Before finding his place in the Pacific North-
west, Travis Yamada grew up and went to
school in the town of Sonora, California.
Spending summers skating city streets and
pools, the weekend winter months were
spent bumming rides to a rental shop job at
nearby Dodge Ridge Ski area. This is where
he learned his snowboarding chops. Travis
has lived in Bend, Oregon, for about three
years now and has recently been travelling
the world in search of snow. He skates mini-
ramps frequently, and within the last month
started producing his own skateboard decks
out of his house. He rides for Morrow and
continues to be one of today's most talented
and underrated snowboarders around.
-Chris Carnel
What's your skate deck company called?
It's called Deathstar Skateboards and it's just
like a creative project for me. I've got my first
batch done. About five decks so far.
Are you selling to shops yet?
No, but I want to in the future. We'll just
have to see how it goes.
What inclined you to move to Oregon?
Years ago I considered moving from Sonora
to Tahoe. Tahoe has a lot of resorts and a lot
of good terrain. Not to mention, I have close
friends there. But it's really crowded with a lot
of snowboarders, and I get claustrophobic.
Living in Bend is pretty mellow, you don't have
to plow your driveway like Truckee 'cause it's
high desert here. The riders around here are
really good and the scene is cool too.
Who are your current sponsors?
Morrow, Fishpaw Industries, Nine One Six
and Plain Sane: they're not only my sponsors
but my friends, and I try and help them out as
much as I can 'cause they help me out so much.
What was it like when you went to Japan?
Oh, there's Seven Elevens everywhere and
instead of Big Bite Hot Dogs there, they had
Squid Tubes on a Stick and Octopus Tentacles,
your basic snacks.
Are you working anywhere right now?
This summer I'll be at the High Cascade
Camp as a coach. The previous summers I've
done construction; like framing and stuff.
How's the snow up at Bachelor?
Right now, it's alright. You know, it gets kind
of slow and dirty. There's a few jumps around
and they're open till the Fourth of July.
What was the last contest you entered?
The Mount Baker banked slalom event, and
it rained the whole time up there. That was
actually the first event I've ever entered as a
pro. it felt kind of weird. I've always thought of
the pros as the guys who you looked up to as a
little kid, that were in all the magazines.
Travis Yamada
110 T
One of the most down-to-earth dudes on
the snowboarding scene, Travis (above)
carves a virgin spread in Saint Regis Basin,
MT. Back in California, Yamada (below) pulls
an ollie rock to fakie within the tight confines of
the Truckee Ramp. Frontside tuck and drop (bottom
left) in the backwood country nearby Kirkwood, CA.