FUTUREPROOF HITS SCREENS

After a decade of documenting snowboarding, Absinthe releases Futureproof, a film Absinthe’s founder Justin Hostynek states is the first one he is satisfied with.

Futureproof premiered Wednesday, September 6th at the La Paloma theatre in Encinitis, CA to a packed house where European transients outnumbered crusty industry types two-to-one. The unassuming Austrian Gigi Ruf opens the show with a section shot entirely in Alaska. With a newly constructed knee, Gigi takes to the steeps and sloughs with an uncommon finesse. He turns the last frontier into a sixty-degree park with a host of five-forty and seven-twenty variations both regular and switch as well as flat and corked. On one line Gigi comes into a cross fall line berm a bit too hot and the hill drops away quickly, sending him for a board-high fall ending in a full body impact ten stories down.

Following Gigi is Kurt Wastell, who has his best Absinthe showing since perhaps Blackbox. Kurt splits his clips between Alaska and Utah with the highlights being a substantial gap that is easily fifty feet up and a hundred feet across.

Noticeably absent from Absinthe films of the past has been an abundance of jibs. In Futureproof, Jules Reymond, Jussi Tarvainen and Nico Droz take to the European streets all the while being documented with the same gestured cinematography that these films are known for.

Romain De Marchi, JP Solberg, Chris Coulter and Trevor Andrew each have parts which focus on technical backcountry jumping, while Jonaven Moore and Yannick Amavet showcase technical AK lines. Wolle Nyvelt on the other hand, mixes the best of both of these riding styles as he clocks in with the longest section of the film. Perhaps the heaviest line of Futureproof is one where Wolle sets off a series of slides, virtually one at each turn, until he somehow skirts through the slough below.

Japan has always been known for its tree riding. Adding to this ever-growing hype is an extended sequence where DCP and Nicolas Muller take the North Island apart. No powder lays untouched as these two ride through, under and on the trees to get some with each turn. This isn’t your father’s regular stale powder parade. DCP and Nico bring tech freestyle to the show with 180’s to bowed branch jib-bonking and then some.

Nicolas Muller ends the movie with an inconceivable array of hammers. Featuring only a handful of manmade features, Nicolas shows a dominance over raw terrain that few riders in the world can match. It is one thing to throw a backside seven Japan corkscrew. It is something entirely different when put in the context of Alaska, with the latter trick part of a first track double line. The same could be said about every single clip displayed here. As a whole this part is dizzying in its scope and perhaps it contains so many bangers that each one loses weight. This is too bad, because this shit is among the heaviest snowboarding ever put on film.

Yet the ones who are guaranteed to comprehend the gravity of this film and Nicolas’s part are the other pro riders themselves. The following are the brief impressions the assembled members of snowboarding’s elite pro ranks had immediately following the end of the Future Proof premier.

“I am biased because no matter what Gigi or Nicolas do I am obsessed with it. I am going to go try to track down Nicolas Muller and get his autograph now. “ – Eddie Wall

“My part has definitely changed from seeing the flying man perspective. I might have the biggest ass bomb hole on record. Now I know why my wrist is hurting.” – Gigi Ruf

“It was good. I loved Gigi’s part for sure. He had some sweet airtime there. Lots of good powder. Nice line.“ – Ikka Backstrom

“The movie was rippin’. I had my nine-O, it was bitchin’!” – Mikey Rencz

“It was sweet to see defenders of the powder.” – Mike Ranquet

“Awesome! Finally some good shredding and real snowboarding.” Alex Auchu

“A lot of powder. DCP-Good stuff” – Brad Farmer

“Jussi Taberini was awesome. Totally fucking awesome. I don’t know how to say his last name. Gigi too. Gigi had good shit.” -Creepy Kyle

“Awesome. It was fantastic. Great. Kurt Wastell’s was my favorite part because he is from Newburry Park and a Van’s pro skater. ” –Scott Blum

“Super pow pow. Powderific.”-Ricky Melnick

“Damn good. Nicolas Muller was so innovative and doing all the crazy shit on the pillows. It was epic. All the Japan footage was real sick and the timelapses mixed in with the riding edits were really well done.” – Cole Barash

“It is a great, great night. I hope you guys like it. “ –David Vladyka

“My favorite shot was Wolle when he is riding into the shot and his line just sloughs and he has to move to the next spot and that sloughs to. He keeps improvising but he keeps his speed. That is the next level of riding right there. When you can keep your speed when the whole world is falling apart around you.” –Justin Hostynek

“Hands down Gigi’s over shoot off of the knoll is going to be legendary. Straight up. Who is going to step off that thing unplanned? “ Shane Charlebois

“I am glad that it is over. It is quite a relief.” – Lesa Herera

“Word. Sweet. Big jumps. Sick.”-David Melancon

“I loved the movie. Justin always has the most powder. That is what stoked me out in snowboarding and that is why watching Justin’s movies gets me fired up to go ride. My favorite part was Nicolas Mullers for sure. Nicolas is hands down my favorite snowboarder to watch. Watching him ride makes me want to get out there and do it. “-Jeremy Jones

“My favorite part of making Futureproof is right now when I can sit back and enjoy it. My favorite parts are Gigi’s, Wolle’s and Nicolas’s. The best shooting day of the season was our last day of filming in Alaska. It came together in the last two hours. We had the step up gap with Kurt and Gigi. Kurt hit it first time and barely made it and then miraculously the sun came around. Then Gigi came across and hit the thing perfectly with a backside 180. He floated it. Then those two had the most epic session of the season. Springtime with no one around and no wind. Justin in the chopper and me and Vladyka on the ground. Two hours later we were done and had the craziest shots of the year.” - Patrick Armbruster

“Nicolas’s part is for sure my favorite part. My favorite clip is when Gigi launched off and slammed because I was up top and watched that. It was good to see the shot of it. It looked way gnarlier from up top.” –Wolle Nyvelt

“Typical Justin. Awesome soundtrack and amazing riders. A lot of fun, fun snowboarding. “ - Meghan Pischke