Snowboarder Erin Valverde gives us an insight into the newest female snowboard movie, Float...
What made you decide to set up the Float Film Project?
Along with many other girls, I really wanted to film again. In the years prior, I was filming with Chunkyknit and they decided not to make another movie, so John and I decided to take it off their hands and do one ourselves.
How did filming go? Last season was a bit hit and miss, did you have any problems finding snow?
Actually, no. I was in Mt. Baker, Washington a lot of the year and they had record-breaking snowfall. But at times it was really hard for backcountry jumps. This is what was a big bummer. The weather never really lined up for this. A lot of the girls in the film are super into park, so they had no trouble...
My male friends are just as excited about Float Film as I am, do you
think female snowboarding is finally getting the same acceptance as
men?
Oh, for sure! Guys look at how good the girls are now, and it's
like a competition. If they see a girl do a 7 off a jump they feel they
have to match.
You did a surfing crossover feature in the film, are you a keen surfer and was it cool to hook up with female pro surfers?
It was really fun! I love surfing and I am decent at the sport, but I
was super humbalized when I went to Hawaii to stay with Rochelle and
Megan... they are amazing! It's funny cause they have all these sayings
that I don't really know, and they are the same with the snowboard
world. It's pretty funny.
Is there any standout sections/tricks we should look out for in the film?
Silvia Mittermuller with her amazing grace and bag of tricks!
Where was your favourite place you visited for filming? Mt. Baker because of the terrain and snowfall!
Any plans for a film for next year or any future projects? We are thinking about it for sure. It is super hard for the filmers to make any money though, it just goes right into the project again, so John is undecided at the moment. But I am ready for another! It really takes a person that is in love with the sport and not the money, like John.... But sometimes you just have to pay the bills.
Go to Evo Gear or buy November's issue of Onboard, out 31 October, to get your copy of Float!
Visit www.floatfilm.com to find out more about the Float project.
The awesome cover design of the DVD is actually Erin's artwork, and we'll be featuring more of her work shortly, to find out more about Erin, visit www.erinvalverde.com.