Industry Profile: Method Magazine Reporter Edgar Lanting

Job Title: Web-Reporter
Employer: Method Mag
Years on snow: 18 including my childhood skier days
Days on snow: about 40
Currently Riding: A Capita Indoor Survival 156 and an Omatic Extreco 157 with Unions and 32 Lashed boots
Currently I am: Married and addicted to swiss cheese fondue!

Shay: Tell us a little bit about yourself
Edgar: Well, I’m 33 years old and live in the Netherlands with my wife and pet dog, that flat country that legalizes everything that you shouldn’t like and has no actual mountains but we have the best cheese! Free time often consists of photography, snowboarding related things, hiking and fulfilling my duties as an intern of some sort for Method Mag.

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Shay: How has snowboarding changed your life?
Edgar: Snowboarding has changed my life in the sense of thinking about things that really matter in life and enjoying yourself on and off snow, It allowed me to enjoy vast surroundings being outside in the fresh alpine air and trying not to break myself, other than that it allowed me to get to know a whole new industry where big corporate things didn’t matter anymore, just fun.

Shay: How did you get your start in the industry, who or what opened up more opportunities for you?
Edgar: I got my start in the industry when I started writing for the euro online magazine Tacky when I got in touch with Rasmus over at Method mag who asked me if I’d liked to intern as a web-reporter for the magazine and website which was a great opportunity to become more and more involved in something I’ve wanted to do for a long time. This allowed me to see some awesome events, look at everything shiny and new at the ISPO tradeshow and catch up on my writing skills big time.So there you have it, at 33 I could very well be the oldest intern in the industry or am I?

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Shay: How has your previous education or work experience helped you in your current job?
Edgar: Since my previous education and current job isn’t snowboarding related but IT, the only thing that helped me out in my current gig is enthusiasm and love for the game, being helped out by an awesome group of people really helps too

Shay: Tell us about your role at Method Mag and a description of the work you do?
Edgar: My role at the magazine is Web-Reporter which basically means that I do interviews with pro riders, industry people and try to write interesting stories or rants, in addition to this I help out the pr team with trying to sell the magazine over here in the Netherlands & Belgium.

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Shay: What’s an average day like at work for you?
Edgar: I wake up at six in the morning to make coffee & breakfast, walk/run with my dog and leave for work where I check my emails & send and receive some more, work on new interviews and things I’d like to be writing about and skype or email my Method chiefs to see what they want me to work on, If theres some time left I check up on all the brands and blogs I frequently read to see whats new in the world of shred, and occasionally flick through a catalog or two to see what’s new for the upcoming season.

And since I’m an intern I need to do other things too to pay the bills so I work on database & linux systems for the rest of the day which pays for my daily living needs.

Shay: What are some memorable experiences from working in the industry?
Edgar: Meeting lots of interesting and overall nice people and being able to talk with pro shreds and brands, trade shows like ISPO are always fun and the occasional event or contests you get to see are a bonus.oh yeah and shred scene party’s are the best ever way to lose every sense time and space plus I got my first printed interview in the magazine and last but not least I got interviewed by you.

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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?
Edgar: Well right now there is of course the global economic state which is also hitting the snowboarding industry but one of the biggest challenges in my opinion that no matter what happens the industry needs to stay original and honest, focused on the one thing we all love which is shredding!

Small and groundbreaking new brands and awesome product development by the already existing industry leaders, other than that we need to focus on the environment, how corny it may sound…but staying green will keep us enjoying the mountains instead of having to resort to indoor snowdomes to get our fix.

Shay: Education vs Experience…which do you think is more important?
Edgar: I think that experience is very important as it is in but it really depends on which part of the industry you’re in, there’s so much difference in the jobs that everyone is doing in this industry

Shay: What advice would you give to people wanting to work in the industry?
Edgar: Just be yourself, be honest about what your pros and cons are when thinking about what you’d like to do in the industry and try to visit some tradeshows or contests to get to know the people behind it all.

Find out more at:

Facebook:
Twitter: shredgar
Website: www.methodmag.com / www.method.tv