The following article was originally printed in the November 2025 Issue of Slush. To get more articles and subscribe, click here.

Nothing is easier to butcher than a brand video. It is the cold truth of snowboarding. Time and again companies make the fatal—fatal—mistake of trying to “showcase the personalities of their team riders,” and, as the viewer, we feel pandered to. All we’re left with is too much b-roll and a series of bits that never end up landing. In fact, the degradation of the brand video is so common that it would be quicker to simply name the few videos that did work instead of the plethora that did not. There are usually one or two a year. Rated R worked, as did Wicker. blitz! was a success, along with pretty much anything that came out of the Vans pipeline since Landline. But, if we’re talking brand videos, there is one that stands above the rest, the pièce de résistance: Atlas. It’s efficient. There’s no waste. A quick logo in the beginning and before we know what’s happening Tommy’s hitting a front blunt sameway. The starting gun has been shot. We’re off to the races. And a moment—or what feels like a moment—later Forest is hitting that indoor back fifty as the curtain falls. Maybe you were drunk enough at the premiere to shout for an encore. I guess they heard you.

Although I think sequel is the more appropriate term. And like any sequel, there has to be the perfect amount of intermingling between the old and the new: take what we loved from last time and give me something fresh to go along with it. And what’s fresher than a bunch of young and hungry—cliché? Yes. Cringe? I know. True? Undoubtedly—kids to add something different to the crew. I guess that’s about as good a place as any for this story to begin. 

Cooper and Robby 

I guess we’ll start broadly and then we can dive into specifics, but how was it this year—Atlas 2 vibe?

Robby: Going into it—it was like the most exciting thing ever, I think. And coming off of VG the year before, I was kind of stranded from the homies. Well, I had the homies, but I wasn’t doing Dustbox—it was a different vibe. So, I think going into this year I was just mad excited.

Cooper: Yeah, I mean, I’ve never been more excited to work on a project. Obviously, it’s really fun working on projects with your friends—it’s always exciting. And going into Spirit, I was like, oh, this is cool, getting to work with Nate [Hanson] and Bryden [Bowley] and a good amount of the crew—that’s sick. But this was different. This was pro snowboarders that Robby and I grew up on. We grew up on Tommy’s footage. We grew up on Forest’s footage. We grew up on Riley’s footage. And Feldman—like…

R: That was the biggest thing of all.

Colton?

R: Yeah, Colton. I had sort of been on a trip with Tom, but Colt—I think me and Cooper were just tripping about—especially because Atlas came out and it was fucking sick. So, we now had all this—not pressure—but like, whoa, we’re invited to this.

C: Didn’t even seem real. I remember Robby and I, going into the season, we were like, this is so crazy, we gotta really lock in.

R: Dude, me and Cooper had so many talks, even before the fall—we’d be on my porch and we were like, I think we really need to work together. 

C: We gotta show up.

R: We gotta show up. Yeah [laughs].

You guys both came up doing the independent thing, running your own projects with friends. So now that you’re part of bigger brand videos where you’re not fully in control, what do you think you gain and what do you lose from that?

C: Gain is easy to answer, but loss may be a little more multifaceted. Do you have anything that comes to mind, Rob? I gotta think about this.

R: Well, the obvious gain—especially with Colton—I can kind of just focus on finding the spot and snowboarding the spot. I’ve just automatically put so much trust in him. I think if it was anybody else, I would see the loss as being greater. 

It’s interesting that you would see the loss being greater if you had a different filmer, because I feel like one drawback of independent snowboarding is that it’s hard to place trust in more than a certain few people in a crew to film.

R: I feel like most snowboarders or most crews—their filmer is their buddy, so there’s already this platform of trust that was built going into it. You’re trying something scary. Your best friend behind the lens has got your back, emotionally and physically. I feel like it’s hard when you’re going into different projects and you don’t have that relationship with a filmer, which I didn’t. Me and Colton did not know each other at all. But I think just being a fan, it’s like, okay, this guy’s gonna make me look way better than I actually look. And for me, that gain was huge. It’s like, oh, this guy is Gordon Ramsay on the fucking keyboard.

