The Snowboarder's Journal - The Snowboarder's Journal 20.2
J2 FOREVER: Twosday 2022
Words: Bradley Albert 2022-11-01 08:41:46
Countless snowboarders and many legends of our culture gathered at Brighton Resort, UT to celebrate the life and legacy of Jason “J2” Rasmus on the palindromic date 2/22/22. Photo: Andy Wright
“We all die. The goal isn’t to live forever, the goal is to create something that will.”—Chuck Palahniuk, novelist
Money, power, fame—what is the metric to measure a life well lived? There is a long list of men and women who have contributed invaluable art, innovation and information to the world. Some were rewarded handsomely for their work. Some died in poverty, unknown, only to have their genius celebrated posthumously. Vincent Van Gogh, who is often referred to as a misunderstood genius, sold only one painting before his death.
For me and many who loved him, Jason “J2” Rasmus was such a man. Although misunderstood by many, J2 was a genius. His life was his art. He was a one-of-a-kind character, inspiring—and at times instigating—others to do great things. He lived an authentic and big life with zero fucks given. J2 was the kind of guy you wanted to hang out with, and it seems as though everyone in snowboarding who was lucky enough to do so has J2 stories to share. He was known for his distinctive style on and off the mountain, his switch game, his infamous photobombs, his Audi snow driving, his cameos on Jackass, his big-toothed, clenched-jaw cackle, and his vices. J2 also had one of the longest snowboard careers of his generation, until it was cut short by cancer.
J2 died on May 26, 2019 surrounded by scores of friends and family in Huntsman Cancer Hospital in Salt Lake City. We celebrated his life at Brighton on June 2, 2019. For most that would have been the end of J2, but the universe provided a palindrome on Feb. 2, 2022—2/22/22.
It prompted a group text conversation that included me, Jason “J1” Girardi, Mikey LeBlanc, Ali Goulet, Ethan “E-Stone” Fortier, Stevie Alters, and Justin Bennee. Together we agreed to make an event called J2’s Day. The text chain grew, the idea caught fire, and over 200 friends and family from New York to Nelson, Breckenridge to Burnside, Maui to Mammoth, and Salt Lake to Seattle descended on Brighton for a celebration of J2 and his legacy. Brighton Ski Resort provided special $22 lift tickets and we raffled off a one-of-a-kind custom “Dream On” leather puffy jacket by Nick Francke; a $222 gift certificate for KCDC Skateshop; prints by Absinthe Films’ Justin Hostynek, Kingpin Productions’ Whitey McConnaughy and photographer Andy Wright at $22 per ticket. The community came together and raised $2,222 for J2’s two daughters, creating a Uniform Transfers to Minors (UTMA) fund for them.
At 2:22 p.m., with our group assembled at the top of the Millie chair, we observed a 22-second moment of silence before releasing J2’s ashes. The whole group, everybody wearing J2’s signature orange hunting onesies, then bombed the mountain together.
So, the measure of a life well lived? Perhaps the greatest sign of success is to be revered by your friends and family for simply being you; not for what you did or the money you made, but for the spell cast by the magic of your personality, the positivity of your vibes, and the belly-laughing nature of your humor.
Surfers often “paddle out” to celebrate the lives of their fallen brethren and this was the snowboarding equivalent: a convergence of appreciation, admiration and love for the legend that was, is, and will be J2, forever.
To donate to J2’s children’s UTMA fund, email [email protected]
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J2 FOREVER: Twosday 2022
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