All photography courtesy of RIDE Snowboards
It is a bizarre thought to grasp, but snowboarding can become a job complete with its own set of grievances and frustrations. The activity that so many use to escape is also what traps others in a race for recognition. It’s a trade that can take away as much as it can give, and Jake Welch experienced all of those ups and downs in his career. This is what strengthens the mission of Off Course.
This past January, Welch joined his fellow RIDE team member Jake Blauvelt deep in Interior British Columbia to complete one primary goal: to snowboard as much as possible. For the Utah native, it was a relatively new concept in his career as a professional snowboarder accustomed to a rigorous travel and production schedule. More than anything, Off Course resembles the fabled laissez-faire approach to a surf trip than it does filming for a snowboard movie. Down to Earth, approachable, attainable, this was an expedition for the soul with the cameras rolling.
For Welch, Off Course was a reminder of why he started snowboarding in the first place: to have fun with friends. It has strengthened an understanding that he is applying to life in general, a gratitude that you can hear in his voice and see in his riding. He has allowed himself to slip back into the escapism that brings so many people to snowboarding. It just took losing himself to find it.