Photos by: Lil John and Ian Boll
Words by: Matt Norris
I always get hyped up when I get off airplanes, even somewhere as mediocre as Missouri. It was about 9pm when I walked off the plane in Kansas City, and I’d only met one of the guys on the crew before. I called Denver Orr, to see what the motherfuckin’ deal was. He’d slammed earlier that day and was chilling at the Airbnb, so he sent me his location and a pin to the spot. The choice was mine. I whipped the Hyundai Santa Fe with a more aggressive style than I would’ve driven my own car and arrived at the Kansas City Zoo to a lanky kid with a crooked flat-brim snapback and an open jacket. “Yo what up I’m Dillon.” Dillon Henricksen to be exact. A So-Cal native, his roots are evident in the way he snowboards; there are stylistic tendencies you can only develop either being from a certain region or taking extreme influence from that region. Beyond Dillon, I noticed a familiar face I had no idea was on the trip, Drayden Gardner. I believe what I said aloud was, “Oh fuck yeah, now we’re talking, it’s on.” Drayden is one of my favorite snowboarders. He has a burly-yet-precise style with heavy Bradshaw influence, dope trick selection, and he’s tough as nails. Style matters; to some more than others.
I was surrounded by Californians in Kansas City. All three of these fuckers are from the Golden State: Drayden, Dillon, and Denver (and Dusty who wasn’t on this trip). Yeah, these guys are from California alright. Let me be clear, this isn’t disrespect, I’m not clowning them; I like these dudes, and they all rip. And I love California. Anyway...
Fast forward to 11:30pm with the zoo mission complete. Dillon got his clip, jumped in my rental racecar, and we cruised to “one of his favorite spots:" Taco Bell. To see someone 20 years old, so psyched on Taco Bell, honestly gassed me up. The simple pleasures are so real at that age, and at any age for that matter, if you so choose. Life isn’t that serious. Yeah, it may be freezing cold in boring-ass Kansas City, but you’re out snowboarding with your friends and nobody is telling you what to do or where to be. Plus, you just grabbed a celebratory Cheesy Gordita and a Baja Blast. What’s so bad about that?
These guys had been on the road for two months. Vibes were still high but fatigue was evident. Denver had been beaten down by a few spots, and was fighting his own physical limitations. He got one last clip at an abandoned building and put the board away so he could simply walk. It was quite nice having Denver chilling and crocheting hats at every spot though. He’s an introspective guy and easy to talk to. You can dive below the surface about some real topics that other snowboarders might not want to share. I love that about him.
We eventually went to a classic ledge spot where Dillon tumbled down the stairs then disappeared in an Uber; certainly an unorthodox move. I’ve never seen someone call a rideshare to bail the spot in my life, but maybe I’m just out of touch. Ian Boll showed up the night before to take photos, and ten years prior to this trip, he got a clip at this ledge filming for Homage from Keep The Change. Funny how life seems to just keep on spinning in circles.
Drayden was up next. He started getting into the session and took a few heavy slams off the end of the ledge. I swear I saw his soul leave his body when he popped up like a jack-in-the-box, gasping for air. I suggested we dip, because if I went down like that I’d want someone to save me from doing it again. Yeah, that definitely was not going to fly with Dray. He replied, “Give me a second, I feel like I just got hit with a baseball bat to my stomach.” 20 minutes later, after some stretching, a couple hype-up tracks and a broken board, he was riding away.
That night we went to a “world famous” gas station and got some seriously good barbeque. Only in America can you pump gas, buy some patriotic gear, and get a top-of-the-line rib and brisket combo in one stop. Ian and I decided we’d like to immerse ourselves in the Kansas City culture, so we hit the local bars and turned it up a little bit. When in Rome. Or Missouri.. Whatever.
These dudes were wrecked and still made two spots happen the next day. Between tries, Ian and I changed our flights twice, trying to decide if it was worth it to stay or get the fuck out. Ultimately we left, but I have to admit, Kansas City isn’t so bad. The Midwest embodies some preserved Americana you don’t get in other gentrified, over-developed cities. There’s a charm about that slower-paced, rustic lifestyle that is both good and bad.
I only experienced a small portion of their filming season, but these photos are proof of how much got done beyond Kansas City. As a crew, they embodied something that reminded me of an older era of snowboarding. They operate with respect for the classics, whether it be snowboard videos, music, or magazines. They do it their own way and understand the effort it takes to make a project stand out in the doomscroll era.
It’s pretty hard to beat filming with your brother. I keep it pretty chill, but we’ll get heated. It’s honestly when I try to help him with a trick, he hates it so much. He’s like, fuck off, I got this, watch. And then he’ll throw a front blunt on the biggest rail. - Dusty
Yeah, Dusty and I definitely get into it. But we kind of learned that we gotta let each other do our own thing. It’s brotherly love for sure. - Dillon
So I made Dillon do this. We were on FaceTime and he’s like, “I’m putting you in my pocket, gonna hit this real quick.” I’m like, fuck that dude, just hit it. He landed it that try with the phone in his hand. - Dusty
Man I got a lot of funny stories about Dillon, but not ones that should be published. - Drayden
Riding with this crew is sick. It completely takes me out of the contest realm, back to what I have fun doing.
That was rough. That one knocked the wind out of me, worse than I’ve ever had. Then my board ended up snapping, but I just wouldn’t give up. I ended up doing it on the broken board.
We were at a bar in Montreal and Dusty left us to charge his phone or something. He couldn’t remember the door code for the Airbnb, so he tried to climb up but couldn’t get in. He’s like, Fuck it, I’m going go find the homies. He wandered around Montreal lost, trying to find us for like two hours—which he never did. I was freaking out when we got back and he wasn’t there. So I started yelling from our balcony, “Dusty, where the fuck are you?” Ten minutes later, he yells back at me “I’m right here fucker, you guys left me.” - Denver
If I’m going to get fast food, I’m going to get Taco Bell. I probably ate it like 50 times this season. I get some Cheesy Gordita Crunches and a Baja Blast Breeze. Super good fuel, actually. - Dillon
Dude, Lil John is one of the funniest fuckers alive. - Dusty
There was a chain connected to the rail, so the homies held their jackets around me, and I cut the chain off. We were looking sus, then the cops pulled up. The first cop hopped out, saw the chain, and freaked out. I was just telling him, “Nah, bro, we didn’t cut it. We heard it was the skiers who cut it.” Then this cop hops out of the other car, and she’s like, “Oh, my brother snowboards, I love this.” She just said, “Have fun,” and left. Fucking perfect.
