Freestyle snowboarding owes a massive debt of gratitude to
the magical feet of veteran American snowboard professional John Paul ‘JP’ Walker. His sections in snowboard movies such as The Resistance, Technical Difficulties and This Video Sucks (watch it above) amount to the snowsports equivalent of a shock and awe campaign, each one producing never-before-seen tricks on huge street rails and off back-country kickers that have left audiences – including
pro snowboarders – amazed.
Despite podium finishes in a number of big competitions, including
a win at the MTV Triple Big Air in 1998 and the Nixon Jibfest in 2000,
he’s not a fan of the big commercial snowboard events, which are often
so rigidly structured they choke some of the freedom out of the sport.
‘I like to get creative with my snowboarding and I feel you can’t do that
at a contest,’ says Walker.
His attitude is understandable if slightly ironic. The staggering number of new tricks he’s unveiled in his videos means that he’s at least partially responsible for many of the stunts top pros, such as Shaun White and Marko Grilc, do in their competition-winning runs today.
Read our review of JP Walker's ThirtyTwo boot – the Prospect, and check out JP's guide to riding big rails in the April 2010 issue of Men's Fitness. You can subscribe to the mag here.
