The Rusty Toothbrush crew, which also includes our riders Dušan Kříž and Ethan Morgan, produces literally a piece of snowboard art every season. And this year was no different. Their newest masterpiece is called Smile While You Can. Be ready for a piece of high-quality snowboarding from Italy and Japan. While they were drowning in three meters of snow on Etna, an active volcano in Italian Sicily, Japan, a powder heaven, was quite stingy with snow in the beginning. Everything is possible, nothing is static, so don't forget to "Smile While You Can"!
- PRODUCED, FILMED & EDITED : Alex Stewart
- FILMING & GRAPHICS : Francesco Zoppei
- FILMING & PHOTOGRAPHY : Federico Grego
- SUPPORT : Chiara Grisorio
- RIDERS : Ethan Morgan, Dušan Kříž, Alex Stewart, Veroniqi Hanssen, "Nata" Sanchez, Nicholas Bridgman, Keisuke "put" Shimakata, Emiliano Lauzi, Simon Gruber, Elena Graglia, Lia-Mara Bösch
We also talked with our team rider Dušan Kříž about the course of filming.
Where was Smile While You Can filmed?
We started at the beginning of December with a street trip to Italy. There I injured my shoulder in one spot, so I couldn't continue. However, my primary focus was the backcountry, so I was waiting to see what would happen next. The winter was not developing in the best way, we waited for snow until mid-January and we didn't want to wait any more. We saw that everyone was flying to Japan, so we thought we'd take a trip there too. We were there for about two and a half weeks and after arriving back to Europe, I took another trip to Italy with Rusty Tootrbrush. So for me it was two destinations, Italy and Japan. The rest of the crew then took another trip to Sicily, which I couldn't take part in, as I was shooting with the Simpson brothers in Austria at the time. Anyway, snowboarding on Etna, that's something that many people just don't get to do!
In the beginning, things didn't look very good in Japan either with the snow. When did it take a turn?
There was a problem that we didn't come to the very best place in the beginning. We wanted to go to the backcountry for the classic Japanese snow pillows that we all know from the videos, but due to a misunderstanding with our guide in Japan, we ended up in really big mountains. And it was very windy there at that time. Some snow fell there, but the wind immediately blew it away. We struggled with it for a long time until it got to the point where we didn't have a single shot after a week. We had one party where I managed to break my head (you can see it in the teaser) and then the whole thing kind of took turn. This is how I probably baptized the whole thing, haha. We got quite a lot of snow then and it was finally all fine.
Was riding in Japan up to your expectations? Is there really a non-stop mountain of snow, as we know from the videos?
For example, I experienced there that three quarters of a meter fell within two hours. When it starts snowing there, it just goes. It happens that it starts snowing, you look out the window, and when you look again three hours later, you can't see your car anymore. Sometimes it's really crazy. But one has to be lucky. I've been to Japan twice, and the first time it didn't snow at all, it just rained. So that can happen too, we can't influence that, that's the weather.
Now let's move on to your killer ender. Can you tell us more about it?
As I mentioned before, that winter was really bad. After we got back from Japan, we waited again for some snow and it finally came in the form of a huge storm in northern Italy. We got there, and I already had my history on that last jump from the movie, I did a switch backside double 10 there in the past. So I knew exactly what I was getting into and I was looking forward to it. I knew I had only one task, and that was to send there the trick I had in my head, which you can see in the end of the movie. It was my very first jump of the day, I made it first try and I couldn't believe it! I confess that I have never experienced such a feeling in my life. I bounced back, suddenly everything slowed down, I looked at everything from the air, and when I was in the transition to the second cork, I already knew that I was doing it. I landed and the whole thing just kind of clicked for me. I landed it! Incredible feeling!
And what was that trick?
Actually, it was two tricks. The first was a switch backside double 9 and the second was a frontside double 12 stalefish.
What do you like most about the "Smile While You Can" movie?
Its vibe. It mirrors the relationship we have between us. There are moments when everything sucks, when we're mad at each other and can't even communicate, and then, at the end, you see the wedding of your friends from Rusty Toothbrush and you're like, that's it! All of this. I am so grateful for every single moment and for being a part of it. These are the people who make it what it is. If I didn't have the right people around me, I can do any trick and it will never have the same vibe it has now.
Is there anything else you would like to add to the film?
I would like to highlight the girls who ride in the movie. A huge respect for each one of them. Snowboarding is one thing, but putting up with the whole circus around filming is heavy. One has no luxury, comfort or privacy. It's a mission. Sometimes it's unpleasant, there's a long waits and a lot of work. And if I have to say it straight, during the entire shooting there was not a single moment when any of them complained about anything. They took it, went with it and just nailed it.
Pretty big changes have happened in your life now, can you tell us more about it?
A lot has happened in the last year. I started working as a team manager of international riders for Horsefeathers and all the time I was also engaged in mental coaching. This summer I received a message from the management of the Austrian snowboard team, that they were looking for a coach for their team that competes in the European Cup and if I would be interested. So I did everything necessary for that, I went through the selection process, at the end of which they informed me, that they would like to work with me, and that the head coach of the Austrian national team was leaving, and they offered me this position. And that is an offer that cannot be refused. Such a chance will not come again. So of course I accepted it. I myself don't know if it was about chance or luck, but on the other hand, I know that I did a lot of things in order to be able to move in such a direction. So it was probably a mix of all that and fate arranged it that way. It is, of course, a big challenge for me, because in reality it means that I will be coaching, for example, Anna Gasser, who moved women's snowboarding to where it is today. And with her, we are heading to the Olympics for medals.
What does this position involve?
It involves a number of things. Basically, you have to be a trainer, mentor, psychologist, mental coach and project manager, all in one. You are in charge of a lot of administration, organizing, planning, managing, making phone calls. There is also a lot of politics, diplomacy and communication involved. You have to be in contact with different people. With referees, technical delegates, organizers, managers, with the union. I only started this October, so I'm still learning how to navigate it all at the moment.