C: I fully agree with Rob on that. Having Colton there definitely changed the equation a little bit. This is the only brand video I’ve ever worked on, so I can’t compare it to anything. Gain versus loss? Gain, from my perspective, maybe a lot less stress. No proposals [laughs]. Not involved with any proposals. Not having to partner with brands—I mean, which is great, it’s cool to partner with brands—but it’s also a whole other level of it. Anybody that’s gone through it knows it’s really hard to be fully invested in the trip when you’re like, damn, they still haven’t paid us. Like, if we get the money this week, we’re dialed. If we don’t get the money this week, what do we do? We go home. So that was a huge gain. It was the first time in a while, since filming with Snowboarder—where it’s like, just focus on snowboarding and just snowboarding. Just look for spots. Loss is maybe just the friend aspect of it. Not saying I’m not—we’re good friends with everybody on the team, but it’s different. Like, we grew up with our friends, learned how to do it with our friends. It just hits differently.

R: It’s more so the goofiness, I guess. Because you’re with your friends, you know how to take it seriously, but you know how to kick your feet up.

And I feel like friends—it’s almost a security blanket in a way. If I’m having a bad day, like, I’ve known you forever. Or even the sense of, you know me maybe better than I know myself in a time of stress.

C: Totally.

If you’re freaking out about something and a friend is like, I’ve seen you snowboard. I know what you can and can’t do—and you can do this. And maybe that could be a loss if you’re with people you haven’t really filmed with in the past.

C: For sure. It can be a communication thing, and I think you make a good point with filming in an independent crew where you’ve met organically and learned how to do it organically. On those hard days, it’s not so bad. For instance—when it’s hard—which it is. Street snowboarding’s hard. It’s never gonna be perfect sunshines and rainbows, but it’s different when it’s a very serious project. We’re on those Atlas trips and that crew is serious. Everybody’s seen the videos. Like, all good buddies, but like—it’s real shit.

Being with people who are older, who are veterans of this—did you get anything out of that? Was it a learning experience in a way?

C: For sure. I can think of multiple instances where Robby and I, if it was just us two, would probably have gone about it differently. Like you were saying—it’s the experience, the wisdom. Like, let’s just build the drop-in twice as big and put it 10 feet back. And Riley’s like, oh, this lip [laughs]. He loves his lips. He’s really good at building a nice kicker.

R: He wants the lip job every time. Every setup he’s making a lip.

C: But I think just navigating spots. And also, I had Tommy give it to me straight—like, dude, I don’t think this is worth it. This isn’t worth it. In that moment, you’re resistant—but it was nice to hear. Having that older perspective, he knew he could just speak up and be like, nah, dude, I know you respect my opinion, this is not worth your time or the risk.

That’s probably nice—there’s like no question of the respect you have for them. Just from growing up in the era we grew up in—if there’s anybody you respect, it’s someone like Tommy or Forest or Riley, or even Colton too.

C: I can think of a couple instances where Tommy and Forest talked me out of doing something that maybe would’ve been stupid as hell [laughs]. But also, they would push me too, like, dude, you got that.

R: My point on that question is—from Tommy and Riley specifically—I feel like we learned shit at almost every build. That’s where you’re learning it the most. Everybody’s good at snowboarding. Everybody knows how to hit the rail and land, but for us, learning how to do street, we kind of pieced it together as we went. When you first start, you have no idea you can put fucking steel stick on something or cut a rail out or whatever. And it wasn’t even that, it was more just snow tech. Tommy is so fucking funny every time a water jug gets brought out. We had this spot for Cooper—hairy fucking rail, horrible rail—sick-ass rail, but you do not want to come off early whatsoever. You hop on fifty and you have to do it, bottom line. Anyway, if you come off on these stairs, there’s this pillar that’s wedged out. So Cooper could easily ride down this narrow stair set and hit his hip—

C: If I went off on the right, I would’ve run into a pillar and shattered my hip.

