Seemingly out of nowhere, LAAND and The Dustbox dropped a proper skate/snow hybrid video, featuring some heavy names from both disciplines. Without much knowledge about LAAND or why they had an interest in snowboarding footage for their video, we reached out to Nico Jones to get some more information. Keep reading to learn about LAAND, who’s involved, how they got snowboarding on Thrasher, and what they’ve got in store for the future.
Featuring: Nico Jones, Toby Ryan, Cruise Mosberg, Henry Hausner, Dylan Jaeb, Noah Fayyazuddin, Indy Jones, Kj Thomas, Gavin Bottger, Mark McCoy, Jake Cortez, Hunter Goulet, Jayden Brumm, Sullivan Platte, Jayden Edwards, Connor Kelly, and Jacob Luczak
Edited by: Kyle G
Filmed by: Brandon Cortez, Kyle G, Andres Garcia, Jacob Palumbo, Benny Maglinao, Cody Green, Cooper Whittier, Colt Morgan, Nate Hanson, Walker Netland
The first thing I notice is the names in the description of the video. How did a bunch of skaters from SoCal link up with Team Elevin and the Dustbox?
Well, for a long time my friends and I have always been into watching snowboarding—people doing backflips and shit. Snowboarders can do some crazy tricks that can’t really be done in skating, which can change the way we look at street skating. My friends and I started to gravitate toward The Dustbox crew. The music and the editing style in their videos is all shit we’re into. Cooper (Whittier) and I had talked previously over text/Instagram, and then the idea of doing something together just seemed cool.
What does LAAND mean, or where does it come from?
I think it’s a word that feels like the Old West, and that’s what I’m inspired by.
Do all the skaters in this video snowboard too?
I definitely wouldn’t consider any of us “active” snowboarders, but we’ll definitely go up to the mountains. I know Cruise (Mosberg) and Kyle (Geldert) have gone on some sick missions in the past. Cruise can get down on handrails.
For a long time there was a bit of disapproval from skaters to snowboarders, similar to snowboarders and skiers. Is snowboarding “cool” to skaters now?
I’ve definitely heard some stigma toward snowboarding from skaters. But I remember seeing photos of John Cardiel snowboarding when I was younger and thought it was so sick. That always solidified snowboarding in my eyes.
How do you get Thrasher to post your video? Are they just like, “This was sick, let’s post it” or do you have to ask them or pay or what?
Yea basically we just texted them the video before it came out and I think they really liked it. They said they would post it and include snowboarding clips. I think that’s so cool they did that.
Which skater is the best snowboarder in the crew?
Cruise and our homie Curran.
Which snowboarder is the best skater?
Jed Anderson, and all the Dustbox guys skate too.
Are multi-discipline videos the move these days? Is one activity too boring to sustain an entire edit?
I think skate videos have just regurgitated the same format for so long that it’s fun to have something else in the mix.
Anything else you wanna say?
I guess I don’t want LAAND to be perceived as a clothing company.
What do you want LAAND to be in that case?
I guess maybe a place for ideas to go? Nobody should expect just clothing, a wide range of things.
Do you see LAAND doing anything else in snowboarding?
I think I would love to, but no plans at the moment. Maybe more of a full-length style video with equal parts snowboarding and skating.
