Like most teenagers at the time, I did some rollerblading in the 90’s. I’m probably not going to shock you when I say that getting aggressive on a pair of skates was pretty damn popular at one time, and then it faded into an oblivion only skiboarding can relate to. I’m no roller historian, but it’s safe to say that the sport experienced a textbook bubble effect. Before it had any culture, history, or underground foundation, it was featured in every cheesy Disney movie and junk food commercial. Knee-and-elbow-padded rebels terrorized the populace and brought radical fun wherever they went. When Bob and Betty Customer got tired of the extremeness, rollerblading got put out on its ass.
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A Cautionary Tale
Monday, June 21st, 2010
Things I Wonder: Boone Skate Ski
Tuesday, June 1st, 2010
There’s nothing like blasting your AC for 24 straight hours to make you think, “What happened to that Boone summer skate-ski idea?” Boone made a thread about it awhile back that we can’t find anymore. Then there was some (not so serious) discussion of a prototype that would be somewhere between the cross country rollerskis that already exist and a simple freestyle inline skate. I could dismiss the idea as completely without a purpose, market, or a shred of coolness…but I’m exactly nerdy enough to think it’d be fun for a day.
We promise to tirelessly pursue the answer to this question and never allow ourselves to think: “Who really cares?” So expect an answer to this most pressing question by the end of the day. In the meantime, Photoshop (or just Paint) your own dream prototype and throw it on our FB. There might be a t-shirt in it for ya (unless you’re from Australia)!
Lurk No More
Monday, May 31st, 2010There’s been some significant debate raging in BroBomb world. Ever since Matt sent around the link to Pursuit of Happiness, we’ve been going back and forth with ideas on how to bring this vibe to a ski edit. Could it be done on any interesting ski trail at night? Would it require a fantasyland combination of downhill urban landscape and snow covered streets? Are there creative ways to bridge that gap?
I’ve got a fridge packed with beer and grillable meats, so it’s your turn to write some BroBomb content. Drop your ideas, responses, hate, and knock-knock jokes in the comments. Consider this collective therapy to get the young skiing community used to posting on something other than NS.
Guide to Summer: Fitting In
Tuesday, May 18th, 2010
It’s summertime and that means you’re counting the days until you head to camp on a glacier or way down south. You’ve watched every last edit on the internet, and your blunt 9’s are on lock on the trampoline. What else could you possibly need to do? Well, you’re lucky BroBomb is here to help you, because you’re forgetting one huge factor: What if you get to camp and you totally don’t fit in? You know you’re cool at your local ant hill, but who knows how you stack up with kids from all over.
Follow our advice and you’ll have a guaranteed crew of like-minded bruddas to bro down with. If there’s one thing that unites skiers, it’s a fascination with imitating Jamaican culture. It’s a time-honored tradition with endless possibilities for a successful Rasta summer, but here are the basics:
BroBomb Content Vote: Don’t Complain Later
Thursday, April 8th, 2010Unless you live in Utah, or a few other lucky locales, it’s summer out there. BroBomb has plenty of summertime content planned with Dunfee in South America, late spring events, and some cool how-to’s. But there is one area I want every reader’s input on: should we post edits or do a couple articles on summer pastimes? If that answer is yes, then we also want your input on what warm weather stuff should grace the face of our site. So take a look at this all-too-obvious example of the possibilities, and then scroll down to cast your vote:
Your Ass Missed the Mark
Wednesday, March 3rd, 2010
This might be the beginning of a recurring series, or it might be a once-and-done bitchfest. Either way, I present to you: Your Ass Missed the Mark (conveniently shortened to YAMs). I’m going to do my best to get that into regular circulation, so when you hear a bearded weirdie yelling “you YAMed it” from the lift, you’ll know I’m near.
We Want Us Some Olympics. Right?
Wednesday, February 17th, 2010
I guess Olympic coverage is obligatory right now. The slipping ratings and questionable national relevance of these hallowed games aside, they’re still a pretty big deal. Then there’s the question of whether or not ski superpipe will make it in next time.
To be perfectly honest, I couldn’t care much less if ski superpipe makes it to the big stage. I have a hard enough time sitting through the X-Games; the Olympics would just be another event I have to pretend to care about. If you are one of these people who are still deluded enough to think that “freestyle” and competition can coexist, check out this article about baggy pants rules. Or check out some extreme commentary on that article.
Nonetheless, it does seem pretty ridiculous that there are no skiers up there in Whistler with that red Shaun person. Like everything though, it’s all business. There’s only so much airtime and there’s no way to speed up curling. That said, no NBC executive worth his weight in Conans would turn down an action packed double-sport. It’s more for less; simple economics. Nordic combined is going strong, so all we’ve got to do is a little freestyle-combined and we’re in the game baby!
I dug deep into the BroBomb Archives and discovered a little thing called Skijoring. It’s the original extreme Olympic sport. Back in 1928 these rad dudes were getting towed around by horses in pursuit of that sweet, sweet Gold. It’s been discontinued for the past 80 years, but what better time to bring it back?