R: So we’re there in the middle of nowhere, fucking Pennsylvania, and it’s freezing cold. We’re trying to figure out what we do with this thing. Do we bury it?

C: Do we hammer it out? Do we just destroy it?

R: Tommy takes his gloves off. It’s fucking freezing cold. He’s taking a bunch of snow, and he’s like, “Coop, pour water in my hands.” And he’s slapping this fucking wet snow on this concrete and rubbing it out and making it all ice. So if Cooper did hit it, he’s getting shot out as opposed to running straight into this curb. I was laughing the whole time. It was fucking genius, but it was just so funny. I just wouldn’t’ve thought that.

There’s always an evolution in snowboarding. Through your late teens or early twenties, you’re really good at snowboarding, but you’re not smart enough about it to really utilize your skills the best. It’s a maturity thing. Do you guys feel like in the past you’ve filmed your “grown-up” shit? You’re both still very young, so do you think that we’ve seen that maturity out of you before, and if not, do you think that this year you were in that more mature area of your riding? Or even, do you think that maybe you weren’t there but you now have the ability to get there based on what you’ve taken from this project—whether it’s spot selection or even just safety-wise or whatever?

R: I think this year definitely helped get to that level of maturity.

C: I would agree. Like, throughout the process of it, going into it—just because we’re older—being more mature than we ever have been. And being around older people. You go into it with a different perspective. And then I think through the whole process of it—all the great moments and the lessons learned and then all the trials and tribulations of doing it—I personally feel more adult in my snowboarding.

Do you feel like you’ve had that in the past, or you’ve only kind of hit bits and pieces of it?

C: I don’t know. It’s hard to say. Next year I’m going to be sitting there like, aw dude, I didn’t know anything. But it was a big learning experience. Personally, by that last trip, I was like, oh, I feel the most in control of my snowboarding that I have ever been. I think getting away from just doing it with my friends made me reevaluate that.

It’s so much of knowing what you can do, but then also knowing what you can’t do or what you maybe shouldn’t do.

R: It’s hard. I mean, way back in the day—Dustbox—we were hitting fried shit. Super high bust just because we knew we could get away with it. It was 12 of us. The spot was set up in 10 minutes. Or you’d land and you’re not 90 degrees off the last down—fucking take that shit, we’re good [laughs]. There was a huge realization where it’s like, whoa, these guys come from an era of—they land shit perfect. Or, you know, you land in the landing and some snow comes up and it makes it look like you didn’t stomp it—you’re redoing that. Watching that firsthand—like Tommy, Tommy’s on some weird shit. He’ll land it five fucking times before he gets it, you know?

C: It definitely rubbed off on us though.

R: Oh, definitely. But what I was thinking about—just part of the maturity factor—when we were in Japan, I mean, Japan’s hard as fuck. Sapporo was hard as fuck, and we had no spots at all. So we would spend the whole day out trying to film and we would drop everybody off at the hotel around nine o’clock, and me and Cooper wouldn’t even go upstairs to get dressed. We would just go drive around.

C: Go work on spots.

R: It kind of felt like we were on some Good Sport shit. Because I’ve heard some stories, like Spencer—if you guys didn’t find a spot that night, you were staying out until you found the spot. You’re hungry? You’re getting gas station, or you’re getting McDonald’s.

I mean, going back to earlier, I feel like that’s the shit you do when you’re doing it with your homies. Not to say that these bigger videos don’t do that. But like you said, there’s maybe less pressure. We got it all paid for. We don’t have to worry about all the other stuff. It’s like you’re almost not as hungry.

C: When you’re making it on your own, there’s no doubt that little voice in the back of your head is like, if we go hard, we can do it again next year. That’s what pushes every independent crew. That’s why it’s the gnarliest footage always. It’s like, if we do crazier shit than everybody else, we’ll get more funding.

And then you just want to be out there finding shit forever.

