Tuesday, February 25

Remembering Jeff Anderson with His Words 01

By Phil Orlins
EXPN.com

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Editor's Note: Burton team rider Jeff Anderson tragically died Sunday, February 23 in Nagano, Japan after an unexpected hotel accident. Jeff was an amazing snowboarder and respected artist, his joy for life gave those who crossed his path inspiration to live beyond their bounds. The following is a transcript of our last interview with Jeff, helping us to remember who he was in his own words. Our condolences go out to Jeff's family and friends, may he be remembered for who he was -- an amazing person living an authentic life.

Talk about your connection to Mammoth.

I was born and raised here, one of the few kids who actually was, because they stopped delivering babies in the Mammoth hospital ... I don't know, they started doing it again (delivering) like 2 years ago, but there was 8 or 10 years that they didn't deliver kids in town. So everyone either was like born on 395 on their way to Bishop, or something like that. My dad like ... well we all lived here and my dad was a ski patrolman and my uncle was a ski patrolman and it kind of just evolved, he started doing upper management stuff, and after that he started doing a lot at June Mountain. When that all started and then after, you know, Mammoth started allowing snowboarding, he got into it. And actually over on chair 12 he was one of the first ones driving the cats for the first snowboard parks over there, so that's pretty cool."

Jeff Anderson, one of the few kids actually born in town, at home with the snow falling in Mammoth.

When was all of this going on?

I was nine years old, or maybe ten. Nine or ten when Mammoth allowed snowboarding and I'm 23 right now, so I don't know what year that was exactly. And then probably when I was like 13 was when they first built the first park so, it was pretty ... I don't know, it was cool."

What was the relationship with your brother like?

"Well, my brother was awesome. We started traveling when I was, I don't know, like 13 or something, and he would take me around and take care of all of the money you know. I was oblivious to pretty much everything that was going on, but he would make sure that everything was set-up, and all the contest entries and everything like that went through. We were just like good friends. We just cruised around and he definitely took care of me and gave me some super good opportunities, it was rad. Now he's kind of moved into the team manager position, which is actually perfect for him, because that is what he was doing for me the whole time. But he's also a super good rider, don't get me wrong he's a super snowboarder, but his style is just a little bit different from what people want today."

What was the snowboard experience like as a 12 and 13-year-old?

"It was really awesome. I mean, I'm stoked now 'cause I got a little head start on the game. And I've had the opportunities to be able to take my time with everything and be able to go at my own pace. Because I was sponsored for so long, after being with a company for 3 or 4 years, they're not just going to cut you right away. So they (Burton) kind of gave me my time to figure out what I wanted to do. Then finally like this last season was really when I kind of like had my first good season and I think it's because of them (Burton) just being patient. And it's just being in the industry for so long. Since I was a kid, they really waited for me to blossom and trusted me not just to ... they weren't looking for, 'oh, he did something wrong so he's out.'"

Jeff Anderson, known as one of the most progressive rail riders in snowboarding, will be missed by eveyone who knew him -- 50-50 to backside lipslide, fakie off, in the Mammoth park.

What was the difference in last year?

There's a line in snowboarding ... when I was 14-years-old I was getting 200 dollars a month and I thought I was a professional. And I thought I was doing all this stuff and traveling on my own but really you know, I finally just realized ... I'm just an amateur. I should still be on amateur status. Even though maybe I was good enough to be pro and I had the talent to do it or whatever, I just hadn't been put in the position where I was comfortable with my settings. So being able to film with the right people and knowing what I had to do last year, and my team manager "Blotto" (from Burton) really helped me out and put me in a situation where I was with a crew that didn't judge me.

They (Burton) trusted me that I was good, and they let me come out. That was a big thing for me, I want to help people and I want people to help me and I want to work together. I never really had that feeling from anybody, so I wasn't really trying as hard as I could of, because I wanted us all to be a group and be friends and work together as friends and finally that kind of happened. So I grew up a little bit and actually realized my situation that I'm not this big name pro and not everyone in the world knows who I am. I was only 16 or whatever and I thought I was this badass.

I don't really think I went through a lull with my riding in any way, I think it was just more being ready and being put in the position that people will trust you and support you. And then, that's how you can try your best is if you're supported by everybody on all fronts. Not just your family, you know it's like Jake Burton, I finally felt that him and everybody at that company really had confidence in me and that feeling let it come out."

Jeff's interview is continued on Page 2 ...

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