Industry Profile: Dangerzone’s Joshua Parker

Job Title: Web Guy
Employer: Easy Loungin, Porters Tahoe, and Tahoe Dangerzone
Years on snow: 13
Days on snow: 116 this season
Currently Riding: Capita Horrorscope 153 with Union Contacts, Capita Indoor Survival FK 152 with Union Forces, L1 Outerwear, Nike Kaiju Boots, Ashbury Kaliedoscope Frames with Warlock Straps, Coal Beanies, and Comune and Beta Unit Clothing
Currently I am: Rehabbing my knee that I blew at the end of the season. Riding my road bike a lot. Figuring our my summer plans. Playing a lot of Skate 3 online. Keeping Tahoe Dangerzone up to date.

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Shay: Tell us a little bit about yourself
Josh: I grew up in Michigan playing soccer and riding a place with 300 feet of vertical called Bittersweet Mountain. I looked up to people like Jon Kooley, Nima Jalali, Jordan Mendenhall, Travis Parker, Scotty Whitlake, Corey Smith, and Darrel Mathes. I loved the street style. I moved to Colorado right out of high school and got a job at Keystone. I only spent a season there because it was so cold and the price of living was high. After moving back to Michigan I really missed the mountains but had to go to college. During this time I started competing more and more and got some help from some local shops and companies. 5 years ago, 5 of my friends and I rented a van and went to Hood in the summer. That was and is to this day the funnest trip I have ever been on. Being back in the «real» mountains made me realize what I was missing. When I came home I decided I was moving back out West. I broke up with my girlfriend of 5 years and headed to Tahoe. I got a job at Northstar in the rentals department and met some amazing people. One of the first people I met was Nick Visconti who is to this day one of my closest and best friends. After living here for a couple years I started getting some support from NCP Sails and more specifically, Chris Wilmoth. He got me involved with C3, Ashbury and most recently Nike. I help him out at trade shows and whenever he needs it, He’s a rad guy and we both love snowboarding and snowboarding history. He has a family and he manages that and his strenuous Rep lifestyle at the same time, I don’t know how he does it.. 3 years ago Nick, Jeff Hu, and I headed to Mt. Hood for some summer shredding and filmed our first Dangerzone webisode with a Cannon Digital Elph. We had seen what TJ was doing with Snowboard Realms and we knew that web based content was the future of snowboarding. Kids like fresh content daily and we started supplying that.  I will have footage in the BHappy Films movie Happy Thoughts.

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Shay: How has snowboarding changed your life?
Josh: I have a love/hate relationship with snowboarding (coincidentally Love/Hate is my favorite shred flick). I have blown both knees multiple times, last season I tore my Achilles tendon, multiple concussions, cracked ribs, etc… but once I put the injuries aside, all I have left is love. I have met my best friends through snowboarding, visited amazing places, met amazing people, and created memories I will never lose. It brought me to California. My favorite thing about snowboarding is how it acts as a type of therapy. If anything is going wrong in my life I can go ride and forget about everything. It allows me to spend time with my favorite people every day doing something I love.

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Shay: How did you get your start in the industry, who or what opened up more opportunities for you?
Josh: I guess I got my start by first riding for a shop. That lead to me meeting reps. I would help the reps at trade shows and demos. When I moved to Cali, my friend Jason Kell introduced me to Chris Wilmoth. Chris started helping me with product and resources and really also became a good friend. I went with Chris to Vegas for the last SIA trade show there and he introduced me to the big guys at C3,; Johan, Blue, and George. Meanwhile Nick and I started Dangerzone and we were gaining notoriety for that. I spend a lot of time online on blogs, websites, and industry sites and trying to stay up to date on the industry, With Nick being a professional snowboarder, more doors were open to us as far as contacts and sponsors. Everything came together this year when John Chapman (Chappy) of Porters Tahoe and Easy Loungin became our first sponsor and hired us a full time filmer, Tim Bradley. Nick, Tim, and I worked as a team all season to bring 25 webisodes to Transworld and the rest of the snowboarding community. More sponsors jumped on during the season and here we are.

