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JIM MORAN
So, you were one of those priviledged kids who
had a ramp as a kid, huh?
I was lucky enough to get one going thanks to mom
being so cool. I used to skate it before school. I lived
night next door to my school, so my friends and I would
skate it whenever we could escape. It was lots of fun
Did you build it?
No I didn't have a clue. I just pounded the nails in.
Who used to session it?
Mostly just my friends. Not too many people skated
where I lived, so it was pretty mellow. Donny Barley
came by a couple of times, though.
Can you remember your first set-up?
My first skate was a Lance Mountain with the
Future Primitive graphic. It had all the goods:
nosebone, copers, rails, the bird. First snow-
board was a Winterstick round tail plus. It
was a weapon.
Did you ever ride the snow on
something other than a
snowboard, like stand-
ing on a sled or a
wooden
plank?
interview by cory ahtoong
you do something different. There's more places to do all
the things that I am into here and it's pretty mellow
When I first heard of you, everyone put
you in the pipe category, but I know that
you are heavily into the steeps. Break down
why that shit's so fun,
Out east, the dudetube was the only place you could times.
catch air and land on tranny. Then I came out here and land
and got to follow some good riders, it once.
and I learned what that's
beat I
respect
people
doing
LIQUID
Iskiled for
eight years until I got into snow-
boarding in seventh grade. I had been
skating for a few years when I started seeing
people at the ski hills on snowboards I liked the
feel of skating and I liked the
speed and jumps of skiing, so I
took up snowboarding because
it has the best of both worlds
Skiing is still sick, though
You're from the East Coast?
I lived in Wilton, Connecticut,
for ten years. I was lucky to be
able to go to Vermont and hang
out. The people up there were a
lot more fun than where I lived.
No one went snowboarding mach
in my town, so I didn't hang out
there at all. I just went to school
and took off whenever I could
What brought you out west?
A bunch of friends I had made
through snowboarding had
moved to San Diego, so two
days after graduation, I was
gone. I just wanted to go skate
and surf everyday. It was fun, but
the waves usually weren't good
and the mountains were far away.
so I moved to Tahoe. I've been
here since and I don't plan on
leaving for a while
versus West?
it's all
about. You get the
floaty feeling a lot more
riding steep pow and
cliffs than on some
tight, little man-made
tranny. If pipes
were built so you
could go twenty
feet, you might be
able to capture
some of that.
Plus, with a
pipe, you can
hit it a million times until you
Is there a big difference between East get it right, but on a lot of steep lines and drops, you only
get one chance, so it feels way better when you pull it.
Where do you see skating and snowboarding
going nowadays?
As far as skating and snowboarding go
the scene back east is a lot smaller and it
takes more effort to find the sick
spots. Most of the people that are
into it are cool, more sheltered
back there. But it also seems
that since a lot of people here
are exposed to so many
different things, they
don't really care when
Skating is out of hand. People are going ballistic.
People were going big and fast back in the day, but now
they're going big and fast and tech. It's getting to the
point where if you don't pull it, you're not getting up So
you have to be consistent and that makes you smooth.
Snowboarding is kind of beat right now because so many
hungry fools are hucking out of control, getting lucky
and claiming it's the shit. Anyone can huck a million
something
out of hand
and doing it
smooth
Snow-board-
ing is sick, it's
just a bummer
to see people
taking advan-
tage of the fact
that they're
strapped in.
People like TB,
Salas, Lynn, and
others that look like
they don't need
bindings, that's
where it's at
What else are
you into?
Lately, I've been rid
ing my dirt bike a lot. I
used to do it when J
was a kid, but it got too
expensive. I was able to
get back into it and have
been doing some racing
and having a lot of fun
So, it's all about
the throttle?
Nah, it's all about getting
that feeling. You know, like
when you decide to go for it
and get that rush, whether
it's from pushing one extra
time, pointing it, or from,
keeping your wrist locked.
Then you get the best part.
the float It's all the same, snap-
ping an ollie, turning and jump-
ing in pow, or clearing a sixty-
foot double. It's also about being
able to do these things however
you want. There are no limits
except what you set for yourself
Thanks?
Thanks especially to Mom and
Dad, Doug and Mike, Jack, Rock,
Salas, JB, and you fools that I ride
with. I wouldn't want to be
anywhere else.
Above: Years of icy East Coast pipes
makes Cali spring parks seem like child's
play. Big frontside air at Squaw Valley
In the backgroud: Jim opens up the throt
tle in an empty Alaskan pow-pow Heaven.
Above left: Jim finds a killer line close to
home in the Tahoe backcountry
Left: With the Grind reasonably close to
Tahoe, it's no surprise to see so many
snowmen filling its gaps like this
All photos by Aaron Sedway