Seattle, Washington

Boot Size: 9 | Height: 5’9” | Weight 165 lbs

After skiing for 20 years, I picked up a snowboard 20 years ago and haven’t been on skis since.  My favorite places to ride are Whistler, Baker, Jackson Hole, Snowbird, and Alaska.   Nothing beats a day riding powder with my friends.  It’s completely addicting and satisfying.

I’d ridden a lot of boards over the years and have found most boards are compromises that work well in certain conditions but not so well in others.  The board I ride in the resort when there hasn’t been much snow doesn’t work well in AK or when there’s pow.   And vice versa.

I’ve been a fan of Mikey’s for a while and was intrigued by the board shapes he’s been doing.  There is a lot of exciting innovation happening in snowboards right now, and Mikey is one of the leaders driving that innovation.  The people I know who have his boards rave about them.  Others covet them.  Sponsored riders who have to ride other boards secretly (or not so secretly) wish they could be riding a Franco Snowshapes board.  

Plus, the boards are absolutely beautiful.  They look almost too beautiful to ride.   I wanted to have something special so I talked to Mikey and we settled on the Big Nose Pin shape for me, in a 156 length, and a medium flex. 

It was difficult waiting for the board to arrive.   A few days after it did arrive there was a big powder day at Stevens Pass, one of my local hills.  I brought the BNP to see how it would do.   I was blown away.   It floated in the pow, railed the groomers, danced through the steep, tight trees, and powered through the chopped up snow.   I wasn’t quite prepared to have the board do so well in varied conditions.  

A week later I took it up to Whistler for four days, and again there was a variety of conditions, from groomers to thigh deep fresh pow and everything in between, from alpine bowls to chutes to trees.   I felt like the board was my secret weapon.  My buddies hadn’t seen me ride so well and so effortlessly.   I’m hooked.  Many people came up to me to comment on how great the board looks and say how much fun it must be to ride.  Yes, it is, even better than that.   I can’t wait to get out on the board again.   

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