So you’ve binged all the movies on Netflix, you’ve run through your bottle of lotion, and you’re desperately trying to hold onto that New Year’s resolution of not getting drunk during the work week. And, and, AND, there’s still two and a half months of brutal winter to come.
What in the fuck are you supposed to do? Here’s something. Pick up snowskating.
Believe it or not, the culture has come a long way from taking the trucks off your beater board and face planting down an icy hill. It’s legit. So much so that I compared watching “DEADLOCK”, the latest video from Ambition, a company that makes snowskates, to the uncanny valley phenomenon in movies.
It looks so much like street skateboarding that the mind gets confused. So instead of shaking this trend off as some weird Canadian exploit similar to hockey, I’d suggest watching the video. And then, consider how much cooler you’d feel learning to do a mid ass kickflip on a snowskate versus sitting on the couch for another two months.
But hey, this isn’t some sales pitch; truthfully IDGAF what you do. However, if I piqued your interest at all, check out the interview below with Ambition’s founder Alex Blais for more info on this budding winter pastime.
I just watched the video, and was pretty taken aback. It really looks like skateboarding.
We really try to make it look like skateboarding. That’s where our vision is, and our riders are all really talented skateboarders, so it makes sense. I’m hyped that people see our intentions.
How long has snow skating been around? Was Ambition the first “snowskate” company?
I started Ambition in 2004, so 20 years ago, but snowskates were “invented”, if you will, in 1998. They were made of plastic and mainly marketed as toys. That’s how I discovered it. Most people who had one didn’t really enjoy it back then because the boards weren’t functional.
I’ve always been a skateboarder, but I didn’t have an indoor skatepark where I grew up, so with all the snow in the winter I picked up snowskating. Anyone who has lived in snow has tried to take the trucks off their skateboard, but that doesn’t really work.
There was a really small community on discussion boards. We were hyped on snowskating and what it could be, and I could tell how much the riding would progress if we had better boards, so that’s how it all started.
So I guess you could say you found snow skating in its banana board era?
Exactly. Seeing what people are doing now, there would be no way on those previous boards. I made the first one in my basement, and it wasn’t good, but it was already better than anything else out there. My thought was, “Ok, if I can make this in my basement what if I talk to manufacturers.”
“There’s no huge commitment of driving all the way to the mountain resort. I like that freedom.”
Here’s the question everyone’s thinking. Why not just snowboard?
Yeah [laughs]. I guess it goes back to us just wanting to skate in the winter. Snowboarding is really fun, but it’s completely different. I’ve always liked being able to just walk out my door and go find spots, and then go back home when I’m done. There’s no huge commitment of driving all the way to the mountain resort and do all that. I like the freedom.
Can you break down the tech in these boards, like what makes them so much better now?
The construction is 7 maple plys, just like a skateboard, but then we use a snowboard base material, like you’d find on skis or snowboards, as the final layer to get a fast glide. The maple boards make the company special, because they are stiff.
They also have an adjusted nose and tail height so that you can still get the leverage to pop without trucks and wheels. We’ve figured out that perfect height and shape over the years. It’s really a combination of the wooden core, snowboard base, and then the grooves.
Grooves are channels on the bottom of the board that help you direct yourself. You can turn or ride in a straight line. You can also lock onto rails. Without them you’d just slip out and die. The grooves lock in kinda like a skateboard. It’s such a cool feeling.
Where do you rate this in difficulty between skateboarding and snowboarding?
[laughs]. Well, I’m not sure this will be a popular opinion, but I think it is the hardest. And that’s not just me. We have really good skateboarders on our team and they’d all agree.
“A lot of people won’t believe how difficult it is until they step on one.”
Why do you think it’s harder than skating?
It’s because snow skating is so technical. Everyday the snow changes and the ground is different. Your grip changes and your speeds change. And you never get a consistent pop like you do with skateboarding.
However, you can commit easier to tricks when you’re snow skating, so beginners might find snow skating easier than skateboarding. I’m speaking from an advanced level. A lot of people won’t believe how difficult it is until they step on one.
If you know how to skateboard, how hard is it going to be for you to hop on a snowskate and do a kickflip? Like how steep is the learning curve?
I can see that going either way. I’ve seen skaters get it right away, but I’ve also seen really good skaters unable to do it at all. I think it all goes back to how you skate, because you can’t really carve on a snowskate. If you have prior skate experience, it might be weird at first, but you’ll pick it up fast. It’s funny to see all these good skaters get thrown off at first, where they think they’ll be able to do all these tricks but are sent back to square one.
People say snowboarding is a rich man’s sport, do you see that in snow skating too?
Snow skating, financially, is way more accessible. It’s not expensive compared to buying snowboard bindings, boots, and a board. And anyone can go down a hill on a snowskate. Sometimes we get older dudes who used to skate but don’t anymore, and they are more confident in the snow. I think for most, you can grab a shovel and make whatever you want happen. That’s a cool aspect, where you can transform anything.
“Funnily enough, our riders skateboarding often gets exposure through their snow skating.”
For me, I had never seen that level of trick in the snow. Like I know everyone’s gone down a hill, but seeing a manual flip out, it looks uncanny valley, AI esque.
