Adam Moran :: Interview

Nashua NH raised Adam Moran has over the years made quite a life for
himself in the snowboard world. He and his older brother Jeff had
been standout riders many moons ago wherever they showed up. I
remember seeing them roll into little Nashoba Valley Ski Area and
thinking who are these two guys, and where the hell did they learn to
ride like that? Adam was just a little grom and he had mad style.
Somewhere along the way he picked up a camera and has been capturing
images from all over the world while working closely with Shaun White
and the Burton Team. So where is he now that the snow season is
winding down here in the good old USA? Well.....let's ask.

BUB: Adam, where on Earth are you? Are you coming or going at this
point or do you even know anymore?
ADAM: Well right now I am at home in Encinitas Ca. im home for about a week and a
half which is the longest time Ive been home for since October or something.
Normally in the winter I just get to come home in between trips for a day or
two, do laundry, repack, then leave again. Next week I head to Europe for a
few weeks though, we are going to one last snowboard contest, then going to
skate in Austria and Germany, then I head to Sweden to finish off the winter
with one last snowboard shoot.

You grew up riding in New England under the wings of guys like
Matt Gormley and the Waterville Valley locals. The old Bone Yard was
pretty heavy back then. Do you ever get the chance to catch up with
the old NH crew or the UVM gang?
Yeah I actually keep in touch with a lot of the guys from those days. I
live 2 miles from Muzzey so we hang out a lot when I am home, then I see
Bettera all the time up in Northstar, I work with Dabica on Burton Ads, and
I keep in touch with all the UVM people through stuff like facebook. Its
super easy that way, and cool to see what other people have been up. And
then there is Pat Moore, I see him all the time and actually went on a trip
to Japan with him for a few weeks this winter. He is just a grown up
buzzard now. The Boneyard days were the best, my mother has a photo of me
in her kitchen from that park and I get stoked everytime I see it. I
remember ditching school the day it was taken to go up and shred with
Gormley!

Obviously you're a snowboarder, probably doing some skating, and
being a "Cali bro" now I would guess surfing? What's keeping you busy
when the cameras down and your boots are off?
Ha, not so much of a surfer. I live close to the beach but have only lived
here for less than a year. So my surf skills suck to say the least. That
shit is way harder than Slater makes it look. But when I am home other than
trying to skate and surf a bit I end up spending lots of time with some of
my friends that live up on LA and just taking it easy. My best friend that
I grew up with in Nashua lives up there so its rad to go hang out in a
totally different world and just laugh a bunch. Its like a touch of home out
here since he and a few of my other friends never lost their NH/Mass accents
and its like going home each time I hear it.

We've all aged a bit and I was picking the brains of the Nashua
crew to try and remember some things ...... Do you miss your old K2
Clickers? ( ha ha! you were so cutting edge)
Ha! Those things were the worst. I was all young and my team manager at
K2 at the time told me if I wanted an Ad that I had to wear them. I wanted
an Ad so bad that I did it. I remember just hating them, and being so
stoked once I went back to riding normal bindings. I remember the first
board I got from K2 too, I hated the shape of it so much, but wanted to be
sponsored so bad. I took it down to EB fitchburg and you (BUB) helped me
round out the nose of it on the Grindrite machine. Customized that thing
before even getting it on snow. I had just bought a Lib Tech Matt Cummins
at EB Nashua too, right before getting hooked up with K2, the one with the
guy on the BMX bike on it. I wanted to ride that thing so bad to be like
Jamie Lynn at the time, but being sponsored was my dream so I rode that
shitty K2 that we reshaped!

Traveling for you must be nuts with cameras, boards, and living
much of your life out of a bag. Have you got any horror stories due
to losing gear or team guys along the way?
I've got a whole system down these days with my camera gear that works pretty
good. I can carry enough of it on the plane with me as far as
bodies/lenses that I can show up anywhere and make due if the other stuff
doenst show. Ive been fortunate with not losing my luggage too much though,
but last year did spend 5 days in Europe with no luggage, and pick it up at
the airport on the way home. That sucked. And as far as losing team
riders, yeah, that happens actually. When it comes to customs and you are
with 6 guys all from different countries, all doing random shit, everyone is
on their own. And I have seen people get stopped and the rest of the crew
have to keep going on to make a connection. The other person will
eventually show up.

Is there something that happened with you and Shaun in Co.?
Something about a fire extinguisher and being arrested?
No comment on that one. I have a solid alibi though, I was out to dinner
with Bridges and Ryan Hughes at the time, they can testify.

We noticed you rocking the EAST T shirt in the American Express ad
you did with Shaun, thank you very much. What was it like doing the
ad and being the one on the other side of the lens for a change?
It was so strange, but really fun. I never realized how crazy those big
commercial shoots are. Each day we would wake up and get a call sheet and
there would be like 150 people listed on it who were going to be working on
the commercial. Its nuts. That hotel scene were I was wearing the shirt
was pretty funny, we shot it a bunch and I was just hanging out in my boxers
the whole time in front so like 6 cameras and all these people. I think the
coolest part of doing that commercial was seeing how it all really goes down
and how much is involved on that level. Met a lot of really good people
there too.

Burton is quite a company and people seem to choose to love it or
hate it for whatever reason. There's no question that the gear is on
point and that Burton does a lot for the industry and has beneficial
programs like Chill, but working from the inside and being a company
man, how do you see Burton in the eyes of the people you meet along
the way? Is there a vibe around Shaun and the "podium?" The"Flying
Tomato" is a tough guy to beat. It's gotta be like playing golf
against Tiger Woods.
It seems that people are pretty stoked on Burton. I mean there are always
going to be the haters for anything that is big like Shaun and Burton. But
that's expected. The one cool thing about Burton is that it is still a
private company, so there isnt some board of directors who invested saying
to "cut this, and do that". And as far as Shaun and competition, its
pretty gnarly. The press either says he won or lost, 2nd place doesn't
count anymore for the media when its him involved. So the pressure is crazy
at events. The kid is pretty talented though, and definitely works better
under pressure, I think he has a future in this stuff.

What sort of camera are you shooting these days?
These days its a Leica M8, Canon Mark 3, Canon 5D. Then some point and
shoot Leicas and canons.

Jeff's in Jackson Hole right? Do you guys get to hang out? That's
my all time favorite place to ride. He must have that place dialed.
Has he got a comfortable couch? Being married for the last 11 years
I'm real good at sleeping on a couch.
Yeah, he is still out there. Its so fun there. I usually go and spend a
week there every winter. He is the freestyle program director for the
mountain now and coaches the snowboard team there. He has that place so
dialed too after so many seasons there. Its definitely some of the best
terrain in the US that a chairlift can get you too. But he and I get to
hang out atleast every few months. Ill either go there, or we would meet up
in California and go skate. Now he is coming to visit down here soon. Go
stay at his place. He has a guest room with a drum set in it. So you roll
off the futon and smack your head on the base drum, its rad.

Shout outs? ( every interview ends with these.... go nuts)
My Parents, brother Jeff, everyone at EB, everyone at Burton, and everyone
who ever helped me get to where I am at today. Too many to list, but don't
worry, I remember it all.

So there you have it. Thanks Adam
Adam Moran... man of the world, photographer, team manager, with true
roots that run as deep as they go in the things he does quite well,
keeping it real, and long time East Coast friend.