Cold and content in urbania. Photo: Darrell Mathes For a 21-year-old, Cole has a good head on his shoulders—some broad shoulders at that. The kid is built a bit like a linebacker, and can take a hit like one, but Cole is far from your classic tough guy. “I’m loud with my friends, but in general I’m pretty shy,” he says. “I don’t know if people have some sort of expectation of me after seeing my video parts. It may look like I may have a hard edge, but I try not to. There are probably some who think I’m cool, but I’m totally not. It’s funny, I think sometimes your image can be a little bit ahead of where you’re actually at as a person.” Not long after the release of Root 9, Cole joined Ride Snowboards’ Global Am Team. He linked up with videographer Jon Stark to film for the acclaimed Rendered Useless , which quickly led to a Transworld Rookie of the Year Award in 2016 and an invite to compete in X Games Real Snow later that same year. “I got a call in the late fall and was asked to make a Real Snow part,” Cole says. “I thought it was a prank at first, and that it was super random. I’ve never really compet-ed, so I didn’t have much of strategy. I was definitely underprepared.” Despite Cole’s modest take, the snowboarding community was blown away by his Rendered Useless and Real Snow footage, which ex-hibited not only Cole’s keen eye for spots, but also his prodigious abil-ity to execute on them, no matter how bizarre the trick he’s trying may be. Take his boneless onto a double-kink handrail, no-comply into a two-story wallride, or intentionally catching an edge to be thrown into a flip off an electrical box, for instance. In the streets Cole has a knack for infusing his unorthodox approach with an ability to go big, jibbing poetic fury upon the features he finds. “It’s like improv in a way,” Cole says. “I’ll look at a spot and brainstorm what I would see as the most appealing possibility on the feature and then go for that. Of course, you’ve got to be realistic with constraints, such as ability level or if it’s even possible, but even if you’ve never tried the trick before, you can always learn it as you go.” It’s a unique approach in a niche populated by creative folks. And like a musician using a ballad to define their persona, Cole uses video parts to display his own vision. “I’ve always been into photography and videography, and growing up I loved the theatrical side of skateboard-ing and snowboarding,” Cole says. “I think that’s why video parts are so important—because it gives snowboarders a platform to portray themselves and their riding in an artistic form.” Cole sees snowboarding as an avenue for invention, and video parts as the tangible products of devoted self-expression. “The way that you express yourself comes out in multiple mediums. Regarding snowboarding, the medium changes, but your thought process toward riding remains the same. That’s what dictates your trick selection and style, and how or where you snowboard. They’re really just ways of expressing yourself. Snowboards are tools, and the rider is the mind behind them.” Recently, Cole’s taken his toolkit to Japan, Germany, the Czech Re-public and Russia in search of rails while filming for the new Vans video, Landline , where he was able to find spots in towns where few had ever put edges to metal. And for now, he’s happy to be based out of his hometown and to keep exploring the creative possibilities of urban riding. “I don’t see the necessity for me to move out west, buy a snowmo-bile and ride powder,” Cole says. “Like a lot of people, I make deci-sions based on emotion and what interests me at the time. Right now, I like where I’m at. I love the style of snowboarding that I’m doing most. I’d like to diversify myself and my riding, but I want to branch out in my own way and never feel like I’m forcing a change. I’m not going to train myself to hit backcountry jumps just because I think it’d be beneficial for someone else. I’m going to make decisions based on how I feel and be true to that.” With a strong start to a promising career, Cole has that room to talk. So he’ll be snowboarding to the beat of his own drum, improvising and saying to hell with predetermined structure. Like his riding style, Cole’s journey should prove beautiful—even if it is a little chaotic. COLE NAVIN 039
The Snowboarder's Journal frequency 15.3 : Page 39
