WL: Any plans to bring back the pink bunny suit?

JP: I feel like I’m done with the bunny rabbit situation, but I reckon I’ll never live it down. Wouldn’t mind passing the torch though…

“Burton were unequivocally the big dogs and were cutting cheques quicker than they would eventually go on to cut most of their team”

That’s some serious wattage and one helluva torch. Could anyone live up to the pink bunny suit? It would have been super easy for him to allow Transcendence to become the crux of his snowboard identity, but JP has never been one to rest on his laurels. He continued to push the boundaries throughout the 2000’s throwing out heavy parts with Absinthe, Mack Dawg and Burton.

WL: You went from being a pro rider to a business owner, how was the transition and what were the challenges involved?

JP: It happened pretty quick, but the essence is more responsibility, more work and if you don’t stay on top of your game all the previous work done is useless. BUT on the flip side we get to engage in the game that gave us everything and influence positive change as snowboarders with a sense of responsibility to keep snowboarding the rad culture we are so lucky to be a part of.

“We get to engage in the game that gave us everything and influence positive change as snowboarders”

You gotta remember, this all started for JP when he was just a young kid, he grew up under the harsh spotlight of the media and cut his teeth with riders twice his age. Quickly scooped up by Burton and given creative freedom with the UnInc project he, along with DCP and Romain, got a taste of snowboard design and production early on.

As if getting to work alongside and ride with the snowboarders that you grew up emulating wasn’t enough, getting to party with them in far flung corners of the globe would have put some hairs on your chest for sure. Getting loose with these guys was like going out for a nice steak dinner with Charlie Sheen- in all likelihood someone was going to end up duct taped upside down to a lamppost, stark bollock naked. These were the ‘glory days’ of snowboarding, where money flowed freely. Burton were unequivocally the big dogs and were cutting cheques faster than they would eventually go on to cut most of their team.

“Burton were unequivocally the big dogs and were cutting cheques quicker than they would eventually go on to cut most of their team”

WL: Best party story about DCP/RDM?

JP: Hahaha pretty sure my best memories are left unsaid but when I was 18 DCP let me have his driver’s license so I could tag along to parties till I was 21. He’d go in first and I’d hang back for 10 minutes and give it a go, it never failed… When I turned 21 I gave it to some random dude that I thought looked like me who was 19 and he lived the DCP life onwards after that. DCP ran into that same guy years later and he said he got laid pretending he was DCP LOL.

Even with all the fame and glory that come with being a pro snowboarder, a young JP famously said on camera during a video for Absinthe that he didn’t get many girls and if you were a nice girl and saw him at the bar, please go and say hi. Although, he was wearing a peaked beanie at the time, so that might just explain the lack of female attention.

It may be thanks in part to their UnInc roots that YES. Snowboards are so wildly successful. The boys learned the tricks of the trade from the best in the business and had years of pro-riding experience from which to go off during their numerous R&D sessions. They championed the movement for short fatties to become the norm and over the years their wildly experimental shapes have settled down into prevalence. Their rapacious appetite for innovation has set them apart from other brands and YES. continues to set the bar on the design front.

“I’m in Japan now riding the Hybrid in neck deep pow on a 153 Hybrid and I’m like a kid in the candy store”

They’ve travelled to every nook and cranny on the planet, putting their boards through their paces and drawing inspiration from every facet of snowboarding, surfing and most importantly- fun. Path Finding Episode 2 saw DCP, JP and JF Pelchat travel to Japan to get balls deep in their famous champagne powder, drink snake venom and show us just how snorkel ready their fleet is.

WL: Which YES board do you choose to ride in the Ja-POW?

JP: Ever since we developed the 420 I’ve been pretty loyal but last 2 years I’ve been experimenting a bit with new shapes like the The Y. and the Hybrid just to expand my understanding and experience. I’m in Japan now riding the Hybrid in neck deep pow on a 153 Hybrid and I’m like a kid in the candy store.

WL: So, what are your plans for the year? 

JP: Same as every year, enjoy it and get shit done. 

If you want to cop a lil bit of that Solberg style, check out our review of the YES. Hybrid here. “On the YES 420 side of the family, the board gets its short and fat genes which paved the way for a revolution in powder specific shapes. Then, from its YES PYL heritage, it has that extra kick up the arse for charging harder, steeper lines. An unlikely romance, for sure, but the end result has the look and feel of a modern-day classic.”

You may also like:

• YES. It’s an interview Part I – Romain de Marchi
• YES. It’s an interview Part II – DCP