Kevin Sansalone Interview: Release of Sandbox Productions Time Well Wasted

With great anticipation viewers crowded Whistler’s Millenium Place for the world premier of Sandbox Productions newest release Time Well Wasted. With the Sandbox crew consisting of long time locals Kevin Sansalone, Clayton Larsen and a slew of Whistler riders, it’s no wonder the 2 Saturday night showings were sold out well in advance. With the local support a force to reckon with (especially the 9pm viewers) Kevin held his own in hosting the nights event which included giveaways, teaser viewings and the always entertaining product toss.

Starring riders Andrew Geeves, Andrew Hardingham, Ryan Hall, Andrew Skelhorn, Steve Cartwright, Mike Suderman, Brendon Keenan, Dwayne Weibe, Paul Gonzalez, Geoff Brown, Kael Hill, Max Ritchie, Rube Goldberg, Nash Lajeuness, Jonas Guinn, Kevin Sansalone, Logan Short, Andrew Burns and Mikey Pederson, Time Well Wasted showcased the Canadian talent down to a tee. With a good mixture of jibs, park shots, freeriding and back-country booters, the Sandbox crew prove once again to be a team of well rounded talented riders.

New rider and first-time filmer Andrew Geeves scored the opening part and showed that experience is not always necessary in making tricks look easy. Almost brand new to the world, this 17yr old pulled it together last season and impressed all with his ability.

‘Everything just worked out for Andrew, his sponsors came through with their support and he’s an extremely talented rider’, commented Sansalone.

And Kevin would know, along with producing, filming, editing, organizing and filming a part for Sandbox, this devilishly handsome Whistler local has been a part of the snowboard industry for 20yrs and shows no indication of slowing down any time soon. Lucky for me I was able to catch Kevin on a ‘down’ day for a quick chat.

‘After 7 productions I’ve found a process and formula that really works for us, with slight changes depending on the project’, says this self confessed perfectionist. This trait typically annoying in any other circumstance has worked to Kevin’s advantages and it reflects in the comments of his viewers.

When asked what they thought of the ‘Time Well Wasted’ one particular viewer ranted… ‘I loved it! I loved that all the riders look like they’re having fun and it’s all good times. The jib set-ups were really creative and different and I loved Hardingham(a)s part, he’s so crazy and inventive. All the riders were super good but it wasn’t intimidating or anything and made you think ‘yeah right whatever’ or ‘oh man I could never do that’ like other movies do. It just sucks that we can’t go shred now, watching this movie really makes you want to go snowboarding’

Needless to say the movie went down really well with the Whistler crowd, but how will the rest of the world receive it? In an already saturated market how does a production company make a great vid, be financially successful and still have a good time whilst juggling it all?

‘Kids have a really short attention span these days, which has led to a different approach to filming. The big names in production have full trailers that get taken on location. We’re now dealing with set-ups including rigs, dolly’s and tracks”.'

All this preparation and set-up makes you wonder whatever happened to the spontaneity of snowboarding? But as with everything else in this world, things tend to change, evolve and progress and Kevin in particular has noticed these changes and embraces them whole heartedly.

“All these young kids are really pushing the progression of the sport and I’m not against it or worried about getting pushed out of the industry. Snowboarding has been my life and I’m really happy with the direction it’s heading in”.

With organizational skills on par with that of any CEO of a major company, Kevin’s passion for snowboarding has translated into countless competition placings, extensive travel around the world, 7 movies including award winning ‘Flavor Country’ and infamous SKIDS series and until recently a 10yr long partnership with Option snowboards.

Obviously not wanting to divulge too much on the split Kevin simply commentated that with Option now under new management the direction of the company had changed and it was time for him to move on, as did Joni Makinen another long-time rider for Option.

But as simply going over to another company is not his style, Kevin not being busy enough has decided to start up his own snowboard company with prototypes tested throughout the filming of ‘Time Well Wasted’. You’ll notice through the movie the boards Kevin are riding are blank or have Sandbox across the base. Distribution of the boards has not yet been given an exact date but keep your eyes open in the future as I’m sure the design will reflect upon Kevin’s extensive experience.

With the launch of the new movie over, Sansalone is one day away from driving down to California for some well-earned time-off with surfing on top of his list of things to do, along with a quick stop in San Diego for the ASR Tradeshow; the man practically never stops.

“I have this image in my head of being dressed in a clown suit balancing on one foot whilst trying to keep all these ball in the air, and so far I’m doing ok’."

Time Well Wasted, presented in a snazzy wooden cover, will be available in stores early September. Check through VideoActionSports for release dates in Oz and New Zealand. The SKIDS series is expected to be re-released around Christmas.

Big thanks to Kevin for his time and I wish you all the best in your future ventures.