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Up next - rickylink. A true Cali man with a good sense of humor but questionable taste in ski apparel. 
A very nice guy who is a lot of fun to be around and skis enough to make many people very jealous. Rick gets 100 bonus points for having a daughter named Gillian with a "G". -100 points for sharing a picture of perhaps the ugliest shirt I have seen. 
SBOL: What is your real name? What is behind the screen name “rickylink”? Why did you pick it?
Rick Modlin. Back in the very early 1990s, when Al Gore invented the Internet and the World Wide Web, there were very few hosting services, EarthLink happen to be one of two or three that were around at the time. My first email address was rickylink@EarthLink.Com. Rickylink stuck. Ricky is a childhood nickname I still use, and many childhood friends know me by.
SBOL: What do you do for a living and what do you love about it?
My wife Barb and I own a portable service rental company which services a good portion of California. What is a portable service company you ask? It’s code for a company that rents port-a-potties, fence and barricades for events and construction sites.
Love about it? I'm not really sure you can love the liquid sanitation industry. The most interesting part of it is working with the movie and television production companies; building various fencing props for several television and movies projects over the years. We have a great management team, which allows us the flexibility to get away to our skiboard habit. A little distracted today at the office.
SBOL: Can you tell us a little bit about where you live in Southern California?
We live in the very rural area of Santa Rosa Valley, which is in the Ventura County area of Southern California, close to the Los Angeles County line, 60 miles south of Santa Barbara and 60 miles west of downtown Los Angeles. We are 15 minutes from our main Office. We also have a place in Northern California in the Eastern Sierra in the township of Mammoth Lakes.
SBOL: How did you into the sport of skiboarding? What keeps you involved in the sport?
Sometime in the 2002 winter season I saw some lady flying down the hill at June Mountain on a pair of these little skis. I thought, what the heck was that? And man that looks fun! I tried chasing her down in my Salmon Extremes 195, but for some reason our paths didn’t cross and I couldn’t find her the entire day. Giving up I finally called it a day, and headed for the parking lot where she happen to be parked right next to us! She was on these curious little things called Snowblades. How interesting I thought, they don't look like they're built very well, no releasable bindings and a little flimsy but they looked fun. I had to try them. The following season I purchased the pair of Salomon 99Mini Max, and then a pair of SB10s which I immediately fell in love with and rode for the next five or six seasons until one of the plastic non release bindings broke, remember I said they looked flimsy. This is what led me to search for something else which might be out there. Scouring the web, I finally ran across Skiboarding and the Skiboardonline website and a company named Revel 8. Not knowing anything about the forum, and not knowing to ask for advice, I winged it and bought a pair of Revolt Trees with Bomber 1 bindings in 2009. When they came, I was blown away by everything about them, the quality of construction, graphics, etc. Soon after that I purchased a pair of BCP Tire Condors and never looked back.
What keeps me involved in the sport? For the sheer love skiboarding. I still can't believe the sport is practically unknown by the masses. So I've made it my mission to spread the Skiboarding gospel whenever and wherever I can.
SBOL: You ride a lot at Mammoth Mountain. Can you give us the “insider’s guide”to the mountain?
I've been skiing both Mammoth and June mountains for twenty years. They can offer as much diverse terrain as any mountain in California and usually has the longest season as well. Here are the mountain specs.
Mammoth by the numbers:
• Over 3,100 vertical feet
• Over 3,500 skiable acres
• Over 150 named trails
• Over 300 days of sunshine per year
• Top elevation: 11,053 feet
• Base elevation: 7,953 feet
• Average snowfall: 400 inches
• Snowmaking: 46 trails
• 28 lifts (includes 9 high speed quads, 2 high speed six-packs and 3 high speed gondolas)
• Terrain: 15% expert, 20% advanced, 40% intermediate, 25% beginner
• Winter season: approx. Nov. to June
Fun fact about Mammoth Mountain: Mammoth last erupted as a volcano in the year 1400.
SBOL: We are going to play “3 runs, 3 people”–you can pick 3 ski runs to ride and 3 people to ride with you. Which runs would you pick (and from what mountain), who would you ride with and why?
The 3 runs are Deer Bowl, Schatzi and Matterhorn at little June Mountain, CA. The 3 Riders are Barbielink, Chelsealink and Gillianlink; my wife Barb and my two daughters Chelsea and Gillian. That Mountain, and those runs, are where Barb and I taught our kids to ski. Building a family tradition that will last a lifetime. We still go back over the holidays each year and do at least one June Mountain trip. Many wonderful years and ski trips, the best memories are here with my family, the Core Four!
SBOL: You have gone to Shredfest a number of times. How many times have you gone? What is it that keeps you coming back to Shredfest? Do you have any favorite memories?
This will be my fourth Shredfest. I didn't know about the first two. Dave Bloom contacted me through the forum and asked if I was going to Shredfest 3? That's when I first learned about Shredfest. You mean there is really is a group of people, all on Skiboards, that actually meet annually? That sounds fun, count me in. So the next year we went, Barb, my friend George and myself.
