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Featured Rider Profile - krillinakw

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  • Featured Rider Profile - krillinakw

    Next up for the Featured Rider profile series is krillinakw. Anybody who has ridden with him knows he is a really nice guy who is a ton of fun to ride with. He has made my hero list - check out his stats on days on the mountain, miles skied and vertical so far this season - crazy.

    SBOL: Your real name is Austin – that much we know. What is behind the screen name “krillinakw”?

    Back in junior high, my friends were big into DragonBall Z, an anime by Akira Toriyama… we all picked a character and used the character name, followed by our initials as AIM names (obviously a few moons ago). I picked Krillin, the bald, supporting antagonist to the main character. It stuck.

    SBOL: What do you do for a living and what do you love about it?

    I work in the hospitality field, night audit currently for the Zephyr Mountain Lodge in Winter Park. Working in a hotel is where it’s at in my opinion. I can basically move anywhere and get a job doing what I love, helping people. I love the ability to help a guest who has never been here, show them the area, and suggest activities. Basically, concierge is my ideal position. Being night audit here, I get 7 days a week to ski, which means I am in heaven. I’ve been skiing 72 days so far this year (approx. 930 miles with 780K of vertical), and don’t plan on stopping. I use the Trace Snow app if anyone is interested in joining the Skiboarders of the World group!!

    SBOL: How long have you been skiboarding and how did you get into the sport? What keeps you involved in skiboarding?

    Line Weapons got me involved, and the forum kept me interested. I met Adam Lynam at a Bear Creek meet by accident while on those boards. He gave me a card and asked me to tag along. That was my in. My first set of RVL*8 boards were given to me at a Liberty meet by Brandon Harding, and THANK YOU!! They opened up a whole new world for me. The technology and design were so much better than the Weapons. I became more involved, and the rest is history for me. I am spending so much time skiing that I haven’t spent too much time on the forum for the past couple months.

    SBOL: You moved to Boulder, CO a while back and lived there for a time and now you are in Winter Park, CO. What was it like to live in Boulder? What do you think of Winter Park so far? Do you miss southeastern Pennsylvania?

    Boulder is my favorite city. I fell in love with the town and it’s people after only 2 days. I have never eaten so healthily for so cheap in my life. So many great stores, the flatirons are 20 minute walk, my work at the Boulderado was 5 minute walk from my house also. Just having so much to do, so centrally located, was so wonderful. Having the paved Boulder Creek path was great also. I would basically put 60 miles on my rollerblades every 5 or so days over this summer in preparation for the snow, keeping fit.

    Winter Park is very different than Boulder. Only one grocery store means I don’t have the same selection of fresh foods. Being pescatarian, this becomes kind of a big deal. Winter Park is a great close knit community of very nice people, but it isn’t for me, not permanently. I need a little more to a town. This is such a great mountain to explore, so I am not complaining, I just wish Winter Park was closer to Boulder.

    As far as missing PA…? Nah, just miss the people that still live there. CO is so much more beautiful.

    SBOL: People who have ridden with you know that the mountain is your playground. You really seem to have fun and will pretty much jump off of anything, ride at incredibly high speeds, drop under slow skiing gates on command and pop back up effortlessly and all sorts of other crazy things. How did you get the skills and confidence to ride the way you do?

    Skills come from practice, and working at Bear Creek in PA the past 5 years gave me the ability to practice on almost a daily basis. As far as the confidence, that is something I have been slowly gaining from riding with other people. Most of my close friends in PA ride snowboards, and pretty recklessly at that. So watching them do crazy things and surviving, gave me some confidence to take those “leaps” myself. The only thing that has ever held me back was myself. Once I realized that I can do anything with practice and confidence, the world became my oyster. I was given wonderful advice by so many people along my journey, it just makes me thankful that I have been given these opportunities to progress to the point I am at now.

    SBOL: Where have you ridden so far since moving to Colorado? What are your favorite places to ride there and why?

    I first moved in April of last year, and met up with Zach Grumet from the forum, and hit Loveland once, and A Basin three times. Loveland snowed 17 inches the day Zach and I went, so that was AWESOME! Montezuma bowl at A Basin was amazing too, the views and the steep trees. I went to Copper once, and a friend got hurt third run, so we didn’t stay there after that. Granby Ranch is a tiny hill (Bear Creek size) a couple towns over from Winter Park that I went to once also for night skiing. They have a few decent features in their “terrain park” along with some icy runs to blast down. As the only night skiing property around, $14 isn’t bad for a few extra hours after the big mountain. Riding at Winter Park has to be my favorite though. Being here so much helped me learn the entire mountain fully, and it is amazing. If you get a chance, come out here and ride, let me show you some places, you will not regret it!!

    SBOL: We are going to play “1 run, 1 person” – you can pick 1 ski run to ride and 1 person to ride with you. Which run would you pick (and from what mountain), who would you ride with and why?

    Oh my... that is a hard one. I would love for my friends and family from home to come out here, just to experience the grandeur that is Colorado. I suppose I would have to say my father mostly, showing him the trails and amazing things that I get see every day would be such a pleasure, for me and him.

    SBOL: What are your favorite skiboard models and why?

