Now you're gonna take beatings. It's written in our DNA, you know. You're gonna go down. You get up, it's that simple.

I think it mostly comes down to trying to align with people who are down with a mission and will bring optimism.

We'll never know our full potential unless we push ourselves to find it.

What is snowboarding to me? I'd say it's when I feel passion. That is, if passion is a combination of utter joy, frustration and rage. It's my life.

They were all just chapters in the book, stepping stones. Each was perfect for where we were at the time, and I'm proud of them all. We couldn't have done this film [The Fourth Phase] without the other films pre-dating it and being part of the process.

It was just on a whole other level, getting to experience and ride that terrain. We spent a fair amount of time in the Hakuba Valley.

Shin [Biyajima] rides down with this big ol' Japanese grin and giggle and I'm like what? Two years later, when I started planning the trip, I knew Shin was from the Hakuba area, and I didn't want to come film in Japan without a Japanese rider. Shin had the time and availability, and it worked out perfect.