Stian Solberg Interview

Backside 180 over the official Tacky rail at the 2007 Tacky Invitational at Hafjell.
Photo: Tommy Solstad

Hey Stian, whats up and how are you doing?
Hey folks, right now i'm in Squamish, staying at Romain's (DeMarchi) place. It's a place in Canada between Whistler and Vancouver. It's the beginning of April and I'm trying to ride as much powder as I can before the I have to start riding park for late season filming.

What's it like for two brothers doing the same sport on a pro level?
Well it means that the two brother's never really get to see each other at all. The only time we have to hang is when it's summer time and we're both in the same country or if' it's Christmas and the Solberg Family has gathered in one of the two houses me and my brother own at our home resort in Geilo, Norway. But it's cool, we both are doing what we love and that's all that matter's.

What does a day in the life of Stian Solberg look like?
Well, there's a couple different days in a life of Stian Solberg. There's the day when Stian is riding his Snowboard, and there's the day when Stian isn't riding his board. And also, there's the day when Stian parties, but we'll leave that out of this interview for now.

The day when he snowboards:
Waking up at 05.30 or 06.00. Get dressed and pack my backpack for the day in the backcountry. Eat my breakfast (usually a bowl of cereal or something), check my Facebook and make some food for when I'm hungry in the backcountry. Probably meet up with the rest of the crew at around 06.30-07'ish at the gas station to gas up our sleds. Arrive at the parking lot at around where we drop of our sleds at 07.30 or 08 (depends on which zone we go to). Sometimes we even have to drive for a couple of hours to before we drop our sleds off. That's not cool, hehe. Sled around for a couple of hours and look for something to build and hopefully find something. Some days we go up and the snow is SHIT so we end up just wasting gas and talking about where we'd rather be.

But yeah, sled around and hopefully find something, build it, eat lunch, and hit it. After we're done hitting a jump we go look for something else to do, unless we're all tired and beat up from hitting the jump. We usually get back home from the backcountry at around 6-7pm and change and dry our clothes for the next day, get a late dinner, and go to bed at around 10pm.

The day when he doesn't snowboard:
Wake up at 10am or something, not earlier than 9 anyways. Go to the store and get some fresh and awesome food and make a good breakfast. Go work out at the gym for an hour or two (It's important to stay fit if you want to be able to take all the beatings you get from the backcountry throughout a season).

Get home from the gym and check out what's happening on Facebook and Myspace, haha. Also, look for recipes on the internet cause I've started loving to cook. Go back to the store to get the ingredients I need for the dinner I'm about to make. Make dinner and either go to a friends house or get some friends over to watch a movie.

How do you like being on the 32, Stepchild and other sponsors teams, what’s so great about them?
32 makes the best boots in snowboarding, hands down! And now they make outerwear as well, so you gotta check out that when it hits stores this upcoming winter. And by riding for them, I also get to ride for Etnies, and they make siiick shoes, so what's not to be stoked on.

Stepchild has one of the coolest teams in Snowboarding, I think, and it's just awesome being part of that! Their boards ride super good and their graphics are cooler than 99% of the snowboards out there these days.

Union might be a small binding company still, but they make sick bindings, their really comfortable and they look good, what more to ask for.

I guess the companys I ride for are really snowboard focused company's and they know what's up and try to progress in that area everyday. They're not super HUGE companies that have they're fingers in other market's like rollerblading or paintball shooting or whatever major brands get themselves into. And I'm really happy to be a part of it, cause it makes you feel like your part of a family instead of just being an employee at another brand, you know what I mean?

What would be your ideal set-up when you're shredding?
3 feet of new snow, a good crew, just snowboarding all day long...

Who do you ride with, any favorite riding buddies?
My favorite boys to snowboard with would probably have to be Knut (Eliassen), Christopher (Kvaernberg), and my brother.

Any favorite resorts/places to go ride?
Whistler Backcountry is siiick when there's new snow, but Europe is also a sick place to ride since you don't need sleds and you can access almost everything from the ski resorts.

What about the coming summer, any plans for surfing, golfing or chick hunting?
This summer I'm planning on surfing a lot actually. That's something I want to get good at, cause you get to the point where just laying on beach gets boring, so you need to find another way to enjoy your surroundings. And when you get the hang of surfing, it's a really fun thing to do when you’re not snowboarding. Also, I'm going to COC (Camp Of Champion's) in Whistler this summer for Stepchild week which is from the June 27- July 4th, so see you there!

Any plans for chick hunting?
Hmmm, maybe a little bit, but I like to be hunted more than hunt...

What's in the boardbag and what is a travel necessity?
In my boardbag you'll find:
- 2 snowboards (1 Corporate 55, 1 powder sucks 159)
- 2 pair of bindings (Usually Union Forces)
- 1 pair of boots (32 Prime's)
- A couple setups of 32 Outerwear and First Layer
- Electric Goggles (EG 1's)
- Etnies shoes
- Cook books
- Books on Wine
And various other items
If I had to pick one travel necessity it would have to be my iPhone with my Bose In-Ear Headphone's. Good shit!

Anyone you'd like to thank or say hi to?
My parents, my brother, my friends, my sponsors and everyone that has ever helped me along the way!

Have a great season and an even greater summer!

Thanks Stian!

Stian with his sled.
Photo: Joe Sexton