What new tech and materials can we look forward to seeing for 2021/22?

We have been working on a new ankle strap “change up strap” for our Reload binding that gives the user more customizability. We have added a urethane insert into the nose and tail of the Team, Team Kohei and DF Team boards that act as a shock absorber hence the name “Ur’insane absorbers”

We have added a carbon bar to the Drake Battle Rusty snowboard between the binders that make the board more reactive then last year’s model.

Have you made any specific changes or leaps within your women’s range?
What we have seen in the past years of snowboarding is that women have not been getting the same recognition as men, and that’s just plain wrong! We’re coming in late, it’s a fault and we know it, but we’re gonna be coming in strong in the next years to come. Our plan of attack this year was to build a women’s snowboard team first and foremost. I think that the best way to really advance when talking about tech and materials, is to get the women involved. I think we are on the right track to making a new step forward but before doing that, we need our women to try out the products and give us all the feedback possible.

“We were really lucky to work with 16th-century painter Caravaggio. It’s the beauty and luck of living in Italy”

Any cool artist collabs in the pipeline?

We were really lucky to work with 16th-century painter Caravaggio. It’s the beauty and luck of living in Italy. He really stepped it up this year and gave us a hand with our last RT board, we owe him for that! We’ve also got another local artist who designed the new DFL Drake women’s board, her name’s Chiara Moletta and you can go check out her Instagram for more artwork (@chiaramoletz).

Have any team riders been involved in the R&D process? Where have you been putting these new and improved models to the test?

We tend to work a lot with our riders. They are essential to the development of the products and with their feedback we are able to understand what we can improve.

Kael Hill has also been a key player in Northwave and Drake, not only because he one of our top full set riders, but also because he has recently become the Brand Manager for Northwave in the US. On our trip to Salt Lake City last year, he definitely managed to spread out the word that we were finally making a come back. Surely, also thanks to having an asset like him made it all possible.

Any new pro models to keep our eyes peeled for? 

Kohei Kudo, the Japanese powerhouse, will be getting the pro model treatment for the 4th year running and it’s beautiful. There is the FYVE x DRAKE Reload collab colorway and 2nd year of the RustyToothbrush x DRAKE battle rusty snowboard.

Covid has shaken up everything this year. Are there any big changes taking place with you guys ahead of next season?

Covid has definitely shaken up things for everyone but we haven’t stopped filming or developing new and better products. We have opted to run a partly carry over collection next year in order to support shops that are likely to have some leftover stock that they were not able to sell this strange winter. What I would love to emphasize is that even if Covid has hit all of us, we haven’t backed down in regards to making our team bigger, if not, we have actually invested more. There are new roles and faces which are making our HQ bigger and better. Our women’s division is coming to life and big names are making our team even more recognizable.

“What I would love to emphasize is that even if Covid has hit all of us, we haven’t backed down in regards to making our team bigger”

Where can we see updates or changes within the company, not product related? IE- new HQ, new team riders, team movies etc 

For sure on Instagram.  You’ll definitely find content regarding our new women’s team and keep an eye out for some exciting new names joining the PRO team and many new faces on our AM teams.
We have two other projects which are our 30th anniversary movie and our Women’s project.

One is more focused on the history of the brand and it’s got a very comical aspect to it. It focuses on the generational side of snowboarding, how it was but also how it has evolved. It’s going to be distributed via the Northwave channel on youtube and hopefully another platform which I am still in the process of making it happen. The other will be more of a street and park edit that shows not only the talent of these women, but also a bit of their stories.

Do you have any new sustainability stories for next season? Has any of your production moved to become more sustainable?

We brainstormed a lot on this matter and of course the dream would be to be 100% sustainable, but digging deeper and being informed on materials and making of materials it is a very difficult goal. We are looking into a more sustainable type of packaging but, truth is that we would really need industries to step up their game. Even though it is true that technology is advancing, and we are in hope of more accessible materials, but overall we are looking for a more “green” future.