SNOWBOARDER Spotlight: Danny Davis

Got a chance to catch up with the best shredder we’ve ever known to come out of Michigan since SNOWBOARDER’s very own Chris Engelsman—Danny Davis of the now infamous Frends crew. Unfortunately Dan was out most of this past winter due to an ankle injury incurred early on at the BEO [Burton European Open] in Laax, Switzerland. But downtime can be good for the brain, and the body. With a couple months of down time out of the way Danny’s back on both feet, and he’s doing alright.

How’d you hurt your foot this past winter?

Well it was my ankle, and I was at the European Open and I just decked a little bit on this quarter pipe in the slopestyle course. I think I just landed wrong and it swelled up and then four days later I was under the knife again.

How long did that keep you out for?

It happened in mid January and I just started snowboarding and skateboarding about two or three weeks ago.

What kind of stuff do you do to occupy that time off?

I chilled a lot with my agent’s dog, and started to learn how to play the harmonica. Listen to lots of music and since Frends has been getting some attention we’ve had some stuff to do with that. So I just worked on some stuff for Frends and chilled a lot.

Michigan is hardly a hotbed for shredding, how did the snowboard work its way into your life?

My brother was always into skating and so in the winter that translated to snowboarding, and my dad got into it and so did my mom and it started to be like family thing. And then I got a season pass at my local mountain when I was like thirteen or fourteen.

Correct me if I’m wrong, but you won a scholarship to S.M.S. [Stratton Mountain School] from the Ross Powers foundation?

Yeah I got some sort of scholarship from S.M.S. and Ross’ foundation that helped me pay for what my parents and I couldn’t. Ross is the f—king man, and he may not know it but he helped me huge by giving me some dough, because that school is ridiculously expensive.

Do you think your experience was the same as kids whose families shelled out large sums of money for their tuition?

Well I experienced everything those kids did at that school, and probably more! [Laughs], but one thing that was different I think was that I knew that people who helped me out believed I had a strong talent and I guess that pushed me to work hard and not waste it.

What kids did you go to school with?

I met some of my best friends at that school and some cool babes. There were so many cool kids, Goldy, Hayley, Alex, Geoff, but I mostly hung with Nick Russell, Joey Hodges, Louie Vito, Brian Vallario, and my first roommate Mike Farnum.

Are there bullies at snowboard school?

[Laughs], Farnum was known to kick some ass, but besides that it was mostly just some teachers.

What’s the best thing about snowboarding?

The best thing about snowboarding is just being outside and laughing and cruising with frends.

What’s the weakest thing about snowboarding?

It’s too damn expensive, I feel bad that it’s not like skateboarding where you can just do it anywhere. It’s definitely a rich persons sport, and that really bums me out.

What sort of tunes has your iPod been pumping out lately?

A lot of Van Morrison, Duane Allman, Bob Dylan, and the CCR never stops.

Louie Vito told me you were at a CCR concert a couple weeks ago, but he didn’t know who CCR was. How was the show, and how does Louie not know who Creedence is?

Yeah Creedence doesn’t have cornrows or 22s, so Louie isn’t really into that. But the show was so epic! And it was in Reno so the crowd was classic CCR style. Oh yeah and it was my roommate’s brother’s 21st birthday and he was visiting from Michigan, so we showed him a good time—love you Joe!

You’re living up in Truckee now, how’s that scene?

It’s so good, I got a dog and some chill roommates who take care pretty well, so I don’t have to worry about the house when I'm gone. And when I'm home I just skate, hike, and kick it.

Who do you hang with up there, and where do you spend most of your time riding?

Well this year I was hurt much of the season so I only rode five days in Tahoe, so I can’t really claim a spot to ride yet. But I chill with Chuck G. quite a bit, my roommates Snook and Joey, and there’s always people rolling through the house.

You and your frends recently destroyed Giacomo Kratter’s truck that had been parked in front of Jack Mitrani’s house in Mammoth for about a year and then dropped it off at the dump, that doesn’t sound very “frendly” at all. Is he going to be bummed, or is he going to just find out when he reads this?

Well first off it was Filippo’s truck, and I’m not sure if he has heard about it yet but he’ll know when he checks the video out on thisisfrends.com!

So is Frends more like a frat or more like a gang?

It’s more like a frat; I wake up to protein shakes and 100 push-ups every morning.

What part of snowboarding do you see having the most room for progression—park, pipe, rails, pow, other?

I think that’s the beauty about snowboarding; it’s like art in a way that different kids get creative in different ways on different terrain. And people are always pushing it on all levels of snowboarding whether it's riding park, pow, or just riding in your backyard. There’s room for progression everywhere, except for boxes—that shit's wack.

At this point would you rather be filming enders or winning contests?

At this point I'm glad to be healthy and back skating and snowboarding, and I am ultimately stoked on not having to think about filming or contests for a couple months and just focus on cruising and getting strong.

Related Links:
Snowboarder Spotlight: Lucas Debari
Private Pipe Session with Shaun White, Danny Davis and Mason Aguirre