At this point, all of you reading this should know Jake's snowboarding is what you call, on point. While many of his peers from New England are doing contests nonstop he's out there riding pow. Not that he hasn't been on that scene before. Winning the US Open slopestyle at an early age, in a snowstorm. Riding with Terje and blasting out of the quarterpipe at the Arctic Challenge. The list keeps going. His choice to ride what he wants though has obviously paid off though. Having the last part in the Forum movie and just being in "That's It That's All" is obviously insane. For a kid from Vermont just getting the chance to ride with living legends of snowboarding like Devun Walsh showing you around Whistler must amazing. Now Jake is ranked with some of the best in the world while making sure he's having fun with his snowboarding on and off the board. So here you have it, the Jake Blauvelt Interview. 

Where's your current location?
Bellingham, WA

What is a so called typical day like for you?
When I'm shredding it's wake up around 5 or 6, play around in the backcountry for the day, come back to the pad, eat, roll up, do it over again the next day if the weather allows. When I'm not shredding I just like to chill, stretch and get my body ready for the next beating.

How did you get into snowboarding and when was it?
I started shredding at Bolton Valley, VT with Cole Barash back in the day. There was an after school program every wednesday that allowed us to get out of class around noon and go shred till 4. It was pretty tight. That was in the 5th and 6th grade. Good times for sure.

How did being from Vermont make you the kind of snowboarder you are today?
It just taught me to not be such a Nancy with weather conditions and most importantly how to turn on ice. A lot of shredders in the game don't really know how to turn their boards properly, and being from Vermont taught me the right way.

Looking back a while ago, who were some of the people that you always rode with back in the day?
I always rode with Cole Barash, Travis Kennedy, Jenner Richard, Bud Keene and kids at MMSC.

Who were some of the snowboarders growing that were "The Dudes" that you looked up to?
For sure Kyle Clancy, Jeff Kramer, Colin Langois, Zach Leach, Free Bird. There was such a heavy crew at Stowe that was the next age group up from me. They definitely inspired me to shred harder. Especially Clancy.

You and photographer Cole Barash have been friends for a really long time now. How that has helped the both of you out along the years to get to where you are both at now?
Cole is the man. Such a hard worker and awesome person to be around. Super talented. We both started shredding Bolton together back in the day, and even from early on, you could see he had an eye for shooting dope photo's. He was always so motivated to even pull the car over on the way back from the hill to shoot the sunset or shit like that. We always backed him, but gave him shit at the same time, like, "come on photo fag, get back in the car, Im cold!" haha, but look at where he's
at now. And yeah, when he really started shooting a lot of shredding photo's, they were always of me or Kennedy, so we kind of fed off from each other. He had riders to shoot, and we had someone to shoot us all the time. It was perfect. Not all the time I guess, cause that kid loves to slash it up just as much as we do.

Where are some of the best places snowboarding has brought you?
NZ, Chile, Argentina, B.C, Baker, Austria. So much sick terrain and crazy cultures.

What are some of your top five favorite riders of all time?
Haakon, Kelly, Salaznek, Muller, Clancy

Who are your favorite people to travel with?
Cole Barsh, Travis Kennedy, John Jackson, Any of the Forum dudes.

What videos have inspired you? Which one do you think you have watched the most?
Subject and Haakon factor, Paradox, Resistance and True Life, and just recently TITA. Travis opened the door for all of us with the double corking. Thanks Rice!

Do you have a favorite resort?
Baker hands down.

What else do you like to get into when your not snowboarding?
Soccer, Biking, Skating, hiking, anything out doors.

What do you do when the snow stops falling? Do you spend any time summer snowboarding?
I like to head down to southern hemi in August, but in between that time, it's good to do other stuff and get your mind off shredding. It's good to recharge the batteries so your amped for the next season to come around ya know?

Best thing about where living in Bellingham?
You can get away from it all. And we've got a tight crew of homies here.

What are some bands that you have been listening to lately?
I've been haning with John J a lot this winter and he's gotten me into the reggae pretty heavy. We just saw Anthony B play the other week in Reno. Sizzla, Turbulence. Anything with some good vibrations.

Do you have any prized possessions you couldn't live without?
Not really besides fam and friends.

What is best way to end a day?
With a fatty and a stretch.

What do you think you would do if you didn't snowboard?
Playing soccer on FC Bacelona. Haha yeah right!

What is it that you want to get out of snowboarding? What has it given you?
I want to experience new places, meet new people and always be riding better terrain. It has given me the chance to do what I just said, but more importantly, be happy.

What is your take on the partying in snowboarding?
It's fun getting wasted with your buddies no doubt! But you gotta find that happy medium where you also film a part and get up early enough to get the freshies. It's getting harder and harder as the years go on
to stay up partying all night and still shred hard the next day. People are just getting too good on their sticks and they can't afford to not be on their A game.

How old where you when you won the Us Open Slopestyle?
I think I was 17.

Did a big win like that help fast forward snowboarding career?
Yeah for sure. It enabled me to get in with a film crew and do what I really wanted to do in snowboarding.

What did you spend the money on?
A truck

Who's video part from this year are you most pumped on?
No doubt Rice. Muller and Gigi, Lando and E Jack.

What would you say is the hardest part about being a pro snowboarder?
Trying to film a part while you have your sponsors dragging you around doing other bull shit at the same time. But Forum is pretty good about that compared to some other companies. Also, finding time in the
winter to have a life outside of snowboarding, but I wouldn't change it for the world.

Is there anything in snowboarding that you don't like?
The attitudes and arrgance. People need to chill out.

Does skateboarding have a big influence on your snowboarding?
Yeah for sure. It always has and always will. Surfing is starting to take a pretty big role in my riding, even though I suck at it. I was just on a heli trip with Terje, and it's crazy to see how he uses the mountains like waves. He totally surfs that shit and it's so sick!

What is it like exploring the backcountry riding and learning from Devun Walsh? Are there any stories that stick out in your mind spending time with him?
Dev is a legend no doubt. Such a chill dude. I feel very fortunate to have leaned underneath him up in Whistler. He knows so much terrain up there, so I would just follow him to all the dope spots. Now that we're not on the same team, I always joke with whoever I'm riding with at the time, that if you see Dev in the parking lot of the zone youre going to, you know you chose the right zone that day.

How long have you been on Forum? How important is it to you to stick with a company that you have been with for so long?
I've been with Forum for 7 or 8 years now. It's always good to stick with a company that has been marketing you over the years, because that's what the kids associate you with. So if you just all of a
sudden up and switch companies, the kids don't know how to categorize you really, which isn't a big deal, but it makes a difference. Loyalty is definitely a good trait to have in the snowboarding game, but theres a lot of polititcs that people don't realize, and every case is different I guess.

Any shoutouts, thanks, last words?
Thanks Mom and Dad and Fam, all Friends, Forum, Foursquare, Oakley, thank you Joe Carter for giving me this interview. Be Happy, don't stress, and enjoy snowboarding and life for what it is and not what it
could be. PEACE!!!!