PHOTO: Bud Fawcett
RIDER: Jeff Brushie
EVENT: OP Pro of Snowboarding
LOCATION: June Mountain, California
CAMERA: Canon F1 (analog)
In the world of snowboarding photographers, one name rings resoundingly true above all others: Bud Fawcett.
Fawcett was often in the right place at the right time. He carried the right equipment. He knew where to stand, sit, or kneel to nab the best angles. More than this, he had an eye for capturing the innovators, iconoclasts, rebels, renegades, troublemakers, doers, future champions and legends of the sport. It is no exaggeration to say Fawcett’s photography helped shape the culture of snowboarding.
Throughout the 90s, if you knew about this photo, and if you recognized what it signaled, then you were understood to be a “true snowboarder” by other snowboarders. You may have had this photo on your wall. We certainly did. It was a talisman of authenticity for any would-be ripper. It communicated an ethos and a way of looking at the world. To this day, some 32-years later, it still does. This is an important photograph.
The rider is Jeff Brushie. The location is June Mountain, California. The year is 1992. As Brushie neared the finish line of the slalom course, he cranked a method. No interest in beating the clock. No concern for crashing. No worry of being disqualified by the judges. Brushie finished the race his way, with a method. But not just any method. This method communicated, “I don’t care about this race. I don’t need to win it. In fact, I’ve already won it. How? By doing this method, right here.” Casual. Graceful. Tossed off at-speed. Lofted high into the air, seemingly off of nothing. Before the term “chef’s kiss” was a thing, this was a chef’s kiss moment, 90s-style.
Almost from the beginning, snowboarders took their cues from skateboarders and surfers. The ski industry, however, preferred to think of snowboarding as an extension of downhill ski racing. The baby brother that, if raised properly, could potentially grow up to follow in its big brother’s footsteps (i.e., The Winter Olympics). La dee dah. To achieve its vision, for many years every winter no matter where you went, there was always a ski industry association somewhere trying to make snowboarders bash gates, wiggle between poles and frantically go fast to beat the best time.
Ski companies burned through boatloads of cash marketing equipment geared towards a ski-oriented interpretation of snowboarding. Hard boots. Skinny boards with long contact lengths. Narrow stances. Body armour. Tight pants. Tighter jerseys. The ski racer approach to snowboarding was all very silly, specifically because it did not have any respect for snowboarding’s cultural connection to the surfing and skateboarding traditions that had come before it. Brushie’s method air reasserted snowboarding’s ties to the Holy Trinity of boardsports: Creativity. Self-expression. Joy.
In one simple capture, photographer Bud Fawcett put the ski industry on notice. Hereafter, snowboarding continued to evolve and come into its own. After this image ran in magazines around the world, many ski companies realized they’d be wise to start taking their cues from snowboarders.
Here at Absinthe Films, we have a lot of love for skiers. That said, Fawcett’s photo of this iconic moment truly is one for the history books, as written by snowboarders, for snowboarders. When we recently asked Fawcett to comment on this photo, he cheekily replied, “Last race photo I ever shot.”