Words Harrison Gordon I nitially, I was a bit intimidated by Bode Merrill, mainly due to his 6-foot-3-inch stature. But that feeling quickly faded as we got to know each other. He usually offers up a mixture of deadpan humor and unwavering sweetness. We both joined the Salomon Snowboards team in 2009. It wasn’t obvious then that Bode would become one of the most prolific snowboarders of all time, let alone that I’d get to witness a lot of his feats firsthand, but that’s what happened. And because Bode’s dedication to filming video parts is second to none, the body of work he’s produced in his decades-long career will forever stand the test of time. some truly memorable, out-there tricks—one-foot double back-flip, fastplant frontflip, finger flips and so many more—along with an onslaught of more conventional moves that undoubtedly would’ve turned heads on their own. That’s the quick summary of all he’s accomplished, with plenty of details left out. Now 36 years old, Bode is still pushing the envelope of what’s possible on his snowboard. A man of the people, the mountains, the streets and, of course, the minipipe, Bode is the definition of an all-terrain rider. De-spite his world-class talent, he’s so humble that it’s easy to forget all the crazy things he’s done. Bode doesn’t like the limelight and would rather be out in the backcountry building a jump with a group of good friends. However, getting to this favorable point in life hasn’t all been roses along the way. There’s been plenty of ups, downs, slams, in-juries, drama, and several near-death situations. There were some parties that lasted too long, and battles to overcome, but Bode never lets any one of these things define him. Over the past sev-eral years he’s toned certain things down—the partying, the size of the jumps he’s hitting (or so he claims)—but the resilience and determination I’ve always admired in him remain intact. Because when something gives Bode a sense of drive—whether it be skate-boarding, snowboarding, cats or even emo music—he goes all in. For the most part, Bode seems unassumingly normal. Grown in beachy Santa Cruz, CA, his first love was skateboarding. His parents split when he was still young with his mom, Toddy, staying in Santa Cruz while his dad, Bob, moved to Park City, UT. For a while Bode spent winters in Cali and summers in Utah to support the skate rat lifestyle, but in his teens he opted for the opposite. Naturally, his skateboarding roots led to snowboarding in the Wasatch where he fell in love with the mountains. He took to snowboarding quickly, started filming and established himself early on in cult classic videos like The Catfish Chronicle’s It Ain’t Easy (2006), and also by win-ning contests like the World Quarterpipe Championships in 2008. Bode’s innate talent and work ethic led him to shooting with Absinthe Films. In his second year with them he landed the ender of Neverland (2009), unloading a bag of inventive tricks from large street features to backcountry kickers and more. From that point on Bode became a household name in snowboarding, eventually prompting invites to film alongside Travis Rice for The Art of Flight (2011) and The Fourth Phase (2016) because, yeah, he can hang in Alaska, too. In 2014, Bode won gold in X Games Real Snow and in 2016 went on to win gold in X Games Real Snow Backcountry, making him the first and only rider to win both video competitions. In both of these videos, as well as others that dropped in between and after them, Bode showcased BODE MERRILL 069
The Snowboarder's Journal The Snowboarder's Journal 21.3: Page 69
