Published in Whitelines Magazine Issue 96, March 2011
In a war of wisdom, Devun Walsh would beat Mr Miyagi hands down. Shit, he could probably even take out the dude with the moustache from Kill Bill! Here’s what he had to say about your problems this month.
Hey Devun. I recently dislocated my shoulder on a slope (on the bottom of a nursery slope actually, taking a short cut to the cable car… gutted!) I’m not sure how long to leave my board in its bag before I can ride again? Any advice is much needed. Jamie ‘Chip’ Phillips
Chip – Fook does that suck! Things happen in the weirdest spots hey? I did something similar before stopping on a mogul and put my hand down weird and broke my thumb! Usually a dislocated shoulder can take a few months to heal, but you need to get it strong before strapping on your board, otherwise you’re going to hurt it again – and probably worse. You might end up needing surgery. I would look into physio and get a small gym routine going after – on the advice of the physiotherapist. Cos as much as I think I am one, I’m not a doctor! Good luck with the healing.
Alright Devun? I can’t seem to stop my arms from flapping when I go for no-grab spins. How do you always manage to keep yours so still and keep looking so stylish? If you could give me a few pointers that’d be great. Thanks a lot dude! James Black
James – ‘No grabs’ have always been some of my favourite tricks – reason being you rarely grab your skateboard! I used to love ollieing big gaps, doing back 180’s and FS 360’s down stairs, and I never grabbed. The trick to pulling smooth no grabs isto get a good spin going, so you don’t need to alter the speed of the spin by flapping your arms. Once you’re spinning don’t panic, just let it float and enjoy the hang time. You really need to focus on letting it feel natural. The biggest problem is people try and make it look all cool, but by forcing it, it always looks somewhat wrong. Don’t force it or rush it. Hope that helps.
Dear Devun, how come Canadians are always so much cooler than Americans? ;-) Jeff Peters
For some reason I really like you Jeff! Haha. Not all Americans are arrogant and annoying though, I know many who are very cool. But I love living in Canada! Here’s to Canada EH!
Hey Devun, what’s the best board graphic you’ve ever seen? Aside from one of your pro models…Ben Smith
Hmmmm, good question! Best graphic ever was probably Noah Salasnek’s skateboard graphic with the wheels and trucks. So rad.
Devun, dude, in all your years of riding, what’s the best trick you ever stomped? Sam Taylor
Sam – probably the raddest thing I’ve ever stomped was my last trick in That (the Forum Movie). A SWBS 540 off a jump called Mother, just cause of the sheer size if it. It is a 70 or so foot drop over a blowhole into a tranny. It is one of the best feeling things I have ever had. That was a hammer!
Got a question for Devun?
Email [email protected]
Devun Walsh is a genuine snowboarding legend. Hailing from the west coast of Canada, he first rose to fame in the 1990s as a founding member of the Forum team. With his uncanny ability to soak up heavy landings, Devun’s backcountry prowess is un paralleled, throwing down super smooth freestyle tricks in powder. These days he is still charging hard for DC snowboards, in between sharing two decades of accumulated riding wisdom with the Whitelines readers.