R: What’s also nice is, when you’re filming a video with your buddies and it’s independent, everything is a win, you know? Like, if Jonas gets a clip or if Dylan got a clip, that’s a fucking W. Not saying that when Tommy gets a clip—I’m obviously stoked—but there’s…with this project it was just different. Everything’s paid for. Your job is to—

C: Kind of show up.

R: Show up, get X amount of clips, get your fucking huge kink rail or whatever. So it’s like, someone gets a clip, that kind of puts pressure. But I feel like in the past, filming with my best friends, I never really get pressure.

I think it’s this weird less-pressure-more-pressure type of thing. Less pressure if it’s corporate, more pressure on ourselves. Or maybe there’s just more and less pressure in different aspects of both.

C: Definitely. You want to show up so you can keep doing this, and so the people that went to bat for the video internally are hyped on their ROI.

Yeah. It’s also just special. I mean, it’s always special when someone gets a clip, but it is special when it’s all your homies and you’re there and you’re like, holy shit, you did that. But I do feel like if there was any quote-unquote corporate crew, you guys looked like a good example of how to make it work. I think you’re all close enough for it to still be special.

C: Totally. It’s a happy medium. Independently owned company, not corporate.

If you’re trying to get hyped up, if you’re with these snowboarders who you always watch, what do you put on in the morning to get hyped up? Because you’re not putting on Good Sport.

[Both laugh]

R: That’s a great question for our situation.

C: It happens so much.

It’s probably bittersweet because you’re like, yeah, I’m on a trip with Tommy and Colton, but I can’t put on Good Sport to go get hyped up for the day.

R: The second Colton walked up the stairs.

C: In Boston?

What’s the story?

R: Well, I’m throwing jabs in there. I’m auxing in the car. I sneak Rawlings in the car and I turn around and Colton’s laughing—or, you know, we bring something up or like, you know, talking mad shit on Hopes of the Highest or whatever [laughs].

C: But it’s just joking, like, oh, we know your guys’ whole career.

R: Yeah, exactly. I’m like, Tom, I know every clip you’ve ever fucking filmed. It’s hilarious, but it’s also annoying how modest Colton is. He will never acknowledge—at least in my opinion—he’ll never acknowledge the success. But it’s just funny—the second Colton goes upstairs, we turn it—it’s under 10 volume. Cooper and I have the lights dimmed [laughs] and we watch Good Sport. And we turned to each other after, we’re like, that was the best view of the video I’ve ever had. We were so fired up.

C: One thing I didn’t touch on when you were asking about mentorship—and I feel like we focused a lot on Tommy and Riley are really good at helping us navigate spots—and then it popped into my mind that a big thing I took away from it was Colton’s rationale for the logistics of filming.

What do you mean by that?

C: Like, you are smart. You are definitely older than me because that was wise. Like, when you’re talking about trips—oh, where do we go? Do we stay here? Should we just leave? Should we go to the next city? And he would always come in with that wise turtle energy of like, no, we got spots here. Let’s stay.

R: You don’t leave fish for more fish.

C: Yeah, and Tommy’s like, you don’t leave fish for more fishing. And you’re like, god damn, you guys are so right. We can make this work. We’re gonna lose time by driving and spending two days scoping. Let’s try to do what we can here. It’s like, wait—take a deep breath, assess the situation you’re in. How can I do the best that I can in the situation that I’m in?

You don’t leave fish for more fish is such a great analogy.

C: And Colton really embodies that. It’s Tommy’s saying, but I’d say Colt really embodies that and kept bringing it up consistently. Like, yeah, it kind of sucks, but you guys all have a spot each. Why leave?

That makes me want to ask, do you guys see yourself wanting to go back to your, quote-unquote, roots of doing shit with each other again?

C: I want to take everything that we’ve all learned in the past three years and—yeah, that’s the dream.

R: We talk about it all the time. Especially because it has been—I mean, for me, like Spirit, pretty much everybody was together except for me and Reid and Dan. 

C: Fall in Place was the last time we were all together.

R: And that was a long time ago. We have way more experience than we did. It’d be insane to do another Dustbox video. Whole fucking gang.

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