-Gigi and David stoked to be in Jackson during day one of natural selection: Dicks Ditch.

How was your summer?
Good. Really mellow actually. For  the first time we didn't work on a movie, so really, it´s the first summer I actually witnessed in the last 7 years.

What are your plans for this winter?
I´ll be working on a book for the most part. About the current state of Snowboarding, looking at the last 15 years and the development until now. Basically like a symposium of the most influential shred heads, industry and pros, in book form.Other than that and besides riding I might do some non-snowboarding film jobs I am pretty excited about.

What was it like for you growing up in Germany?
Awesome. I mean, no ethnic cleansing, raging war or that sort of thing. I don't know, it´s a pretty good place. Very liberal, a lot of art and public space. I like it over here.

Who did you grow up riding with?
My brother and friends mostly, later on a lot of the contest kids from central Europe. People you´d see every weekend at a different comp. The Aesthetikers from Austria, Christoph Weber…etc.

What is your favorite type of terrain to ride and why?
Hm, tough one. I think you can have as much fun anywhere, really. I think AK is probably my favorite since you don't get to ride it that much. But a soft park in the spring with a good crew can come pretty close.

Many people say that European riders have to work twice as hard as American riders to make it in snowboarding.  Do you feel this is a true statement?
Yes and No. You definitely have to be dedicated to get your ass over there and be a no-name rookie, couch trip and hook up with the right people. You definitely cant hide out in Europe and expect to make it big in international snowboarding. Once you are over there though and have  made a bit of a name for yourself in the US I think it becomes actually easier. People think: wow, he´s known over here and from far away. That must mean he´s good. Plus, you get the same effect at home. Wow: a german made it in the US. Heidi Klum was practically unknown in Germany before she made it in the US. Now she´s seen as the #1 export.

How do you feel about competing in contests?  What was your favorite contest last year and why?
I generally always liked competing. It´s such an easy time. You go somewhere, hang out with your buddies, party and ride a little bit. It definitely doesn't take too much motivation to do that. Last year I probably enjoyed Travis´ contest the most, the QNS. Just a good week of solid pow with good people. Didn't really feel too much like a contest.

Where do you still see room for progression in snowboarding?
All over the place, really. Technically, there´s obviously still a lot of room as well as creatively. I think the creative progression has been pretty rad last season, watching guys like Gigi or LNP rip it up is just amazing. The only place I am really looking at and basically crying because it´s so lame is pipe riding. While it should really be the master discipline of Snowboarding, it seems to be a contest for who can pull up their board tip closer to their face while doing some gay spin combo. Seriously, pipe riding used to be so much fun to watch. I am not blaming it on the riders at all, I think the judging messed it up. No reward for creativity.

You are a major influence for many kids in snowboarding and are considered one of the most influential people in Germany.  We want to know who are three of your influences and why?
I didn't really have these major single influences I think…
1. Parents, since there´s such a subconscious part to education. Even if you don't think your parents influenced you, they still did.
2. Friends, they do the rest.
3. The rest of the World, whatever you are exposed to basically.

- Jakob, Christoph, David, Hampus, Josh and Travis. Logan UT.

How was it working with Pierre Wikberg in the Robot Food projects?  Were you co-owners?
Yeah, we were all co-owners, or basically the original group of 6 or 7 dudes, including Jess and Pierre. It was a good time. Looking at it now, it was more like a party as opposed to a film production. Just a lot of creative guys who were really passionate about what they did, true group effort. - Jakob, Christoph, David, Hampus, Josh and Travis. Logan UT.

Can you share a story from your experience working with the Robot Food crew?
Really typical is the story on finding a name for our second film. At Robot Food, everyone was involved, meaning, there was also noone really in charge. So to reach a decision on anything took months. We ended up coming up with names for the entire season and always a few people voted against whatever it was. At some point, we decided to chose "PAUSE" to be the title of the film, even made shirts, until we heard MDP´s film was called "PULSE". We thought it was so ridiculously lame that we couldn't decide on such a simple thing, that LAME ended up to be the title. That´s how chaotic it was.

What is your involvement in the following?
Robot Food:Co-Founder, somewhat Art Director…since I did all the packaging and most of the ads, posters, etc.
Red Bull Gap Jump series:Initiator, together with Christoph Weber.
91 Words for Snow:Basically everything. Director, Writer, Producer, Co-Editor…whatever there might have been.
Shralp:None, really. It´s a cool gig though, My brother´s part of that.

Do you have a new video coming for this season?
No, as I mentioned above I am changing media for a season. Always wanted to work on a hi-quality print gig.

Of your video projects Robot Food, 91 Words for Snow, The Gap Session or In Short which one was your favorite to work on and why?
Robot Food stands on his own because it was really different. In regard to my own films I definitely like IN SHORT the best because it´s been a constant progress from one year to the other and it´s definitely the most grown up project I´ve done. I still like 91 Words but when I watch it know its cheesiness definitely cracks me up. IN SHORT was pretty close to what I wanted it to be.

This seems like a ton to manage, what is the average day in your life like?
Pretty unglamorous…a lot of computer work, a lot of talking to people and even more isolated notepad stuff. Sitting down and trying to structure ideas takes a lot of time.

- David after his deep run in Casper Bowl during the Natural Selection.

Who is the rider doing the method at the beginning of the Shralp movies?  Who does the commentary?
A friend of ours, Mee-z, started Shralp and my brother ended up helping him a bunch. Mee-z is in his 40´s now and an awesome dude. He does the commentary and I actually think it´s him doing the method, too. It must be from the mid 80´s.

You have received many awards in snowboarding through the years, which one was your most memorable and why?
Snowboarder´s Rider of the Year in 03 and 04 were definitely the biggest. Those came straight from the other pros so that´s a lot of love and respect. It doesn't get better than that.

Who do you think has the best Snowboard video part of all time?
That´s a really tough one. I´d say JP Walker in The Resistance.

What is your process of learning a new trick like the double corked 1260?
It really depends on the trick…but most of the really complicated tricks that you cant just try you have to think through until you are 90% sure you know how they work. Over time it simply starts sinking in until your imagination turns into an actual feeling of how to do it. I don't really think about it too much but subconsciously it just keeps on improving in bits and pieces. At some point you´ll need to try and see how close your imagination is to the real thing. That´s the scary part, sometimes anyway. The good thing is that a lot of time I´ll learn new tricks without even snowboarding, just because the constantly float around my head.

How does it feel to be considered a pioneer in tricks like the double shifty 900, switch backside rodeo 900, and the double cork 1260?
That´s awesome, of course. I am not sure how stoked I am on that FS 1260-label since it´s not really the most beautiful trick in the world. Or, at least I don't think I´ve really made it look as good as you could. That´s what the next step is: making that kind of stuff look like a mellow 720.

You have had very influential video parts for the past 8 years.  Of all your own video parts which one was your favorite and why?
In regard to standard video parts, I guess I sort of stopped after Robot Food so I think LAME is still the one I like the most. I think it just looks fluent and there are not many fillers in there.

What is up with the Single Seat Snowcat?
No idea actually. Mike Basich sent me that photo and I thought he built it since he´s always up for stuff like that. But it turns out it´s not his. I guess it´s just cool, that´s all.

Where do you still see progression for yourself in snowboarding?
There´s actually a lot of trick stuff that I´d like to try but I kind of get the feeling I might puss out on some of the stuff. Nothing too crazy but I noticed I am getting a little less risk hungry these days. It´s the age, you
know….