Depends how you look at it, but from a certain standpoint it seems like skateboarding and snowboarding have a love/hate relationship. Sometimes there’s a perfect overlap between the two (reference John Shanahan), and other times the adjacent boardsports seem less compatible.There’s an undeniable link, though, and we’re just firm believers you haven’t gotten there yet. Once you find your way to another form of boarding, it's almost impossible to deny the joy that it brings—regardless if you’re strapped in or not.
One unlikely addition to skateboarding comes from Texas native turned Brooklyn local, Trung Nguyen. Finding popularity with the Late Nite Stars brand he created with his friends, Trung has filmed multiple skate parts…and in recent years has also put out some sick snowboard footage. For the skater in you, there’s some clips and insane fits in Chase Walker’s 2021 video, Respectfully, notably Trung’s darkslide on a classic C-rail in New York City—all while wearing True Religion jeans and an unstrapped hat set to the sounds of Natalie Imbruglia. His most recent part in Chase’s new video The Circle is just as epic, and surprisingly, is heavily influenced by snowboarding.
Trung had a late start but ultimately found his way to snowboarding through friends he met in the tri-state area, then with the ThriftBoards crew in 2021. Since those days, he’s filmed clips in Hell Gate’s Gate 2 Hell, and will also have footage in the upcoming ThriftBoards team video from Japan a few months back. He’s been on a couple ThriftBoards team trips at this point, so we thought there was no better time to dissect his appreciation and influence for snowboarding. Walking around the Tokyo streets, we picked his brain on the inspirations in snowboarding that led to his most recent skate part, and why sliding on snow is something he continues to pursue.
Filmed and Edited by: Matt Norris
