"I quit the internet four or five years ago," says
Jonas Guinn when I ask for his email address. He wasn't kidding, and oddly
enough, I wasn't surprised. Jonas has been marching to the beat of his own iPod
-- or should I say Walkman -- his entire life. Renowned for his aggressive big-mountain
riding and imaginative lines, Jonas spent years in the Canadian snowboarding spotlight
before falling off the map a few years ago. Now, at 28, he's found a nice
little niche for himself and his new family. With his wife Michelle, heiress to
the Mike Wiegele's Heli-Ski empire, and three year-old son, Charlie Roy, he
spends his winters in hip-deep snow and the rest of the year trekking around
North America and Mexico guiding hunting trips. It took me a while to track him
down, but upon his return from a trip to the Yukon, I was able to catch him and
ask a few questions before releasing him back into the wild.
"Jonas has a mind of his own and
is one of the few people who choose to use it. His riding and personal style
both reflect this. He's as hard as petrified shit and no one will dispute this,
I'm sure. I grew up riding with Jonas and together our competitive drives
pushed each another to try new and crazier things every season. We always
wanted to push the limit of danger and I have him to thank for that. I also sat
in classrooms with the man and he is one smart cookie. I think the reason he
has never achieved ultra-pro status in this sport is because he was so true to
it and refused to suck industry dick. It's the hardest way to get ahead when
your sport goes corporate, but he didn't give a shit and now he rides more pow
than most big pros, and can freeride better than most of them too. I like that
in a rider." -- Andrew Hardingham on Jonas Guinn
So just to
catch up, for those following along at home, when would you say was your last pro
shred season?
Well, last season was pretty good! Wait, not last
season but the one before.
So you were
still getting paid to ride two seasons ago?
No, I don't think I ever got paid by a company; I
had to steal from them. [laughing] That's about the size of that. All the money
I earned in snowboarding was through editorial, photo incentives and contests.
Have you
started guiding out at Wiegele's yet in the winters?
No, not at all. That's not my thing. In the
winters, when I'm there, I hang out with my son, do some snowboarding, a little
heli stuff and run the snow-cats. I've been running a kid's camp for the last three
years as well. It's for both skiers and snowboarders. We bring a bunch of kids
out for a week or so, and get them in the snow-cat and give them a big mountain
of fun to play with. We get kids as young as my son, who's three, all the way
up to 14. We basically build a bunch of freeride type features, like kickers
off of cat-tracks and jumps off of knolls, a banked slalom course and put a
quarterpipe at the bottom, you know? This next year should be really good,
though. We are going to be able to run two sessions. Oh, I also run an ice fishing
derby out there every winter. It's called Fish-a-palooza. [laughing] This will
be the third year. The first year, Michelle actually won it, and last year I won it.
That sounds
a little fishy, no pun intended, are you two the only competitors?
No, no, no... [laughing] There were over 50
competitors last year.
How was the
transition from snowboarding over to family life and becoming ‘Big Poppa'?
Pretty good! I wouldn't say I am totally done with
my snowboarding life, either. I have filmed a part for [Andrew] Hardingham's
movie the last two years. Well, he didn't put out the movie this year because
of his unfortunate accident, but it will come out next year. I still get
together with the guys and we hit up Banff, or they come here to Blue River or
we go somewhere off the map... or just invent some new place. [laughing]
What's next
for you in snowboarding, if anything?
I want to do a few more things with full-on
backcountry kickers and helicopters. I want to take some initiative and build a
few things for guys to come out on photo-shoots or whatever. I want to
pre-build some jumps that only have helicopter access so no one has ever seen
them before. The crew would come in and then fly around and look at a bunch of
different jumps that are already built, and pick something that looks good to
them. I don't know... something like that.
Are you
still riding for anybody?
Nope, not really. I don't have time to kiss ass to
get anything. [laughs] Kevin Sansalone will send me a board, and Lib Tech will
send me a board or something. I get enough stuff and everything like that. I
don't like putting a lot of time into that sort of thing. When it comes to
riding for a company, if you have to put in a lot more time than its worth,
then it's not really worth it, is it?
No truer
words have been spoken, my friend. [laughing] What are you doing in the summers
to keep yourself busy?
I guide hunting in the fall and summer in and
around Kananaskis, and then in December I usually guide hunting down in Mexico.
What do you
hunt in Mexico? It can't be the same thing I hunt for on spring break down
there.
Nope, we look for dessert Big Horn sheep, Mule deer
and Coues deer. We'll use bow and arrow, guns... whatever it takes.
Sounds a lot
like your approach to snowboarding... Whatever it takes...
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Related:
Sharing Wisdom With Andrew Hardingham
Panty Throwing
Sansalone's White Gold