The instant friendships we've made at Shredfest and ability to ride with such a diverse group, both in age and skill level has been fantastic! The SBOL forum is a family and Shredfest is where you can meet and ride with your family members.
Best memories. One stands out above the rest. One night after riding, some of us met up at Harrah's to play a little Texas hold'em, I took Dave Lyman's last twenty bucks from him that night, and it's still sitting in my pocket waiting for him to win back!
SBOL: You were buying up older model skiboards for a while. What was the story behind that and how many boards do you own?
I still am. I recently picked up a pair of Bulls Eye Revolts from someone on the forum. I've tried to pick up all of the one layer, first generation RVL8 Skiboards. I think I have most of them. I'm just making sure that I always have a softer Skiboard available to ride, just in case the RVL8 manufacturing gods stop making a softer board to ride. How many do I own? Or how many do I own that I can talk about? ☺ Over 10 pair and under 20.
SBOL: Anybody who has ridden with you knows you love colorful riding gear. What’s the story behind your riding wardrobe? Do you dress like this off the mountain too? Can you share a few photos of your favorite riding gear?
It’s about high visibility on the mountain. I will pretty much do anything it takes to get people to look down at my feet as I'm going down the hill. Hopefully the colorful clothing helps. 100 percent of the people ask about the Skiboards, and 50 percent of the people want to know where I bought my pants!
I'm fairly certain that Barb is glad that I gave up golf. I don't think my everyday gear is quite as flashy.
SBOL: Where would you like the sport of skiboarding to go in the next 3 to 5 years?
I'd like to see Skiboarding and Skiboards marketed as a true all mountain board and sport. The slant is towards park and doesn't necessarily appeal to the over 40 group. (Now I sound old).
Question: An entire family is going to take up skiing for the first time, how do you get them to try skiboards before skis and or snowboards? Or let them know that skiboards are even an option?
SBOL: What are your favorite boards and why?
1. One layer or soft Revolt, they’re always easy to ride and you can tear up the mountain anytime of the day.
2. Toss up, either Blunt original or Blunt XL. I've spent most of this season on one or the other. I like the new and different feel to them. I'll let you know after the Shredfest VII trip which is the winner.
SBOL: Can you share a few of your favorite winter sports photos with us? The full album is here:
https://plus.google.com/photos/11386...35516584349937
SBOL: Any final thoughts?
Let's go back to the second question…..
I know you're all dying to know about the port-a-potties.
YES, it does smell that bad!
A very nice guy who is a lot of fun to be around and skis enough to make many people very jealous. Rick gets 100 bonus points for having a daughter named Gillian with a "G". -100 points for sharing a picture of perhaps the ugliest shirt I have seen. SBOL: What is your real name? What is behind the screen name “rickylink”? Why did you pick it?
Rick Modlin. Back in the very early 1990s, when Al Gore invented the Internet and the World Wide Web, there were very few hosting services, EarthLink happen to be one of two or three that were around at the time. My first email address was rickylink@EarthLink.Com. Rickylink stuck. Ricky is a childhood nickname I still use, and many childhood friends know me by.
SBOL: What do you do for a living and what do you love about it?
My wife Barb and I own a portable service rental company which services a good portion of California. What is a portable service company you ask? It’s code for a company that rents port-a-potties, fence and barricades for events and construction sites.
Love about it? I'm not really sure you can love the liquid sanitation industry. The most interesting part of it is working with the movie and television production companies; building various fencing props for several television and movies projects over the years. We have a great management team, which allows us the flexibility to get away to our skiboard habit. A little distracted today at the office.
SBOL: Can you tell us a little bit about where you live in Southern California?
We live in the very rural area of Santa Rosa Valley, which is in the Ventura County area of Southern California, close to the Los Angeles County line, 60 miles south of Santa Barbara and 60 miles west of downtown Los Angeles. We are 15 minutes from our main Office. We also have a place in Northern California in the Eastern Sierra in the township of Mammoth Lakes.
SBOL: How did you into the sport of skiboarding? What keeps you involved in the sport?
Sometime in the 2002 winter season I saw some lady flying down the hill at June Mountain on a pair of these little skis. I thought, what the heck was that? And man that looks fun! I tried chasing her down in my Salmon Extremes 195, but for some reason our paths didn’t cross and I couldn’t find her the entire day. Giving up I finally called it a day, and headed for the parking lot where she happen to be parked right next to us! She was on these curious little things called Snowblades. How interesting I thought, they don't look like they're built very well, no releasable bindings and a little flimsy but they looked fun. I had to try them. The following season I purchased the pair of Salomon 99Mini Max, and then a pair of SB10s which I immediately fell in love with and rode for the next five or six seasons until one of the plastic non release bindings broke, remember I said they looked flimsy. This is what led me to search for something else which might be out there. Scouring the web, I finally ran across Skiboarding and the Skiboardonline website and a company named Revel 8. Not knowing anything about the forum, and not knowing to ask for advice, I winged it and bought a pair of Revolt Trees with Bomber 1 bindings in 2009. When they came, I was blown away by everything about them, the quality of construction, graphics, etc. Soon after that I purchased a pair of BCP Tire Condors and never looked back.