Dangerzone Season 2 Episode 7 – “SnowBoating” from Nick Visconti on Vimeo.

Shay: How has your previous education or work experience helped you in your current job?
Josh: Having computer skills and social networking skills were vital to getting the ball rolling with Tahoe Dangerzone. Nick is a a creative guys and is good at editing while I have a good background in web knowledge and networking. Being friendly goes a long way in any industry.

Shay: Tell us about your role at Dangerzone and a description of the work you do?
Josh: I don’t know if I would really call it work. Nick, Tim and I all update the blog. We have meetings during the season to discuss future webisodes. We film for our respective video parts as well as Dangerzone webisodes. I also keep our facebook updated. Nick sends out email blasts when we release new material. Its all about who you know and how many people you know in the web world. We are constantly adding to our contact lists. Tahoe Dangerzone is really about creativity and fun so we try to stay focused on incorporating those ideals into everything we do.

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Shay: What’s an average day like at work for you?
Josh: In the winter I wake up, head to my office at Porters where I do web work for Easy Loungin, and then I head out to film for both Easy Loungin and Dangerzone. Every day is different.

Shay: What are some memorable experiences from working in the industry?
Josh: Meeting Travis Parker and riding with him at Northstar was pretty rad. I always looked up to him. He’s just a fun guy to be around. This summer I went to an art show in LA at the Comune offices and stayed at Corey Smith’s house. That was rad because I always looked up to him and his style of riding in the Neoproto days. His artwork has always been good and the art show was amazing. Meeting and hanging out with Blue and Johan in Vegas was also cool. Everyone who works at C3 loves those guys and a lot of people would love to work for them. I think that is saying a lot. Not a lot of employees in this world love their employers but everyone under Blue and Johan do. C3 is killing it for a reason. Getting to hang and ride with TJ for an episode of the Realms was pretty rad too. Every day I get to ride with all the people I look up to. I’m not trying to be cheesy or anything but every day is pretty memorable when riding with my friends. Just the other day we were having sushi reflecting on our favorite days of the season. One of mine was a day that Tim and I had no work responsibilities and we rode pow at Northstar until we couldn’t stand anymore. Smiles and shaky legs for the win. Every day and every trip that I spend with Nick is a blast. Never a dull moment with him from late nights in Reno to early mornings filming. I love that guy.

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Shay: What do you think are the biggest challenges that the snowboard industry faces and what changes would you like to see for the future?
Josh: I think the biggest challenge the industry faces is creativity. One person does a double cork and suddenly that becomes the biggest most important thing. If you can’t double cork you suck. That mentality is horrible. I respect those guys but I would rather someone trying something new and being themselves. People are going to the hospital with life threatening injuries to try to stay at the top of the game. Last years biggest rider is this years old news. The industry is moving too fast. We need to slow it down and enjoy it. I love what Think Thank does. People like Nick and Scott Stevens are showing that you can control a snowboard like no one ever thought possible. Riders that hit features other than downrails are opening minds. Don’t get me wrong, I love a good downrail, but creativity is the most important thing. Comune is releasing a movie for next season that takes a different approach to filming and editing and should be interesting. Maybe I’m an art fag, maybe I hate jocks, but I love snowboarding and I love having fun. Keep it fun.

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Shay: Education vs Experience…which do you think is more important?
Josh: I think its pretty equal. You don’t need a college degree in this industry but education is always helpful. Social skills can get you a long way. Treat others how you want to be treated. Help people out and you will see the benefits. Street smarts and school both help you in any industry.

Shay: What advice would you give to people wanting to work in the industry?
Josh: Don’t give up. Meet as many people as possible. Don’t change who you are to appease others. Stay true and have fun.

Find out more at:

Facebook: Tahoe Dangerzone

Twitter:

Website:  www.tahoedangerzone.com and www.easyloungin.com