Blower

Snowboarding is the fastest-growing winter sport. Over the last decade, its meteoric rise to the top of the international style stakes has spawned a brand new & energetic subculture. Marking the first time the sport has been extensively covered in book form, Blower offers a view from snowboarding's inside track, tapping into the information & iconography produced by the specialist print media, clothing & image-making creatives who support it. Across the world, a huge variety of people live in pursuit of the slope's ultimate adrenaline rush. It's an experience that breeds a serious brand of tribalism. For the professional riders & photographers who chase the weather & competition circuit around the globe, the fans who attend events to wonder at technical feats, or those people who just love to let loose in the backwoods, snowboarding is something that demands -- & deserves -- an extreme level of commitment. But to those featured in Blower, snowboarding is more than a passion, it's their life. The book is compiled by two friends who used to work together for Vermont-based Burton Snowboards, arguably the world's leading gear manufacturer. Widely published in the specialist press, photographer Jeff Curtes has been photographing snowboarding, primarily for Burton, since first taking to the slopes with his pro-rider brother; Eric Kotch is Burton's Director of Photography. Featuring words & images from snowboarding's inner circle, Blower depicts all aspects of the sport with a vivid edit of photography, design, illustration, prose & quotes -- everything from the day-to-day minutiae of chapped lips & weather conditions to the superstar style of a professional's hectic schedule. Published in collaboration with Burton. Designed by Jared Eberhardt & Jim Anfuso. DVD shot & directed by Jon Boyer.