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Features Five Minutes with Kyle Miller

Five Minutes with Kyle Miller

Event info from George Crosland

Photos by Jeff Hehlen, George Crosland

6/30/2009

Kyle Miller is a Montana native that just came off a good season living and shredding the Lake Tahoe region, filming for a part with Autumn Line and shooting for other miscellaneous projects. Chance are pretty good that you will notice Kyle’s riding before hearing him talk smack or otherwise put himself in the limelight; his riding does the talking

Kyle Miller Snowboarding
- In the middle of summer this beautiful picture for sure makes you want to snowboard and maybe start checking the price of a ticket to New Zealand. Photo by Jeff Hehlen

Hometown: Helena, MT
Current winter home: Truckee, CA
Resort: Big Sky, MT & Northstar, CA
Age: 21
Sponsors: Sessions, Northwave/Drake/Bakoda, Spy, fourOsix boardshop
Years Riding: 10
Favorite terrain: Pillows

Kyle Miller Handplant
- Stylin Andrecht in an insane spot. Photo by Jeff Hehlen

SR: How do you become a sponsored snowboarder?
KM: My local board shop got me hooked up with some reps when I was in High School; they all got pretty stoked and pushed me up in their programs.

SR: You lived in Tahoe last winter right; does it help visibility as a sponsored snowboarder to live in Tahoe?
KM: For sure, Tahoe is one of the hottest spots in the states.

SR: Montana has some pretty sick riding, what motivated the move to Tahoe; it is not like you came from flat place like Minnesota?
KM: Montana is a great place to ride; by the time I was done with High School I felt like I needed to do something different and I had been to Tahoe a few times and loved it so I just decided to meander that way.

SR: What are the pros of living in Tahoe?
KM: Sunny all the time, everything is so close to one another, amazing parks, doesn’t get that cold which is a nice change for me being from Montana.

SR: What do you miss in Montana when you’re in Tahoe?
KM: The lack of people and crowds, my buddies, and pow days lasting for weeks.

SR: Speaking of pow, where is your favorite pow spot?
KM: Sierra at Tahoe is a blast on pow days or Big Sky, Montana

SR: Favorite park spot?
KM: Northstar

SR: What are a few highlights from the past snowboarding season for you?
KM: I got to ride a shit ton of backcountry without traveling too much. I was also able to get in with the Autumn Line crew and film a part with them. I am pretty stoked that worked out. It was also my first season with a sled, which was really sweet and disastrous of course too.

SR: Highlights for life in general?
KM: Filmed a part with NC Productions, I had looked up to those guys forever.

SR: So you fight fires in Montana as a summer job, is it tough work?
KM: Yeah it can get pretty hard but you adapt pretty quick. It’s a sweet job, a lot of the time you don’t even realize that you are getting paid to do it.

SR: Are there a bunch of super tough Montana rugged types on your fire fighting crew that hate sports like snowboarding and only like football and stuff?
KM: Ha ha, I don’t think any of them hate snowboarding but there are definitely some rugged dudes on our crew that are pretty typical Montana types, some cowboys, hunters and that kind.

SR: Do you have to go off and fight fires for days on end or do you have a more regular schedule?
KM: There is not too much of a set schedule other than when you’re on a fire assignment and you work 14 days straight with 2 days rest before you go out again. If there are not many fires we just work the standard 40 hours a week doing miscellaneous project work until shit starts to burn.

SR: Speaking of careers, what do you hope to get out of snowboarding?
KM: I hope to keep cruising right along and not get too lost in the mix and have a rippin good time doing it.

SR: Where are you going live next winter?
KM: Truckee again

SR: Growing up, who influenced your riding?
KM: Andreas Wiig and JP Walker probably the most. The Guch was in there too.

SR: Who influences your riding now?
KM: Nicholas Muller and anyone with some good style.

SR: Favorite video part?
KM: Austin’s in people too.

SR: You have the option to do anything with anyone tomorrow under the best conditions for your chosen activity anywhere in the world, where would you go and what would you do? Oh and you get the day off work too, paid, ha.
KM: Scuba diving with some babes in Belize would be sick. Eat some burritos too.

SR: Top 5 bands in rotation for you?
KM: Blackstar, ELO, Fugees, The Roots, Judas Priest

SR: Where do you see snowboarding going in the next few years as far as progression goes?
KM: One of two ways, either it will kinda steady out or it will get really nutty with triple corks and 1800’s everywhere.

SR: How do you hope to progress in the next few years?
KM: Stay healthy and get all flippy with really different tricks.

SR: Thanks for your time, any closing words or anyone you would like to thank?
KM: Thanks to the Parents and family, Kathleen and Jain, Brett, Billy, Danielle and Joel at Sessions, Desiree at Northwave, Matt at Spy, Papu at fourOsix, Mark and the Porters with Autumn Line, Leland and Sam with NCP, Ian with inc.productions.

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- Kyle Miller. Photo by George Crosland