Ryan Slater, the man, the myth, the legend. If you're unfamiliar with Ryan he has been involved in Mountainboarding in Australia since the beginning. Ryan has been a driving force in pushing the sport of Mountainboarding here in Australia for many years. He has travelled the world, made amazing Mountainboard videos and influenced many. We recently got to have a cheeky afternoon ride with Ryan at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl in Melbourne. Ryan gives us the low down on what he has been up to lately.
So you haven't been riding for a while what have you been up to?
Well yeah, it's been probably about 5 or 6 years now I reckon. During that time I've started up my own business, a food truck, catering and a bagel shop that we just recently sold off, which has freed me up a bit of time to go riding again!
Sick! So Ryan how long have you been Mountainboarding for?
Aww man, I started when I was 12 and I'm 31 now so 20 years.
How did you initially get into Mountainboarding?
I first saw it on TV. It was the planet Xgames and there was Jason Lee, Leon Robbins and a few of the dudes. They came over to Australia and did a demo and then yeah it got me into it. There was also like this computer game on the MBS website that we always used to play at school, it was like a Mountainboard game and it was so sick we would just spend all of IT class playing it. It was just like, I got to get one of these!
Yeah, Sick! So tell us about the first 10 years of Mountainboarding in Australia. What was the scene like and how did it all happen?
Wow, well there was like a few different scenes. There were a couple of different dudes up in Queensland. Alistair at that time was doing the 3 wheel boards like that 'Outback' Mountainboard. Which was an Australian company. MBS Australia was in Sydney at that time, there was a really big scene in New South Whales with Boyd McMillan and Paul Carey. Melbourne there was like myself, Waffles, Stefan and Cronin, just a few cats that would catch up and session and it grew from that. We used to get 80-100 crew down at comps.
So over the next sort of 5 years how did it develop from there?
MUNRO boards were in it from the beginning repping Melbourne. People used to coordinate ride days on the forum (www.ausatb.org) and back then the internet was a new thing. So that was an exciting thing meeting up with new people and catching up for a ride.
What's been your favourite Mountainboard memory?
For me, its gotta be doing road trips down the coast of Australia. I think we did 3 of them. We'd go up to events in Queensland and then travel back down through San Remo (Mountainboard Park) in New Soth Whales and yeah they were some amazing times and I'm sure everyone on those trips would agree that they were unforgettable times.
So we've obviously been riding around Melbourne a long time now and I know for sure we filmed a lot of videos, that was sort of our thing. Tell us the readers about that.
Well yeah we'd go out every weekend and keep finding spots and filmed everything, it was heaps of fun!
You have been Mountainboarding for 20 years and have been through a lot of different phases. What do you think the next 10 years looks like for Mountainboarding?
I really don't have a clue because my finger isn't quite on the pulse at the moment. It's good to see people out there shredding and enjoying it.
What do you think needs to happen to get Mountainboarding seen by more people?
To be honest, it needs a cash injection to really give it a proper crack. Facilities too, it needs proper facilities for people to ride at.
You started Mountainboarding again last week, what was your experience like getting back into it?
It was so much fun. It sorter just come back to me a bit, I wasn't really expecting it. I think i said if I land a grab today I'm going to be stoked and then yeah I did a grab just without thinking.
Thats awesome, you obviously still got it
Well not quite haha, I dunno we will see I'm still down just to take it easy and go crusing and carving about and doing some little tricks and stuff and that's about it! It's been really good to be back on the board and catching up with all the old faces. Doing a bit of exercise and yeah having a shred, it's good fun!
Alright Ryan good shredding with you today!
Yep, peace. Thanks man, take it easy.
You have been Mountainboarding for 20 years and have been through a lot of different phases. What do you think the next 10 years looks like for Mountainboarding?
I really don't have a clue because my finger isn't quite on the pulse at the moment. It's good to see people out there shredding and enjoying it.
What do you think needs to happen to get Mountainboarding seen by more people?
To be honest, it needs a cash injection to really give it a proper crack. Facilities too, it needs proper facilities for people to ride at.
You started Mountainboarding again last week, what was your experience like getting back into it?
It was so much fun. It sorter just come back to me a bit, I wasn't really expecting it. I think i said if I land a grab today I'm going to be stoked and then yeah I did a grab just without thinking.
Thats awesome, you obviously still got it
Well not quite haha, I dunno we will see I'm still down just to take it easy and go crusing and carving about and doing some little tricks and stuff and that's about it! It's been really good to be back on the board and catching up with all the old faces. Doing a bit of exercise and yeah having a shred, it's good fun!
Alright Ryan good shredding with you today!
Yep, peace. Thanks man, take it easy.
Words and photos by Dylan Warren @radicalface
Follow Ryan on Instagram @slatermountainboard
Watch more Mountainboard videos by Ryan at https://vimeo.com/trampaaustralia
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