Industry Profile: Area-241 Creator Mike Basich

Job Title: hmmm. Snowboarder/innovator, creator maybe.
Employer: Self, with my clothing company (Two For One).
Years on snow: standing sideways on snow since 1985
Days on snow: More then not.
Currently Riding: Tahoe cali maybe 45 days a year but hope more next year
Currently I am: Not riding and at my computer so I can share what I am up to with you

Shay: Tell us a little bit about yourself
Mike: I’m a freak for projects. Projects of building stuff or making something more then what it was to start with seems to grab me each day. I don’t like doing the same thing twice, more of don’t like to do stuff I know I can do. I seem to have a addiction for not knowing and diving into stuff hoping the outcome will leave me with a idea of something new something I didn’t know before.

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Shay: How has snowboarding changed your life?
Mike: More ways then I can ever say. but if I was going to put words to it, I say it has given me more room to explore with progression on ideas on many levels from Athletic to business to self growth to over come my past, learning how to respect one other even though they may hate you on the hill. The sport has really give me my schooling to grow. I never thought of being a pro athlete as a kid. it’s been a really crazy detour and really full-filling.

Shay: How did you get your start in the industry, who or what opened up more opportunities for you?
Mike: A lot of my connections were through my sister Tina. cause she is older then me and I met alot of people through her. Getting involved in the snowboard industry has alot to do with face time, going out and parting is really the start of doing bizz in this world of snow. I did get my first sponsor for snowboarding by hangin out on the curb in front of the Skate shop in my town. from there on it took off from one connection to another.

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Shay: How has your previous education or work experience helped you in your current job?
Mike: Pretty much anything I learned in high school that has been a help is from what I learned in-between classes. Really being able to talk with people. I went to a Waldorf school in Sacramento, no college for me, was to busy doing the business then learning about it in school.

Shay: Tell us about your role at Area 241 and a description of the work you do?
Mike: Area-241 has been a long time dream, I wanted to do this since I was about 11. When the time came I found my place at Donner summit and with calling this place Area-241 it has made it more possible to get across a life style I wish to share more. It is my new place to be creative now. I had alot of room in the industry to be creative but now this is giving me more room and in ways I have been wanting to do for awhile. it really is about understanding and being forced to figure out how to life within what you have to work with. My rule of thumb is what ever I build here I don’t need to feed it.

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Shay: What’s an average day like at work for you?
Mike: Well, yesterday I woke up at my place and went hunting for some dead standing trees to cut down for the remodel project I am doing at my 241 warehouse. I ended up after words walking to the lake near my place to go swim but ended up finding the lake is still frozen, so I came back to my place and fired up the firewood hot tub. I ended up come down to my warehouse later which is 40 minutes away to ship out some t-shirts I I got a order for, I make stuff hers as it’s sold. so I ended up silk screening some and rode my bike to the post office to ship them out. 241 is still pretty small and I like doing everything myself so when you order a T-shirt off my website www.241-USA.com most likely I drove my sled to my car to my warehouse and it got shipped while it was still warm off the press.

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Shay: What are some memorable experiences from working in the industry?
Mike: I have had a really great time working with different company’s over the past. I have pissed off company’s and mags as well at times, cause I get a little to personal about issues sometimes. I have never had a agent but I know times like these it would be better. but I would rather work with company’s person to person then not.

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?
Mike: I think the biggest is kids will have a much harder time making the kind of connections I had when I first started. you need a agent now and a foam pit. so you need to come from a rich family really to make it in the contest world. I think naturally the industry is wanting to support the back country style of snowboarding because this part will be much easier for riders to feel like they are connecting to the sport, far as on a level with the industry. Everything else will become larger then life feeling to the youngster.

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Shay: Education vs Experience…which do you think is more important?
Mike: I think above both of those is passion, But for sure the experience over education.

Shay: What advice would you give to people wanting to work in the industry?
Mike: Get out there and be apart of what ever you can that has to do with the industry. face time is what is really going on here. The rest you’ll learn as you go, this is what keeps it interesting for you as well. If you fall down get back up, I’ve done it over and over. And the passion is what keeps you there.

Find out more at:

Facebook: mikebasich
Twitter:
Website: www.241-USA.com