After speaking with Jacob Krugmire’s mother Ginger, I learned a bit more about who he’s always been. She told me a story about him getting in trouble for swearing at school. Instead of denying it or apologizing, Krugs doubled down, cussed out his principal, and got himself banned from his high school graduation ceremony. Standing up for yourself and being outspoken when you feel wronged has its pros and cons, and generally when dealing with authority, it’s a battle you’re not going to win. Nevertheless, some of us are just wired to tell people we believe are abusing power to get bent. Krugs is one of those people.
I first met Jacob on a night out in New York City. Two beers later, I told him point blank, “I thought you were going to be an asshole.” Yeah, it was kind of weird to assume that, even more so to say it out loud. But it’s hard not to make assumptions about people based on their online image. I wasn’t entirely wrong. Much like the principal interaction, Jacob is more outspoken and willing to offer his opinion than most, but he’s not a dick for no reason. In fact, he’s fun to be around. He’s a shit talker, absolutely, but a funny one. It’s more a playful honesty that doesn’t aim to please people.
Jacob’s snowboarding balances a similar dichotomy. He takes it seriously, but it’s also fun to watch. He slams, gets back up, and handles business. He cares about how his clips look, what spots work with which tricks, and in a world of airbags, YouTubers, and snowboard academies he stands out as one of the remaining big-personality, street-snowboarding purists. Krugs knows what he likes and positions himself around those things. Snowboarding was founded on personalities like his, and luckily this generation gets a taste of that. This is a fucking interview with Jacob Krugmire.
Interview by Matt Norris
Photography by Marc O’Malley & Dakota Mullins
Let’s start from the beginning. What were you like as a kid?
Man, I was definitely a little shithead. I mean, some might say I still kind of am, but I think I was just really hyper. I loved trolling people when I was younger, and honestly, I still do [laughs]. But dude, I was ruthless. I think anyone in snowboarding who has known me for that long would agree.
I don’t think a lot of people know that Austin Hironaka is your brother. Was he putting up with your shit back then?
Dude, my brother used to fucking wail on me. I’d get picked on a lot. Not like in a bad way, but I was the younger brother hanging around. He’s ten years older than me. That’s just how it goes.
How sick was it having your older brother be a pro snowboarder?
That’s the whole reason I wanted to be a pro. My parents tried to get me to start skiing when I was like three, but I refused because my brother was already snowboarding. I used to drop his name a lot to try and get some shit. I mean, I definitely worked for it, but I owe him a lot for getting me to where I am.
You’re from Seattle—
No, no, I’m from University Place, Washington. Like 40 minutes south to be specific. But, yeah, I grew up there then moved to Seattle. All my homies that are actually from there, they’d be like, “No, you’re not from Seattle.” So I gotta make a point to clear that one up.
So if you’re from the Northwest, and you snowboard for a living, why did you move to New York City?
I got bored in Seattle. It was a fun place to be, and summertime’s pretty dope because there are places to swim and be outside. But I lived there for nine years, so I wanted to switch it up.
"Dude, my brother used to fucking wail on me."
What’s the best thing about New York? What’s your favorite thing to do?
I think the fact that you can just mob around and get bomb food everywhere, and people are always outside doing something. It’s fast-paced and exciting. Obviously, I don’t enjoy that all the time, but for the most part, I like being out roaming around in the city.
Does it make sense to be a pro snowboarder in New York City? Even just the amount of money that you make, does it add up?
No, not really [laughs]. Definitely not making that much money, but it works for now. One upside is traveling in and out is easy. When I lived in Seattle, it got to the point of being gone on trips so often that when I would come home, I wouldn’t snowboard because I was burnt out. I don’t have a car anymore, so I can’t just get in my whip and drive to the mountain to go snowboarding, which I do miss.
You could go to Big Snow.
I was just talking about going to Big Snow with Cole [Navin] this summer. Maybe on like the hottest day, just go hang out in the fridge. I’ve had some really fun times going with some homies that are good at skating who don’t snowboard much. They just try hard and go crazy. Everyone’s having such a good time because it’s so new to them.
What’s your favorite spot to eat or drink in the city?
I really enjoy drinking outside in New York. Seward Park is a pretty heavily visited location for me and my friends. There’s also this spot called Cafe Himalaya. It’s kind of a go-to whenever I come back from a trip.
