Snowboarding
Would you trade your smartphone for an endless powder run?
Offline is more than just a snowboarding movie, it’s a call to reconnect with real life. Watch the film and get the backstory here.
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In the past decade or so, we’ve watched social media morph from a fun and nerdy internet niche into an all-consuming monster. Online is where we hang out with friends, real and virtual, search for jobs and romance; and where, with selfies, stories and tweets, we carefully sculpt our public personas – leaving out all the dull and unglamorous bits.
Looking on the bright side, we now live in a world of ever-increasing connectedness, where we’re all free to inspire and be inspired, follow and be followed, share our lives and participate in the lives of others. But there’s a price to pay for all that connection. For many of us, social media has become a global popularity contest that sucks up free time and feeds insecurities. At best, ‘gamifying*’ our lives is highly addictive.
*Gamification* is the application of game-design elements and game principles in non-game contexts, eg. “this photo got so many likes!”
Not that any of this relates to pro snowboarders, right? After all, these attractive young gods and goddesses live blessed lives of endless kicker lines, slippery rails and bottomless powder. Don’t they? Well, despite a lifestyle that revolves around riding boards in the great outdoors, pro snowboarders definitely need to put time and effort into their social media presence – their sponsors demand it. After all, what is a pro snowboarder's job, besides bringing fresh content to the screens of his or her followers?
Nitro team rider enjoying time offline
© Knut Eliasson / Nitro Snowboards
Speaking of sponsors, this is where the new Nitro movie comes in. In the age of Instabangers, why not make online/offline the theme of your new team video? As Nitro marketing manager and team rider Knut Eliasson puts it:
"For us, snowboarding is our escape and one of the few things we do that truly allows us to be offline, focusing only on the next turn, side hit, tweak, airtime, carve, pow slash, or high five. This is the inspiration for our new movie Offline."
So what is it about today’s online lifestyle that drives a pro snowboarder (or anyone else) crazy? We asked a few of the riders for their thoughts.
For German jib king Benny Urban, it’s a simple case of endless fear of missing out: “To be honest, it’s the pressure you make yourself that you always want to know what’s going on or what you’ve missed. The feeling that you always need to be on it.”
The Nitro Snowboard team gathering around a campfire
© Knut Eliasson / Nitro Snowboards
Meanwhile, Swiss halfpipe ripper Jan Scherrer thinks connectedness is overrated: “I think Instagram makes it more difficult to leave everything behind and just be with yourself. Since everyone posts stories, you always know where everyone is and what they're doing. That’s why I always delete Instagram on my phone for one or two months, when the season is over.”
For Finnish freestyle legend Eero Ettala though, it’s getting told what to do and when to do it that really gets his teeth grinding:
“For me, having a calendar is the worst aspect of modern life. I used to manage fine, but since getting a calendar I feel like all my days are suddenly fully booked. I love having spare time and doing things exactly when I feel like it and not that I have to do something at a specific time, because it’s written on my calendar.”
Campfire challenges in the snowy outback.
© Knut Eliasson / Nitro Snowboards
But, what aspect of snowboarding is it that gives a pro snowboarder the purest felling, the cleanest break from modern life? After all, while the rest of us dream of bluebird days of perfect parks or untracked powder, these are the times a pro is working hardest to get great shots.
For Norwegian style god Torgeir Bergrem, nature and the sight of zero bars is all he needs: “The thing that I find the most stressful about modern life is the constant need to stay connected and available. So, the best feeling in the world is to not be. When I'm in the backcountry without a phone signal, I can truly take in the beauty of my surroundings without the feeling of having to share it with the world.”
Connecting with nature instead of your social feed is always a good idea, or, as Salt Lake City local Griffin Siebert puts it: “For me, exploring a new place, or a hidden nook in my home mountain range gives me the purest feeling of living. I'm always excited about what's behind that next bend, or over that next ridge – it never gets old.”
The Nitro Snowboards Offline team
© Nitro Snowboards / Knut Eliasson
Meanwhile, all über talent Marcus Kleveland needs to forget about his smartphone is quality time with his homies:
The purest feeling for me is definitely being back home just riding with my friends! Nothing beats a good day at home
But perhaps the last word on the subject of how we should all be online less, and on snow more, should go to Eero Ettala, who puts it perfectly:
If I could change my phone into an endless powder run, I would do it in a heartbeat
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