Yeah, I feel you. It’s nice with snow skating how we get to have an impact. Like we get to define what it is. That feeling of skateboarding, unless you’re top tier, is hard to get. But it’s sick with snow skating, we can make a difference. I think that motivates everyone.
Also, the videos are unique and it’s pretty easy to go viral. It’s crazy the views they are getting. And funnily enough, our riders skateboarding often gets exposure through their snow skating. We’ll always love doing the skate stuff, but it’s so saturated, so we just do it for fun. But we’re making a living going out and snow skating. It’s really cool.
Have you ever learned a trick on a snowskate and have it transfer over to a skateboard?
100%. And I’ve seen that with a lot of people that pick up snow skating. The thing is, it’s harder to get pop on a snowskate, so if you get good pop on a snowskate, you’ll be able to pop your skate tricks way higher. If you snowskate for one winter and then go back and skate, you’ll feel the difference. Also, the fact that you can try things that would be way scarier on a skateboard, because it’s in snow, can unlock new tricks. Maybe you were afraid to try it on a skateboard, but on a snowskate you have a safer environment under certain circumstances. Also, if you figure out a trick on a snowskate it will be easier on a skateboard because skateboards are more consistent.
For me, I’ve never been one to skate down gaps, but with snow skating that’s what I love to do the most. You can jump down gaps for hours and you are still good. You can try many, many, many times. With skating, sometimes your body can’t take it. It’s great to be able to go for stuff without rocks and concrete around. It’s just snow. You can get hurt for sure, like jumping on rails and stuff, but you can try tricks for longer. You don’t get as beat up.
How the hell are snowskaters making a living? Skaters can’t even do that [laughs].
I’ve always paid the riders as much as I can, and some of our riders get paid to skateboard too, but barely. When you’re at that level, that extra pay in the winter helps a lot, and I know they use it to travel for skateboarding. Our riders are all skaters who are super close to being there, but it’s just hard to make money skateboarding, which is probably why you’re asking me this question, but it’s just the way I run my business. I’ve always really valued the riders, and from the start it’s been about paying the riders and filmers.
A good businessman would probably think I’m crazy with how I distribute the money, but that’s just where I see value. Without the riders, we wouldn’t be here.
“Our videos are kind of serious, but overall snow skating is just messing around with your friends, and I don’t think it has to be more than that.”
Sticking with the business standpoint, how big do you see this getting?
In all honesty, it doesn’t have the same functionality as snowboarding or skateboarding where you could do big contests and all that. Maybe I’m wrong, but I just see it as something to have fun with. I don’t think it has that serious factor. Our videos are kind of serious, but overall snow skating is just messing around with your friends, and I don’t think it has to be more than that.
We just love to do this, and you have to love it, because it gets really cold [laughs]. I think that’s how we survived 20 years and made it to this point. And I will say, we do sell a pretty impressive amount of snowskates worldwide. We’re leading this industry, and it feels like whoever tries to copy doesn’t last.
We’ve seen so many board adjacent fads come and go. How do you keep relevant and not fall victim to this?
Being so close to skateboarding, I think we just follow that. If people are hyped on skateboarding, people will buy snowskates when it’s snowing. We’re kinda like a subculture of skateboarding. We had that Covid boom too, where no one gave a shit, and then all of a sudden we were seeing pros on snowskates. It was wild, like Jamie Foy had one. Tiago posted a clip the other day.
I recently saw a big skate brand post about their 15th anniversary and I was like, “Holy shit, we’ve been here for longer.” It’s crazy we’ve survived that long, and I’ve always filmed most of the video. It’s my favorite time of the year, and I think that feeling is what’s kept it alive and growing.
Why is it that snowskaters wear jeans and skate shoes? Aren’t you guys tired of being soaking wet all the time?
Yeah [laughs], well big boots don’t work well because you need that board feel for flip tricks. I understand it looks crazy, but when you’re snow skating you aren’t cold at all. You’re running around, jumping. As long as you have a good pair of socks, that’s what works best.
In terms of the jeans, I think that’s just more of a looks thing. It looks kind of weird when people are wearing big snowboard gear. I guess the riders just like to wear what they typically would skateboarding. In terms of the video, it just looks better [laughs]. There’s no rulebook saying “You gotta wear jeans.”
If you had the option of dipping out to LA every winter and skating instead of staying in Canada and snow skating, would you take it?
Fuck, you’re putting me on the spot. You’re asking the owner of a snow skating brand [laughs]. Obviously, it sounds nice to be under the sun all year long, but we make the most out of the winter.
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January 22, 2025 1:56 pm
So sick. He’s right, snow is fickle and it is so much harder than it looks. A flat ground stationary kick flip was the best trick I could get.
January 23, 2025 8:49 pm
How wonderfully anti-capitalist- pay your workers fairly and have a good time without feeling like a failure because you haven’t cornered the market. Fuck yeah, man. I salute you.
January 23, 2025 11:01 pm
Respect! But please make more longer boards and cheaper team models also longer
Btw what happened to premier
January 26, 2025 2:28 am
Respect for doing this article, been snowskating for 10+ years and wondered why the industry never notices it. Definitely agree with all points here, it’s fun, accessible and a lot more free than snowboarding or skating indoor parks.