Words Liam Gallagher “ M aybe it was just that I was able to create an atmosphere which destroyed people’s customary expectations, an atmosphere in which miracles could flourish. Anyway, it spooked the hell out of me. I even managed to spook a few doctors and nurses. That’s impressive spooking, considering the extensive spookproofing those people go through and all the antispook drugs they pumped me full of.” —Mark Vonnegut, The Eden Express: A Memoir of Insanity “I had never met Keegan until we went on a two-month trip through Japan and Europe in 2015. I haven’t seen him since, but he became a downright genuine friend. The dude can board and his mysterious approach is invigorating. We had an ongoing game throughout the trip of who could do the biggest bomb-drop, and Keegan definitely took the cake with this one in Sapporo, Japan.” Photo: Austen Sweetin Keegan Valaika has been through some shit. That’s the short of it. Keegan, who is 28 now, says he could write a book about it all. Exactly what he’s been through, nobody other than him can know fully. But he talks about it some. Five years ago, Keegan had a mental breakdown. At the time he was living in Glacier, WA and partying a bit too much. He returned to his home and family in Laguna, CA for treatment. He read a lot during his recovery and really connected with Mark Vonne-gut’s memoir, which details his psychotic breakdown and subsequent recovery. That’s what Keegan went through. Is still going through. He’s doing better now. He’s still at it. But that’s just part of his story. After all, he’s been getting paid to snowboard since he was 15 years old. We should all ride with such abandon. Dude makes it look easy. And there’s an element of improvi-sation to his riding. It’s unpredictable, engaging. It started in a sort-of-fairytale way. Keegan won the Hot Dawgz and Handrails jam at Bear Mountain, CA, in the fall of 2004, and was quickly offered a contract to snowboard professionally. He was on his way. That’s the way it went for a while. He chased winter, traveled the world, filmed, partied, rinsed and repeated. Eventually, there was a fall-ing out with a sponsor. Money was left on the table. Then there were new projects. Ender parts. The Givin movies—three of them—that he made in conjunction with Aaron Hooper and friends. The Gnarly clothing brand, which is still going strong. More standout video parts. Now with Brown Cinema, Keegan’s driving. He’s in control. He does what he wants. He worked hard for this freedom and he’s grateful for it. He’s never been more grateful for snowboarding. But he’s been through some shit. Here’s his story. KEEGAN VALAIKA 053
The Snowboarder's Journal frequency 15.4: Page 53