"I really enjoy drinking outside in New York."
What’s up with Winnie’s?
Oh, I’ve had some nights at Winnie’s. It’s a small karaoke bar in Chinatown next to the Manhattan Bridge. We’ve become good friends with the bartenders, so on any given night that’s a fallback, then it just turns into everyone fucking blacking out and having an awesome time. I try to not go too often, though, because there was a moment where we were going like every week.
What’s your karaoke song?
Dude, I’m kind of a bitch and don’t have a karaoke song.
Damn, I was hoping you were going to tell a crazy karaoke story.
There’s a good karaoke story from Japan that involves our dear friend Sammy [Rowse], rest in peace. I had just met him, this was 2017. We were in a karaoke room, and I don’t remember who threw the first glass, but a glass got thrown at the wall. Then I threw a glass, then somebody else did, and chaos ensued. Honestly dickhead moves, but we were having quite a lot of fun. At a certain point I was like, damn, we gotta get out of here. Sammy picked up the couch and I swept all the glass under it. We already paid cash so we got the hell out of there. That was my introduction to Sammy. I was like, this guy is awesome. That was the same trip from the Brown video, Guy in Jeans: Gaijin. where he was playing guitar and serenading two Japanese girls, and they’re like, “He’s crazy!” Then he just smashed it on the ground [laughs].
Dude, whose guitar was that? I’ve always wondered.
It might have been his. Dude, I don’t know.
Like what, Sammy’s traveling to Japan with a board bag and a fucking guitar, or did he buy it there?
Keegan [Valaika] was with us and [Scott] Blum and Teddy [Koo]. Maybe it was Keegan’s, but I’m pretty sure Sam just brought it with him. Oh, and Harrison [Gordon] was there too. That was an insane introduction to Japan for me, and I haven’t really stopped going there since. Also Kazu [Kokubo] bought me my ticket to go there.
Wait, why did Kazu buy you your ticket?
He was putting on an event, and he wanted to have me. He flew out Tyler Lynch, Anthony Mazzotti, Justin Mulford, and me. Tyler won the contest actually.
So you told me this story in Connecticut, but I’m gonna ask you again. What’s up with the bed bugs?
Oh my God. Honestly, one of my least favorite things ever to be reminded of. You know who keeps giving me shit about this is fucking Spencer [Schubert]. I told him I’m going to kick him in the nuts if he brings it up again. But we went to Austria for DIYX. We shared this big bunk room so I picked the bed furthest from the door. I woke up and had like six giant red bumps on my arm, like, what the fuck? I didn’t say anything to anyone because I was pretty self-conscious about it. Then someone was like, “Dude, that’s bed bugs.” There was a whole debate like, “No, that’s not what bed bug bites look like.” Turns out it was bed bugs, and I freaked the fuck out. I was so paranoid for the next four days. The rest of the event Riley [Nickerson], Jed [Anderson], and everybody kept calling me “bed bug,” just laughing at me. I was so pissed, like I genuinely wish they spread to you and all of you assholes have to deal with what I’m currently dealing with. I got home from that trip, and the garbage truck happened to be right outside my crib, so I grabbed the full suitcase and threw it in the back of the truck as it was driving by.
Disgusting.
Yeah, that was not dope, but didn’t bring them home. Even Jed was like, “Dude, if I got there first, that’s probably the bed that I would have chosen.” I was like, yeah, I fucking wish you did.
Let’s talk about your project this year. Was it your idea?
It was actually not my idea at all. [Eric] Frazier and Jim [Linberg] pitched me the idea of trying to film a project with Ryoki [Ogawa], to get him involved a little more. Like, I’m super down for that and I’ll probably get to go to Japan at some point. Also he’s just mad fun to be around and a good snowboarder. It was kind of nerve wracking. I’ve never really been the person calling shots for projects.
You’ve never been the star of a project?
No, never [laughs]. Never the one to have to get the rental car or anything like that. I drove all winter, which I’ve never had to do before. Honestly though, I wasn’t mad about it. I don’t drive in New York, so I got my fix when I was on trips.
You probably built up some credit card points, though.
Oh, yeah. I put that credit card to work. I can finally let that thing rest for a month or two.
