INTERVIEW: Seth Hout of Mack Dawg Productions

I interviewed Seth Hout right after the world premiere of Mack Dawg Productions new film Picture This. Here is what he had to say about the past season, what is coming up for this season, and the direction that snowboarding is going for the future.

Hondo- How was filming this year compared to last year?
Seth- Well this year coming from filming with the Volcom video, which was not the normal crew it felt really good to come back to filming with Mack Dawg. I went from being really comfortable with Mack Dawg, then going to Volcom, now I’m back to being comfortable with Mack Dawg. It’s like getting a fresh start.

What was the most challenging part of filming this season?
a The most challenging part about this season was being able to be in the right place at the right time. It was hard trying to have a schedule and trying to keep it up with the lack of snow. I really wanted to get my rail shots done quick, and then jumps. But since there was no snow it was hard to keep up with everything. But the best part definitely came later in the season.

What was the most rewarding part of your season this year?
Well I went to Minnesota this winter and had one of the worst trips of my life and was completely over it. Some of the worst sessions ever. Right after that trip, I went to Finland for a trip. Rode new stuff there, and it actually turned out to be one of the most progressive trips of the season. And right after Finland we went right back to Minnesota and claimed our vengeance, and kept our killer sessions going.

Who was your main crew this winter?
The crew this winter was Jeremy, Darrell, and myself. Biittner was around sometimes, and Eero was there when we were in Finland. It was the best crew I have ever worked with.

Who do you think killed it the hardest this season?
It really was a collaboration. Wille, Jeremy, and Darrell all killed it so hard. I could not believe what I saw go down in such horrible snow conditions.

Do you ever look at young film crews, and up and coming videos to get excited?
Well I just saw the Think Thank video Thanks Brain and that got me pumped. Riders like Scott Stevens, Gus Engle, and Johnny Miller had really cool creative tricks. I also really like the People crew, not that they are a young crew, they’re just the other MDP crew. It’s really cool to see what riders like Kooley, Nima, and Hebble are up to. I also just saw the new Bandwagon video from Canada. That video had really crazy rail tricks.

By watching those videos, and filming yourself, where do you see the progression of snowboarding?
Well right now I see the progression is totally up to the rider. There are so many different directions that the person could take it. It doesn’t matter if you are into crazy creative tricks that you could just do in your yard, tech gnarly rail tricks, or just crazy obstacles; it is progressing so hard. The same thing goes for jumps, and backcountry. Snowboarding is in a really good place right now.