NEW FAVORITE PERSON ANY WHICH WAY BEN POECHMAN’S INTERSECTIONAL PROGRESSION TOP TO BOTTOM “‘Tree Cucumber’ [watercolor on paper with archival ink] got its name after my mom said it looked like sea cucumbers. It describes a narrative about climate change. As sea levels rise and ice caps disappear, the forest adapts to an underwater existence. As for humanity, that depends on our next move.” Art: Ben Poechman Ben in his Whistler, BC studio working on “Black Rose,” a hand-carved piece made of a hard pink gemstone called rhodonite. “The outer skin of this stone turns jet black when exposed to the elements, but it retains a bright pink core,” Ben says. “I wanted to expose the contrast of a raw black edge next to the glowing pink polish within the form of an ancient cedar tree.” Photo: Andi Wardrop Words David MacKinnon FOR BEN POECHMAN, snowboarding and art are reciprocal. The playful, rhythmically arcing lines the Walkerton, ON native weaves on hill lend more than inspiration to his painting and stone carving—he engages each medium as if rehearsing for the other two. Over the past three years, the 29-year-old has laid foundations for a sustainable ca-reer in the arts, selling carvings and paintings through galleries, shows and stylized social media campaigns. It’s also coincided with an uptick in industry recognition of Ben’s snowboarding. Since opening up ar-tistically, Ben’s had two magazine covers as a rider and been invited on international trips with his sponsors. But finding this new pres-ence required a shift in mindset that tapped into perspective he gained through snowboarding. Ben grew up on an organic egg farm, the second youngest of six siblings. “My oldest brother, Matthew, was always an artist,” Ben says. “As a little kid I’d look through his sketchbooks. His drawings were so realistic. I would try to draw and I just sucked. Comparing myself to him I just assumed I wasn’t artistic, and as a kid I focused on athletics.” Athletics meant soccer and basketball, until Ben strapped in for the first time. He was 8, piggybacking on his brother Nate’s school ski trip. It was the start of an obsession. Through his teenage years, Ben did what he could to bring the mountains to his rural Ontario existence. He stacked firewood and sheets of plywood to make ramps around the farm. He started getting clips as part of the Trash League crew. Though his riding kept improving, support from sponsors was elu-sive—until 2015, that is, when he put out a low-key edit called “Selfie-stickman,” made with a gifted selfie stick and point-and-shoot camera. Filmed solo and largely at the Poechman farm, the video resonated. “That probably opened up new pathways in my brain,” Ben muses. “It showed me that you can look at progression as a one-way street, or you can see it as an intersection, and you can go any which way.” THE SNOWBOARDER’S JOURNAL 105
The Snowboarder's Journal The Snowboarder's Journal 19.1: Page 105