What keeps me involved in the sport? For the sheer love skiboarding. I still can't believe the sport is practically unknown by the masses. So I've made it my mission to spread the Skiboarding gospel whenever and wherever I can.
SBOL: You ride a lot at Mammoth Mountain. Can you give us the “insider’s guide”to the mountain?
I've been skiing both Mammoth and June mountains for twenty years. They can offer as much diverse terrain as any mountain in California and usually has the longest season as well. Here are the mountain specs.
Mammoth by the numbers:
• Over 3,100 vertical feet
• Over 3,500 skiable acres
• Over 150 named trails
• Over 300 days of sunshine per year
• Top elevation: 11,053 feet
• Base elevation: 7,953 feet
• Average snowfall: 400 inches
• Snowmaking: 46 trails
• 28 lifts (includes 9 high speed quads, 2 high speed six-packs and 3 high speed gondolas)
• Terrain: 15% expert, 20% advanced, 40% intermediate, 25% beginner
• Winter season: approx. Nov. to June
Fun fact about Mammoth Mountain: Mammoth last erupted as a volcano in the year 1400.
SBOL: We are going to play “3 runs, 3 people”–you can pick 3 ski runs to ride and 3 people to ride with you. Which runs would you pick (and from what mountain), who would you ride with and why?
The 3 runs are Deer Bowl, Schatzi and Matterhorn at little June Mountain, CA. The 3 Riders are Barbielink, Chelsealink and Gillianlink; my wife Barb and my two daughters Chelsea and Gillian. That Mountain, and those runs, are where Barb and I taught our kids to ski. Building a family tradition that will last a lifetime. We still go back over the holidays each year and do at least one June Mountain trip. Many wonderful years and ski trips, the best memories are here with my family, the Core Four!
SBOL: You have gone to Shredfest a number of times. How many times have you gone? What is it that keeps you coming back to Shredfest? Do you have any favorite memories?
This will be my fourth Shredfest. I didn't know about the first two. Dave Bloom contacted me through the forum and asked if I was going to Shredfest 3? That's when I first learned about Shredfest. You mean there is really is a group of people, all on Skiboards, that actually meet annually? That sounds fun, count me in. So the next year we went, Barb, my friend George and myself.
The instant friendships we've made at Shredfest and ability to ride with such a diverse group, both in age and skill level has been fantastic! The SBOL forum is a family and Shredfest is where you can meet and ride with your family members.
Best memories. One stands out above the rest. One night after riding, some of us met up at Harrah's to play a little Texas hold'em, I took Dave Lyman's last twenty bucks from him that night, and it's still sitting in my pocket waiting for him to win back!
SBOL: You were buying up older model skiboards for a while. What was the story behind that and how many boards do you own?
I still am. I recently picked up a pair of Bulls Eye Revolts from someone on the forum. I've tried to pick up all of the one layer, first generation RVL8 Skiboards. I think I have most of them. I'm just making sure that I always have a softer Skiboard available to ride, just in case the RVL8 manufacturing gods stop making a softer board to ride. How many do I own? Or how many do I own that I can talk about? ☺ Over 10 pair and under 20.
SBOL: Anybody who has ridden with you knows you love colorful riding gear. What’s the story behind your riding wardrobe? Do you dress like this off the mountain too? Can you share a few photos of your favorite riding gear?
It’s about high visibility on the mountain. I will pretty much do anything it takes to get people to look down at my feet as I'm going down the hill. Hopefully the colorful clothing helps. 100 percent of the people ask about the Skiboards, and 50 percent of the people want to know where I bought my pants!
I'm fairly certain that Barb is glad that I gave up golf. I don't think my everyday gear is quite as flashy.
SBOL: Where would you like the sport of skiboarding to go in the next 3 to 5 years?
I'd like to see Skiboarding and Skiboards marketed as a true all mountain board and sport. The slant is towards park and doesn't necessarily appeal to the over 40 group. (Now I sound old).
Question: An entire family is going to take up skiing for the first time, how do you get them to try skiboards before skis and or snowboards? Or let them know that skiboards are even an option?
SBOL: What are your favorite boards and why?
1. One layer or soft Revolt, they’re always easy to ride and you can tear up the mountain anytime of the day.
2. Toss up, either Blunt original or Blunt XL. I've spent most of this season on one or the other. I like the new and different feel to them. I'll let you know after the Shredfest VII trip which is the winner.
SBOL: Can you share a few of your favorite winter sports photos with us? The full album is here:
https://plus.google.com/photos/11386...35516584349937
SBOL: Any final thoughts?
Let's go back to the second question…..
I know you're all dying to know about the port-a-potties.
YES, it does smell that bad!
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