What’s the credit card? You getting the United MileagePlus miles or what?
I do. Everyone hates on me for flying United, because everyone’s team Delta. I had to lie to get it, so I’m sticking with it. And during Covid, I was getting upgrades left and right. Now that I’ve gotten a taste of first class, it’s so hard not flying that way.
Did you have a direction in mind or anything for the part?
Honestly, no. I hadn’t snowboarded or filmed in over a year. It took me a second to get warmed back up and do some stuff that was scary, but I wanted to get some good clips. Also, I just wanted to go to some cool places. Pretty much, if it’s snowing somewhere, it’s like, alright, let’s try and figure out how to get there.
What was the sickest spot you went to?
The dragon was hands down the coolest spot. It’s in the middle of nowhere at a rest stop onsen in farm country Japan. But, the coolest place was Bosnia. We went to fucking Bosnia first trip of the season.
What’s the craziest thing that happened out there?
Nothing that crazy, but there’s bullet holes all over the buildings from where they got hit by fucking rockets, because they had a pretty crazy war not that long ago. But they really hate it when you throw snow on the stairs of their walkways. I gave some attitude to one dude and he stopped me. I was a little nervous he was gonna rip me out of the car and beat me up or something [laughs]. But that was the one part where I was like, fuuuck, god damnit. He was like, ”You aren’t going to come into our country and disrespect me like that.” And I was like, I get it, man. I’m sorry. I was being an asshole, just trying to find a parking spot here. Then we shook hands and it was all good.
What’s the most frustrating thing about being a pro snowboarder? Or is anything frustrating?
Constantly depending on the weather to do what we want to do. And hearing stories about how good people used to get paid and it’s like, damn, I’d be living a completely different life if that was the case. So money and weather, that’s about it. That’s fucking crazy to say [laughs].
Is it worth it to fuck your body up for a clip?
I mean, honestly the feeling you get after you battle something crazy and land it is really dope. I kind of forgot about that. I had never taken a year off until last year so getting back to it I was more like, damn, I really miss this. It’s a crazy, hard-to-explain feeling. And doing that has taken me around the world. It’s worth it to me.
True. So a lot of people don’t know about your knee injury. What happened to your knee and how long were you out?
I tore my ACL and meniscus, but I did the meniscus in three different places. Luckily, it happened right after we got back from our last trip filming for Rated R, at that Dustbox event. That was the most serious injury and surgery I’ve ever dealt with. I couldn’t walk for three months, but it kept me from snowboarding for like a solid year. It was a year of realizing that you have to go to the gym, work out, and build some strength to keep yourself healthy. I’ve never been off my feet for that long, and New York is a fucking terrible place to nurse an injury like that. You have to walk everywhere.
"Turns out it was bed bugs, and I freaked the fuck out"
Did your sponsors help you out?
I did get a bit of help, actually, which was dope. Thankfully Skullcandy and Ride came through. I mean, all of them did. I have insurance through the state of New York, somehow, so that also helped. I got put in contact with the surgeon who does all the contest dudes’ surgeries, Dr. Hackett, but I couldn’t really afford it. So he’s like, “I’ll help you find a surgeon that I know is capable of the procedure because it’s not a simple one.” I’d never even met the dude. I’m so thankful for that.
That’s pretty lucky, considering American health care and how it typically works for people.
Dude, straight up. I spent like two weeks in Chip [Justin Keniston]’s basement in Salt Lake City with Spencer, trying to figure out what the hell to do because I didn’t know what was wrong yet. I got home and sold all of my snowboard stuff. Just got rid of everything to start paying for that shit.
Do you think anybody gives a shit about hearing injury stories anymore?
I don’t think they do that much, but I do now after dealing with that. It opens up the line of communication between the people that have gone through it. So you can be like, Yo, I just went through this, and you’re about to as well. I made it through that, you’re going to be good.
Why did you choose Ride Snowboards?
Honestly, just because I thought that they had one of the sickest teams, stacked with a bunch of people that I enjoy hanging out with and consider good friends. They’re always doing video projects, and their boards looked cool to me, post rebrand. I’ve seen Ride boards my entire life because my brother was also a pro for Ride back in the day, which is cool.
Who’s the best person on a trip?
