Jason Kanes Interview photos courtesy of Jason Kanes
- The man the myth the legend. Jason Slaving away at the office
O-matic snowboards Killing it from day one! Todd Richards, Tara Dakides and engineer Jason Kanes all who have influenced the snowboard Industry to make it what it is today Have joined forces to put a new spin on the industry yet again, O-matic snowboards was founded By Todd Richards who has proved him self time and time again, Olympic athlete or filming all over the world, Todd knows what snowboarding is all about. Tara Dakides, One of the most influential women in snowboarding, she can go bigger than most guys and has more tricks in her bag then you! This is one of the hardest working snowboard teams around. Jason Kanes, He's a superior engineer and has been there since day one, He's designed snowboards for many different companies and o-matic snowboards just received the "Good Wood" rating for the Wig Out and the Benatar. This group of snowboarders focused on giving you "more bang for your buck" and trying to make snowboarding more fun for everyone. There doing an awesome job and we look forward to see what's in store
for next season..
Name: Jason Kanes
Tell us a little bit about your educational background? Hmm…can’t remember that far back. I am pretty sure I got an Associates degree (AA) then decided to take advantage of an opportunity to start my a factory and build boards. Schooled in the real world! [laughs]
You started building snowboards twenty years ago, what was the main reason? I just loved to snowboard, and I also heard that if you worked in the industry you can get free lift tickets (that was the main reason)! I was lucky enough to be given an opportunity through a friend who owned an “official” 1000sq ft snowboard factory (it was a garage). [laughs]
You’ve had an eclectic route to O-Matic (www.omaticsnowboards.com). From founding and running Orthodox Manufacturing(Joyride Snowboards) to engineering and designing for Jeenyus and Forum, to creating The Laboratory(an industrial design firm), what made you want start O-Matic? Over the years I’ve had my share of experience in this industry from building snowboards by hand to traveling the world (Europe to Asia) purchasing materials and trying to locate that perfect snowboard factory. For years before O-Matic I was pondering the thought of starting a company that produced a quality product but had fun doing it! But there was no way I wanted to start “just another snowboard company”. If I were to do this I wanted to make sure that there was a niche to fill. There are so many brands out there that are all the same. With limited shelf place it makes it very hard to get your foot in the door, so I knew that we had to come out with something different. O-Matic is that something.
So how did you partner up with Todd Richards, Tara Dakides and Andreas Wiig on O-Matic? One day during a summer surf session in Oceanside, I ran into Tara (Dakides) in the water. I told her my idea about starting a company. I have known Tara for 15 years (Jason designed her series of boards for Jeenyus and worked with her back in the Joyride days). Tara said I should sit down and kick it around. She mentioned several riders, including herself, who were looking for something different and new. Tara and I made a list of riders we wanted and from it riders three names really stuck out: Todd Richards, Tara and Andreas Wiig.
The first meeting with all three was very interesting to say the least. In between Todd’s shenanigans and comedy show, Tara’s A.D.D and Andreas falling asleep on the phone (he was in Norway and it was like 2am), both Todd and Tara said that if they were to do this, that the boards had to ride insane and be affordable. That the price for snowboards these days were way to damn high! They really wanted to find a way to give back to the industry that has done so much for them. It was clear to me that the only way they would get involved with this project was if we built high quality boards and sold them at an affordable price. But above all we had to make sure we had fun with the business side of things too! At the time of our meetings, the industry was so stale, there was nothing new except for Rome. The big brands just continued to do what they have been doing, staying very conservative and boring. This is not what we wanted to be. So we tapped into the personalities and humor in the stop, made fun of everything including ourselves, and today, two-years later, we are still going strong!
- Todd Richards testing some product
What happened with Andreas Wiig leaving O-Matic? Sometimes business is just business. And sometimes owning a part of a business really demands 100% of your time, I just don’t think Andreas realized the amount of work it was going to be to get this off the ground. But before O-Matic, Andreas was totally under appreciated. His skills were off the wall and no company had stepped up yet. I saw bringing Andreas into the O-Matic family as a way to help him grow around legends like Todd [Richards] and Tara [Dakides]. As his second season started, Andreas was on fire. He had a Signature board with us that we designed to fit his style, plus he finished 2nd at Winter X Slopestyle and was ranked #1 on the Transworld Business Exposure-Meter. All this made his personal value skyrocket and I think that at that time in his life he was focused on his riding and filming and the ownership idea was just too time consuming. Plus I think his agent was seeing dollar signs! Cha-Ching! [laughs]. Just joking, truly though, I wish Andreas all the best and good luck in his future business endeavors. Keep it up Mandreas!
