BERTAMAR
Interview by Keith Stephenson
getparding and snowboarding are two sports
linked together through a crossover network of like-
minded participants. No one exemplies the shate
to show lump more than Bert Laman upstar Valley
kaswho popped onto the skate scene as you g
Fian When Bar oldon snowboarding two years
ugo it was really nouprise to see him shredding
alongside the best within a year The teal kicker was
when he won the Swatch World's at Berekenridge
in 1987 This established him at the top of his new
faung game
How long did intake you to get the half-pipe dialed?
The first time I rodea pipe was in my first contest,
aboutwo years ago, it was about my fifth day on
Bert Lamar visiting one of
his old skating grounds,
Skatercross in Reseda, CA,
after it was closed in 1982.
Inset: Showing a very
skatish frontside form at the
Swatch World's in 1987.
my board, and bombed. It was just like curbs, so
it didn't really count to me, but I actually got second.
My next contest I came to Breckenridge to see what
a pipe was really like and what I was going to need
to practice. I ended up spending the whole week in
the pipe. It was a contest with three events-half-
pipe, slalom and downhill-but I didn't put any effort
into those two. Some days I was in the pipe
for twelve hours. By the end of the week I
was getting airs bigger than the guys who
had won the last World Cup and I ended up
winning it. So, actually, it took me a week.
Do you like the moguls, slalom and
downhill, or do you just compete in those
events to stay well-rounded?
I thought that I was only going to love the
pipe, but now that I've conquered a couple
of titles I've begun to think, "Hey, not only
can I do this, I can win the moguls and I can
win slalom and downhill." Every type of ter-
rain helps my riding. It's the same feeling I
used to get when I was skating. I would leave
a competition or a skatepark and I'd think I
had been skating the best I'd ever skated in
my life, that I'd never get any better. Then I'd
look back four months later, laugh and say,
"God." I thought I was so bad. As long as
that keeps happening I know I'm doing the
right thing. I look back at last year and laugh
at the maneuvers I was doing as opposed
to what I'm doing now.
What would be the optimum half-pipe con-
figuration for you?
Out of the pipes I've seen, the best one was
180 meters long, with 30 or 40 hips. The walls
were between 12 and 16 feet high, with
anywhere between one and three feet of vert-
ical. It was incredible. It looked like a
skateboarding half-pipe. The incline was
about 30%, just enough speed.
So is vertical happening?
For me it is, because I can do a lot of the
skateboard maneuvers. When you ride on
these kinds of banks it's like gnarly
streetstyle. I'm doing 540° handplants, front-
side handplants and a lot of regular 540° airs.
But, with both feet strapped in there are more
limitations. I think if there's a binding system
developed, a trick binding, then you'll start
to see a lot of footplants, Japan and judo airs.
I've been doing them with stuff that doesn't
work, but I've also been working with some
guys who develop bindings and new
products.
What new tricks are you working on?
Footplants are the latest thing. I haven't been.
able to do some because the pipe is so bad,
but I built a kicker that works perfectly. I was
getting my foot about a foot over the top, just
completely extended, taking the back foot
out, touching it and hopping right back in.
Some of the other tricks I'm working on are
Miller flip type handplants where you come
around completely forward, like a Miller flip
and a half I'd say. I did it in the last contest.
It's like a frontside 540° with a handplant.
A big difference between skateboarding and
snowboarding is the conditions. You don't go
to a top skateboarding event and find that
the pipe doesn't have vertical. That's why it's
difficult to win consistently. You have to have
two different styles of tricks-bank and vert-
ical. Maybe even different boards for the ing is out in front of people all the time and
different pipes.
Would you equate snowboarding more
with skateboarding or surfing?
Well, it's much more like skateboarding to
me. Surfing is fun because you're dealing
with a wave and you're just trying to stay up
and ride it, but you don't really get into the
maneuvers that we do on a skateboard.
Snowboarding is so easy; the mountain
doesn't change much, so you're more or less
Swatchi
looking for skateboard moves and banks.
Everything that I do in the half-pipe is
basically a skateboard trick.
Do you have any advice for skaters who
are getting into snowboarding?
The best advice I'd give is don't get
discouraged. If you're used to popping five
or six foot airs off a ramp and you can't do
them the first day you hit the snow, don't get
bummed and think it's not a cool sport. I felt
this way too and just layed off for awhile, but
when I went back, I was able to pull off those
tricks. If you stick it out for a few weeks, you'll
be surprised at how quickly you develop. I
think skaters tend to have this attitude, like,
screw it, it's lame, it's not as good as skating.
If you hang with it for a little while, I think it
can be just as good if not better than skating.
It'll help your skating if nothing else.
What's in the future for you?
Right now this is it. Snowboarding is my life.
I've spent the last couple months setting out
a five-year plan of exactly what I want to do.
I think snowboarding is at a level right now
where you can make a comfortable living as
a professional. I'm going to be doing that for
the next two or three years. I think I can do
well with my sponsors. I'm trying work with
some of the major ski companies. I think
snowboarding is a solid business, and I don't
think it's going to go up and down as much
as skateboarding has. After what I've seen
at some of the ski shows and the positive
response of the major sponsors, I feel confi-
dent of snowboarding's stability. Snowboard-
people can't help but notice it. You stand out.
like a sore thumb. There are still people out
there who haven't ever seen it. Snow Summit
in California is my mountain right now and
the first few weeks it was open I'd wear a
Walkman because you'd hear so much yell-
ing and screaming from people who were
completely freaking out. You don't get the
hundred questions from the chairlift now.
Before, you'd almost want to go single
because you knew that whoever you rode
with was just going to pick your brain the
whole ride up.
Have you ever caught flak from skiers who
don't accept snowboarding?
It hasn't been too bad. Now it's kind of more
subtle. At the beginning of the season it was
more of a test. A feeling like no matter what
happens, it's your fault because you're the
new guy on the mountain. You're in a skier's
area. If some guy slams into you because
he was completely out of control and drunk,
it's your fault because you're on al
snowboard. Now it's not so bad.
What do you think about the judging
system in snowboarding? Do you have any
suggestions of your own?
Yeah. I think they're right in line the way
they're doing it, because you can't have dif-
ferent judges and new people all the time.
I think the World Cup circuit needs a panel
of judges who are trained and paid well to
go to all the events. That way you don't have
to yank out a new judge at each area. A ma-
jor part of the problem is that people say,
"Hey, this guy's not a snowboarder, he's
freestyle skiler." I plan to put together a book
on freestyle maneuvers and write exactly
what each manuever is and how they look
compared to similar ski or skate maneuvers.
That way people who are completely new to
the sport can read it and catch on quickly.
I think it will help if the novice judge problem
ever happens at some of the smaller events.
I know for the World Cup events we'll have
judges who are informed.
Do you still skateboard?
I actually haven't been skating much in the
last five years, just a little bit here and there,
street skating or down to a friend's house.
When I get into one thing, I really focus on
it for awhile and stick with it. I did more
skating this summer-I entered a contest for
the first time in six years-but I mainly went
there to watch the maneuvers and learn how
they were doing them so I could relate them
to the half-pipe in snowboarding.
Any closing comments?
Like I said before, I think all the skaters
should go out and try snowboarding. You've
got to give yourselves a little time. I know
you're all hot and you can do anything on
a ramp, but you can do just as much on snow,
if not more. Just wait, because it'll happen.
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