Dude, honestly, Cole Navin. Also, as much as I don’t want to admit it, Spencer [Schubert] is awesome to have on a trip.
[Laughs] Why don’t you want to admit that?
Because Spencer pisses me off all the time. But I also love him. I’ve been friends with him for more than half my life. Dude, like so many people. Reid Smith, Nik Baden, Parker Szumowski; also epic humans to go on trips with.
What’s the corniest thing in snowboarding, in your opinion?
Fuck. I think this is maybe going to go against the “everybody’s got to be friends with each other” thing. But just because someone’s super nice, that doesn’t mean you have to be a fan of them. There’s a lot of corny shit in snowboarding and a lot of it is hard to watch. Obviously I’m going to sound like a fucking hater, but I don’t like everyone’s snowboarding and I don’t want to have to pretend that I do. And it’s like, people probably think that shit about me and that’s fucking totally fine.
"Like, oh, no, the moon landing was fake for some reason? Why the fuck do I care?"
What’s the nerdiest thing you’ve ever heard Parrish [Isaacs] say on a trip?
Oh, okay. Anytime he mentions something about rocks. He knows exactly what the rock is called, it’s just funny. They all look the same to me. Well, they actually don’t all look the same, but it’s like, I don’t care. One of my favorite things was in Japan. He made the claim—I don’t know if he was being serious or not—but he was questioning whether or not the moon landing was real. [Laughing] Cole turned around in the van and looked at him and was just not having it. I was losing it. I’m like, this man is talking conspiracy theories about the moon landing [laughs].
Do you think we landed on the moon?
I don’t fucking know. I feel like they probably made it up there somehow. I don’t know, man. I’m not the smartest person. I don’t think about that stuff too much. It literally doesn’t change anything in my life that I am doing. Like, Oh, no, the moon landing was fake for some reason? Why the fuck do I care?
What do you think about Parrish being a scooterer?
If I was 20 I would probably be making fun of him. But he’s fucked up good at it and owns it, so I put mad respect on it. And I mean, fuck it, I rode a scooter when I was like in like third grade.
Who’s better, Cole [Navin] or Jed [Anderson]?
That’s a crazy one. I mean, Jed is better [laughs].They’re both fucked up good at snowboarding, but in different ways. But, like, dude, old footage of Cole, he’s so much better than everyone.
What’s up with the DC ring?
The fact that I have one in my possession is fucking crazy. I’m actually putting it on my finger right now just to feel something [laughs]. Oh, I dropped it.
Have you ever used it to flex on anybody?
I don’t like to flex on anybody. But some nights I do wear it out just because. I’ll be like, shiiit, let’s put on the ring tonight.
It’s a flex, dude. You’re up there with Dyrdek now, you know. Have you ever met Dyrdek?
No dude, I think he was long gone by the time I got on DC. I haven’t really met any of the OGs. Dude, I never met Kalis. I did put the Kalis ring on before they got it to him, though.
What do you mean?
He got like a baller gold one and I took a picture wearing it before they had it sent to him. I was like, damn, this thing is fucking nice compared to the one I got. What the hell?
Wait, what’s yours made out of?
It’s white gold.
Are they real diamonds?
That’s what I’m told. I mean, my homie that’s a jeweler out here was looking at it, and he said it looks good. He cleaned it for me. He was also like, “If it’s not real, the shit that I’m about to do might fuck it up,” and it didn’t fuck it up. So that’s a good sign. Everyone’s always like, “How much is it worth? I don’t know, man. It’s priceless. [Laughs]
Would you ever sell it if you were in a pinch?
Probably not. I’d have to be really down bad. I don’t think it’s going to be some life-changing number. So it’s like, what? I’m going to get rid of this ring? Dude, everyone knows about this ring. That was like the main question everybody asked me when I got on DC. “When are you going to get the ring?” I was like, I don’t even know if they still do the ring.
You got one, you made it.
That was honestly one of the coolest feelings ever because it was a total surprise.
I think that’s all I got. You got anything you want to say? Anyone you want to shout out or anything?
I mean, obviously, I want to shout-out my parents for being awesome and my brother for inspiring me to do what I’m currently doing. Without the three of them, I wouldn’t be here. My sponsors Ride, Skullcandy, DC. And all of my homies that make this as fun as it is.