With over 80 snowboard brands out there, what do you think about the state of the snowboard industry? Welcome to the world of Capitalism, a place where everyone has a chance to start their own company and do what they want to. We did. It’s good to have several new brands out there because it pushes everyone to stay alert and to evolve their brand before they become stale. But the downside is that there is limited floor space at the retail level so that’s where the difficulties start for everyone. To be honest, it is fairly easy to start a snowboard company, but to continue to evolve and finance your brand year in and year out is the real challenge. This shit gets expensive [laughs] and in order to compete in this highly competitive market it takes a lot of marketing dollars, product development dollars and management dollars and street smarts to continually stay in business.
- Tara Dakides
Do you think it is possible to create a quality snowboard brand without and engineer behind it all? NO WAY! If you want to be around for a short time sure; hire a good artist, design some cool graphics, then sign some “Pro” riders. Use the factories in-house molds and then have them produce boards for you. You will have no idea what kind of a snowboard you will get, but hey, it will look damn good. It takes a lot to make a good snowboard. You really have to understand all facets. From purchasing the correct materials (bases, sidewalls, topsheets), to sourcing the wood for woodcores, to using the correct resigns and inks, to the final finishing of your boards from sanding to waxing, to even the packaging. Then on top of that you have to design the boards on the computer using a CAD program so that it has the proper sidecut radii, flex characteristics, among other specs. Oh yeah then the most important factor-the board has to ride! There are a lot of details that all have to work together to make a board work. So, in short, no, I don’t think so. [laughs]
What are the three best snowboard you have ever ridden and why? All my boards of course! [Laughs]. Shit three is tough one. My earlier designs for Joyride 92/93 built at the Thermal factory, to the Peter Line and BJ Lienes Forum boards, till now the O-Matic Awesome boards by TR and the Wig-Out (which won a TWS “Good Wood” Award). They all rip!
- Jason getting radical circa 1989
First thing that comes to mind: 5150: My first real snowboard company I started. We built the boards inside the factory I co-founded, which was the Thermal Snowboard factory in Southern California. We built boards and rode them the same day! That was fun. LV (Louie Vito): Louie has his shit together on and off the snow. I think every up and coming pro should take notes from Louie’s book on how to do it right. He is a blast and an inspiration to work with. Louie also wants to learn the business side of things from all of us as well as progressing his riding style, which keeps me pushing to make better boards to help him improve his riding style. He has a great attitude towards the sport and life. If he keeps it up, Todd may need to give Louie some of his equity! [Laughs] Encinitas: Todd’s home turf and where my wife wants to move. Europeans: Just good all around friendly people! It’s refreshing to be lucky enough to travel to Europe a few times a year and see so many different cultures. I think every American needs to travel to Europe once in their life and interact with people other than us Americanos! SexWax: Fiji! Our next company sales meeting. Custom: huh? Magna-Traction: Mike Olson rules! An inspiration to me on how he continues to evolve snowboarding on his own terms. He does it his way and that’s it. I have had the opportunity to meet with Mike years ago in Europe. A simple hello turns into hours of discussions about machines, materials, and other shit. Since he has his own factory sometimes mistakes turn into masterpieces. I just hope Mike made some money off of the sell of his company years ago!
How is the new Extremo/Model Board? Insanely fun to ride, just ask Louie. This board kills it in the park and pipe. Don’t believe me-just try one out and the board will speak for itself! If you can’t find one in your area, email us at info@omaticsnowboards.com and we will help you find one, nice plug huh!
- Louie Vito O-matic team rider
What would you say to the rumors that Quiksilver owns O-Matic Snowboards? That would be insane. I would then be able to pay salaries to Todd, Tara and myself. And then Todd would go ape shit on the marketing side of things and then he could start his T-shirt line.
Any new faces on the team for next year? We have just started the Ambassador™ program, which will be our roots on the snow. Through an international network of snowboard industry spies, we will find, recruit, foster and develop riders who display the ever-changing “IT” factor in their riding and also in their persona. This is not just JockFest 5000 or a Shred America talent search, or American Shred-Idol, this is a “professional grooming program” according to team captain Todd Richards. “The Ambassador kids we’re looking for must have the talent to back them up, but we’re more about finding leaders, not followers. Not just buff huckers. These kids will be riders that the other kids want to be like, as opposed to being riders who the other kids want to watch.” Also as part of the “grooming program”, Todd as Team Captain will bathe them everyday! [laughs]
- Todd Richards at the O-matic booth at SIA 2007
Who will be the future of snowboarding? Shit if I knew I would be a millionaire.
Any thanks? Yeah, to everyone who rides as much as they can! Also a special shout out to Bernard Gervasoni who taught me a lot about snowboard manufacturing and the French way of thinking (not sure if that’s a good thing though, Via Le France!), TR, Tara, Hahn, Louie, Chanelle, Markus Bohi, PK, Kosha, Evan (my Bro), Will Newland for being a freak, all the factories and people who I have worked with, the Machine, Andrew at Kindred, Christian, Barry Krowne, my mom, Oma, and best of all my familia (Hi Mia!), especially my wife cause she has to put up with all my shit…that’s all for now! Bye bye.