    Blunts: XL’s and original. They reminded me of the ‘96 Line skiboards, or the closest I can get to that style; fat, stiff, and fun. Hands down, these are the best boards out there today.

    SBOL: You wake up tomorrow and you have one wish to use on the sport of skiboarding. How would you use that wish?

    I just wish everyone could get along… I have received so much guff from ski patrol and dudes riding >178 cm skis about my boards, and the only way they understand and break from their normal way of thinking is by having me blast by them, switch or just spinning. Ski patrol particularly like to throw in their two cents about me and my equipment. I dropped the Cirque here at Winter Park (large, steep open bowl), which the patrol were directively aiming people so as to pack it down, and I was the only skier first run who made it down without falling. After seeing me, patrol took back their comments and just turned away, knowing they had been shown that these boards can rock it in any conditions, anywhere. At first they were saying that I would “owe each of them a 6 pack if I fell” or one guy said “if you hurt yourself, we aren’t helping you” which is absurd. They were serious, that is what gets me! I just want people to stop being so close minded at resorts. Skiboards are new, fun, and here to stay!!!

    SBOL: If you could design a custom skiboard what ride characteristics would be looking for and why and what would the key design parameters be?

    Stiff, fat (at tips and underfoot), short, rockered. Plain and simple. This combination makes by far the best boards for me.

    SBOL: What is the craziest thing you have done on skiboards and what happened?

    Probably dropping the Cirque at Winter Park on XL’s, leaning back and spinning 180 in the powder, oh so good. Second time I did, I straight lined down, and patrol had something to say about that too. “Let me see your pass” ugh… glad I didn’t get it snipped. I’ve also dropped off many, many rocks and cliffs here.

    SBOL: Can you share a few of your favorite wintersports photos with us?

    Austin's endorsement deals prevent the use of any images or likenesses of him without paying a steep fee, so no photos.

    SBOL: Any final thoughts?

    Thank you all for your time, I feel so honored to be included in this section with such epic riders. You better believe I am out there, tearing up a mountain every day this winter, spreading the Good Word of RVL*8 and our amazing group of friends. Cheers all!!
    In pursuit of Peace, Harmony and Flow.....
    Think Like a Mountain

    Boards ridden, some owned: Sherpas, Spruce 120 "STS", Blunts, DS110 custom prototypes, Rockered Condors, Revolts, DLPs, Summit Custom 110s, Summit Marauders, Head 94s, Raptor prototypes, Osprey prototypes.

  • #2
    Another great profile on an awesome rider!!!

    Austin -- The hospitality industry needs more people like you that are passionate about what they do and working with guests. I love your energy and attitude toward your work, life, and of course skiboarding but secretly hate the fact that you already have 70+ days in this season. My season is idling at a pitiful 5 days. That's all going to the end of this month when I get 10 days at Beaver Creek .... while I am out in CO if there are any Ski Patrollers that you need to unleash my 6'5" angry Wookie ass on you just let me know. Grr!
    Boards:
    2016 Spruce tuned Head Jr. Caddys - 131cm
    2013 Spruce "CTS" 120s
    2010 Spruce "Yellow/Red" 120s
    2018 Spruce "CTS" Crossbows - 115cm
    2016 RVL8 Spliffs - 109cm
    2008 RVL8 Revolt "City" - 105cm
    2017 RVL8 Sticky Icky Icky - 104cm
    2011 Defiance Blades - 101cm

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    • #3
      Originally posted by Wookie View Post
      Another great profile on an awesome rider!!!
      ++++++++++++1
      Just these, nothing else !

      Comment


      • #4
        Great interview, thanks for sharing.
        sigpic


        Osprey, Sherpa, Custom Coda 120WT, Custom DS110, Condor (Green), Spliff

        Custom Twist Out duck foot bindings, Bombers (custom duck foot base plate and 3 pads), releasable S810ti on custom duck foot riser

        Nordica N3 NXT ski boots (best so far)


        Wife: 104 SII & 100 Blunt XL with S810ti bindings on custom "adjustable duck foot" risers

        Loaners: 125LE, 105 EMP, 101 KTP, 100 Blunt XL, 98 Slapdash, 88 Blunts

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        • #5
          I'm happy to be here, along for the ride. This is a very interesting thing we do that brings us together.

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          • #6
            Great stuff! Austin, I think you'd be a blast to ride with. Hopefully our paths will cross someday.
            Boards/Bindings:
            2013 Spruce Sherpas w/Tyrolia Peak 11s
            2023 Spruce Stingers w/Tyrolia Peak 11s
            2015 RVL8 Blunt XLs w/Tyrolia Attack 13s
            2020 RVL8 Sticky Icky Ickys w/Tyrolia SX 10s


            Boots:
            Salomon X-Pro 80

            Past boards: Salomon Snowblades, Line MNPs 89 & 98 cm, Five-Os, Bullets, Jedis, Spruce 120s, LE 125s, Ospreys, Crossbows
            Summit 110s, Nomads, Jades, RVL8 ALPs, BWPs, KTPs, Tanshos, Rockets, DLPs, Blunts, Condors, RCs, Revolts, Spliffs

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