LEFT TO RIGHT “Forest in a moment between paint strokes while mak-ing a mural outside Evo in Portland, OR in 2018. He has an intense focus-face here for a very mild-mannered human. Forest is the ultimate chiller, but when he gets focused on something, he’s got some serious intensity and drive, whether it’s boarding or art.” Photo: Seamus Foster “Front 7, first try at Eagle Pass in 2014. I was with Forest and Blake Paul and it was Blake’s first heli trip. We kept calling this the Art of Flight cliff because it’s in the movie. Trent Ludwig and I were on the opposing ridge. They patted it down and hit it super-fast, once each. Bailey did his front 7 and then Blake 9’d it, and it was done.” Photo: Tim Zimmerman What do you aim to express in your art? A lot of the concepts are about equality, diversity and people being good to each other. True goodness. There’s a lot of negativity in our world and I want to focus on the positives. That’s where a lot of the bright colors come into play, and the boldness. I would hope that seeing a painting of mine would make someone feel happy. Having your hobby and your passion also be your career is funky. I try to think about it like my passion and hobby, because if I think about it like it’s my job, I’m not going to enjoy it as much. I don’t share a lot of the work that I make. I’m drawing and painting little stuff all the time. Sometimes the darkness—the not-as-positive stuff—does come out too. Painting is a mental battle. This year I made maybe 20 or 30 paintings, but my painting practice isn’t as consistent as I’d like it to be. Lately it’s so hard for me to find the en-ergy to sit down and do it, especially with the state of the world. It’s been tough for me to create. But in a way it’s a privilege to be stressed about creating, or about the big picture. You’ve been stressing the big picture? I don’t know how you couldn’t be. I think the world that we live in needs a remodel. Our country is built for white people and it gives us the upper hand, especially white men. It can be hard to understand that, but once you do, it gives you a different perspective. It doesn’t mean that you’re destined for greatness just being white—all types of people have different struggles—it’s just that if you do have any little advantage, make the most out of it and give back when you can. There’s got to be a balance between enjoying your own life and giving back. If you’re able to enjoy your own life, then you’re able to help others. Have you always been so conscious of the world around you? Vermont is mostly a white liberal bubble and you don’t see a lot of diversity, but I think my parents taught me well and traveling helped open my eyes. Also, my ex-girlfriend went to school for social justice and human rights, so when I was 18 and we were dating she was learning all about white privilege. That definitely helped me a lot, starting to go through the process of learn-ing and understanding some of that when I was younger. My older sister Autumn is gay and that’s something I’ve known about since she came out when she was 20 years old. I’m so proud of her. It’s always been so incredibly normal for me, so I’ve never thought of anyone who is different from myself as threatening. I want everyone to be accepting of each other. I honestly can’t believe how common and offensive so much of the slang was that we grew up with. It’s important to understand how the words you choose to use could affect someone around you. Everyone should have the right to be exactly who they are. Snowboarding and the world should be an accepting place to all, and I’m excited that there are a lot of positive changes happening. Even within all the negative, there’s so much positive to keep me excited and working toward progress. Obviously, nothing happens overnight, but the goal is to get on a better path than we’ve been on. You have a tendency of acknowledging the bad in various situations, but also highlighting the good. That’s an important part of life—finding the good. It’s pretty easy to see the bad and fall down that rabbit hole, but that’s not really going to help the world get better. You’ve got to be the change that you want to see, you know? Have hard conversations. Educate yourself, educate your friends, and let your friends educate you. The only perspective that you’re truly going to understand is your own, but any light shed into any other perspectives might really open your eyes to what others have experienced. 054 THE SNOWBOARDER’S JOURNAL
The Snowboarder's Journal The Snowboarder's Journal 18.4: Page 54