Work with me here—you’ve got Simon Dumont behind his favorite pony dropping into the pipe. Not only is there a cute and cuddly horse to distract the public from the rebellious nature of his baggy pants, but there’s shit tons of amplitude. Amplitude! Naturally the skijoring-combined High Air is next, and we’re on the board with two totally extreme Olympic offerings.
U.S.A! U.S.A! U.S.A!
Bring on the Tens
Tuesday, January 5th, 2010
The turn of a decade is a pretty arbitrary designation of change. Nobody flips a switch on times and trends, but it makes it a lot easier to laugh at the way people used to look and act if we can point to the “nineties” or “aughties” as the period in question. I’ve had enough looking back on the last decade, so let’s fix our gaze forward. By the time we break into the 20’s (isn’t that weird?) we’ll be looking at a changed sport. It’s hard to predict, but a few things are for certain:
The last stragglers left behind from the visionary generation of skiers that revived our stagnated sport will be too old even for pow segments. Guys like Mike Douglas, JP Auclair, and Eric Pollard will take up permanent residence as behind-the-scenes influencers, rather than on-screen icons. As long as the culture provides space for them to work and accepts their guidance, this is a promising reality rather than a sad passing.
Selling Out in 2010
Monday, December 28th, 2009 
I’ve had a question on my mind for a little while now, and watching the Dew/Tostinos/NBC Tour brought it up over and over again. I doubt it’s something that bothers the youngest snow sports fans at all, as they’ve grown up in this world. But as someone with a clear memory of the latter 90’s and early part of our quickly-fading “00” decade, I can’t help but wonder what has changed. Do we live in a post-sellout world? Is there anything skiers, or any other action sports icons, could do that would constitute selling out?
It used to be such a hot topic in so many different areas. If a rapper sung his own hook, he had sold out. Or if some indie band signed with a major label and put out an album that sold more than ten copies, they definitely sold out. Now we’ve got Weezy and Kanye crooning through an Autotuner, and indie rock is the only thing with guitars that sells (new country doesn’t count).
Enough with the music analogy, so what would it require for a skier to be a sellout these days? Do we look to snowboarding for our cues on this one? I remember snowboarders lining up on different sides of the Olympics debate, and accusations of selling out the sport were thrown around. Now we’ve got Red Bull building Shaun White a pipe, and nobody bats an eye. If ski superpipe ever makes the Olympics, would there be any dissent in the ranks? The older generation might raise the old FIS killed freestyle argument, but would anyone in the current generation listen? How about sponsorships, is there a corporation so heinous that we’d scream “sellout” if a Dumont signed with them?
I’ve compiled a list of hypotheticals, you tell me if it’s even possible to be a sellout:
- Tom Wallisch admitted that he holds poles because the judges like it, but later he reveals that he will replace one pole with a can of Monster when he rides slopestyle.
- Simon Dumont gets tiny red Target logos tattooed all over his face and claims it’s just a rare form of the chicken pox.
- Tanner Hall promotes a line of dreadlock wigs in a series of daytime TV ads.
- Orage brings back Siver, but the only jacket they produce is a black and gray fleece that is marketed to fraternities with the slogan “Respect the Of A Revolutionaries.”
- Freeskier puts out the “Chevy Truck Month” Photo Annual with pics of Eric Pollard pulling his snowmobiles with a different truck on each page.
- Jon Olsson was once called a sellout for signing with J. Lindeberg and wearing pink; what if he starts promoting a line of rustic home-goods for IKEA called “Yniqly Jon.”
- Newschoolers starts banning posts that criticize its ad sponsors, and the “reviews” page is renamed the “Good Vibe Experience Journal.”
The Soul Poll
Wednesday, October 28th, 2009
Before afterbang, no poles, tight pants, tall T’s, Tom Wallisch’s facial hair, or the merits of Full Tilts were the topics du jour, there was the debate over whether skiing had lost its soul. There were articles in the major magazines, and more importantly there were endless threads on everyone’s favorite forum for the masses. My search for old NS threads was thwarted by the prevalence of “soulja boy” and “plenty soul” topics that have pushed the old “soul” threads out of the searchable archive. A Google search provides some archaeological evidence that the topic was hot around 2004-05, including a major mag that went to Mad River Glen and Mt. Bohemia to search for the lost soul.
As I remember it, the debate centered around whether newschool was true to the old soul of skiing. Some said that it was an obvious descendant of the freestylers and big mountain pioneers of yore. Others lamented the obsession with outerwear, gorilla steeze (remember that?), and artificial terrain parks. The youth had lost the soul.
The topic has largely disappeared from magazines and ski sites. Does this mean that the soul was laid to rest around 2005? Or was the hullabaloo just an old generation dying, and a new one picking up the torch? Have we proven ourselves to have soul? I think there’s a lot to say either way. Take a second and vote…but if you’ve got more to say then just drop in a comment. We’d love to hear the state of the issue as you see it.
