Johan Olofsson joins Venture Snowboards RnD team
Big news from Mr and Mrs Branner at Venture Snowboards. It appears the worlds first and only wind powered snowboard brand has snared itself a Scandinavian uber pro in the form of Johan Olofsson. Johan rocketed to fame in 1996 with his mind blowing part in TB5, it wasn’t just his record breaking 3000ft of vertical in 35 seconds that’s responsible for his legendary status, but Johan’s ability to mix in the smoothest freestyle tricks into terrain that most other pros wouldn’t even consider riding; 40mph backside 180s between cliff lines were standard procedure. Lets put it this way, Johan pioneered backcountry freestyle before the likes of Gigi Ruff and Travis Rice had reached High School.
In preparation for a recent Teton Gravity Research trip to Glacier Bay National Park in Alaska, knowing that Johan would need to splitboard to reach some of the most inaccessible terrain on the planet, Venture sent Johan their award winning Storm. To put it in as few words as possible, Johan was stoked on the product “I like the solid feel of Venture boards and the first try at riding the Storm was a blast. The rockered shape and snappy turns make it a fun freeride board. You can slash and throw the tail around in all kinds of places. I like to have fun on my board and this one helps.” On return from his trip Johan’s taken little time to board the good ship Venture, and Venture have signed up Johan to work alongside their designers on product RnD. Snowboard Review couldn’t agree with Klemens Branner’s sentiments “It’s going to be amazing to have one of the world’s most accomplished freeriders collaborating with us.” And the prospects for consumers are looking pretty exciting, having seen what happens to Johan’s riding when he’s feeling inspired, Snowboard Review will certainly be keeping a close eye on the Venture factory to see what passes through it’s factory gates next season. Johan had this to say about his new roll as RnD guru, “I’m always looking into projects that will progress the sport, in this case freeride boards which are getting to be a rare breed in the industry. The split theory speaks for itself. Working on this level with Venture makes it possible to create and shape boards quickly, and I hope to get some good shapes out there for you all.” Split boarding meets Swedish mentalist… an intriguing prospect and one we’d like to see Johan fake swallow tail graphics adorn.
Founded in 1999 by the husband and wife team of Klemens and Lisa Branner, Venture handcrafts premium quality freeride boards and splitboards from scratch in Silverton, Colorado using sustainably harvested woods and wind power. Learn more about the company at http://www.venturesnowboards.com
Posted by Rich Ewbank in Blog & News.
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