding for Spy and that he was going to pay me twice as much as I was making with Smith, so I got a raise to 200 pesos instead of one and that is how it all began with Spy. It was really all Nelson Phillips. I liked it because it was a good team and people like yourself were supporting the brand, (Dennis) Bannock, a number of my close friends were involved so, it felt more like a family.
We'll just say this wasn't shot yesterday...but it was an SBC Business cover.
P: Was there a conscious decision to move over to the business side of snowboarding or did it just evolve?
T: Uh, no, to be honest I never really snowboarded to be a pro snowboarder, per se. I mean I really enjoyed traveling and cruising around but let's be honest, if you lined me up against true professionals I would be a bench warmer should this be team sport. I wasn't really all the way out there but I did get support and I was able to travel and I lived a really fun life in Whistler and did it all for free. I did it because I enjoyed it, I didn't really do it because it was a job and my number one ambition so the transition from snowboarding to business wasn't as hard at all for me because I did have that little bit of experience from working at the magazine and because I had stayed in contact with all those business like people. At the end I really just wanted to work because I knew that snowboarding wasn't going to last forever. I then got really lucky and my transition worked out well. It happened like this: Craig Ballantyne and I were down at Super Park one year and we just realized that we quit because we didn't care to hit these monstrous jumps anymore. It was an interesting moment in our lives. It felt good. Well, maybe I didn't quit snowboarding so much as it quit me (laughing). Sims was going through some serious trouble and it just seemed like the right time. I just said enough is enough and certainly wasn't about to go look for another sponsor. At that time No Limits Distribution was looking for a Team Manager. Darren, Kevin and Dez down at No Limits gave me a huge opportunity and allowed me to get the experience and give me an in to the business side of things. It was only a 2-day-a-week kind of job but was perfect at the time. That was my true transition into a real job.
P: Is this when the Spy job came up?
T: Yeah, I worked with No Limits for 6 months and then one Kenny Mac (Kenneth MacIntyre) who was the Canadian Marketing Manager for Spy at the time moved on up to Red Bull. I saw the opportunity and was at the point where I was looking for a job like that and it just popped up so it kind of worked out pretty nicely for me.
P: All in all are you pretty happy with your position?
T: Of course I am, I have a job, it's great! [laughing] I have been doing this for almost three and a half years now and with the current economy I have some pretty serious challenges and am not able to always do everything that I want to do with the brand but I definitely have one of the best jobs because it totally suits my personality and who I am. I am able to travel constantly, which I really enjoy, and split two lives between being in Vancouver and also a Toronto aspect. I really don't know what I would do without a position like this because I really do like living in both worlds.
It's not all pushing paper. Sometimes you've got to get your hands dirty.
P: So, people coming up right now that really want to find a position such as yours, do you have any advice for them?
T: In this economy, no, no I don't (laughing). No, I shouldn't say that. It is all going to turn around. I think what you really have to do is kind of keep listening to what is coming up in the industry and really keep up-to-date with the news in our circles. Knowing and interacting with people is key. I mean, I have never gotten a job where I didn't know someone. I even got my job at Pizza Hut when I was 15 because my neighbour worked there. I don't think that is ever going to change, in my life anyway. I mean, I always had relationships that help me get to my jobs. The way that our industry works the thought of just straight up applying for a job sounds just ludicrous to me.
P: Give me a quick cheat sheet for people looking for a job in our incestuous cesspool of an industry.
T: Get an education, even though I didn't really learn anything practical in school, it was always brought up in my interviews. To be honest if I look back at the courses I took they actually have relevance to my current position even though at the time I felt that everything I was taking was for the birds. But even if it ends up not being relevant you definitely need to get a little bit of school, for sure. You also need to get some real life work experience...empty garbage cans if you have too. You also need to build up your contacts but you have to really enjoy it. It's not about just building a network solely to gain contacts. This industry is not about that. It's all about actual relationships. Genuine friendships are key. Just go out and have a good time really. I mean look at my physique. I am a genuine good time!
P: Any parting words for the masses?
T: Uhhhh, no, I don't really have anything right now. I have so many words of wisdom...can I get back to you on that?
P: Sure...we can always add it later.
T: Before I go though, I certainly want to thank Steve Jarrett at SBC, Matt Houghton, formerly of Limited Snowboards, SBC and now with this fine website, and also Dave Lee at Supernatural.
Postscript....
I received this e-mail a day after I spoke with Trini:
*please make mention of Matt Houghton, I owe him many thanks for my personal success:
-skateboarding in my home town, we would always see Houghton doing the same. Age 9
-I started snowboarding because I saw Houghton doing it. Age 13
-I would later ride for Limited Snowboards, Houghton was Team Manager. Age 17
-I interned then was hired at SBC media. Editor Matt Houghton. Age 20
-I am waiting for him to hire me at Push.ca! Age 30-ish
*A big Thanks to all my peeps at Spy. To those who are long gone, and to those who remain. It's a pleasure working with all of them.
Daryl Trinidad - Esquire
Some recent footage of Trini and the west coast crew of Team Managers keeping the dream alive:
[ed. note - holy crap, I found it...trini's pizza blog]
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When to Call It: Jesse Fulton
When to Call It: Rob Dow
Dennis Bannock: Like A Big Bottle Of Wine