So, when we first hit up Johnny to see how his winter had been last season and get some exclusives on what he has planned for this winter he had no idea that in a few days time he would be presented with the ulitmate accolade for a snowboarder, being turned PRO. Last Saturday Capita Snowboards had their first sales meeting of the season in the US where both JOC and Mike Rav were presented with custom snowboards and an official invite to the prestigious Capita Pro Team. Joining legends such as Scotty Stevens, Kazu, Dan Brisse, Jess Kimura to name a few. Johnny has been going so hard in the streets riding for Capita Snowboards for the past 10 years, clocking numerous stand out parts and enders. This day was always on the cards. Stoked for you JOC.

Interview by Will Radula-Scott/Mark Dangler. Photos by Cole Martin.

How and when did you first get on the CAPiTA program? Do you remember your first deck or package?

I first got involved with Capita back in 2008. Dan Broadwell from Flour City Distribution was the first one to get me hooked up and he has had my back hard ever since. He goes out of his way to help others succeed and I really appreciative that. I actually do remember my first package and it honestly felt like such a big deal. I felt like I'd made it, haha.

What was your first team trip with CAPiTA? Any remarkable memories from that trip?

My first team trip was in Duluth Minnesota and it is on record still the coldest trip I have ever been on! It was -20 Degrees Fahrenheit every day and there was a point I had to stop snowboarding at a spot because both of my feet were completely numb. Tingling to my ankles I couldn’t even feel the boots on my feet. I can’t believe Mark Dangler and Skylar Brent were able to stand out there and film, those guys are soldiers.

What was going through your head last night as the announcement unfolded?

Dude Rav turned pro after his video played and I was so damn happy for him I wasn’t even thinking about myself at the time he’s been such a huge influence on me throughout life. 15 minutes later Mark hops on the mic again and throws on a video that he made with Joey B "how ya doin" that led to my footage from last season and they fucking turned me pro!!! To see those words pop up on the screen was literally as if it was raining Parmesan cheese, it was unreal. I don’t think the feeling has even set in yet because everything is so good right now I feel like this is not real life.

Did you know before? Tell us about the skit with Joey B, how was that pulled off and kept secret? What were you thinking after you shot that?

Ok Mr. Sly Guy Mark Dangler is hilarious!! Him and Joey b told me they were making intros for all of the riders for the SIA tradeshow as a promotional video for the brand. Those guys fake met at my house and they shot the skit in lake placid the day before! They even had my mom in on the surprise and got me to run errands while they filmed the part of the skit at my family’s business. I thought ‘wow these guys got their work cut out for them to do intros for all of the riders like this’. I can’t believe how many people knew about this and rav and I didn’t hear a thing! That’s good to know because it’s such a small community where there’s really no secrets that can be kept but those guys really pulled it off. I’m still soaking it all in this is really fuckin nuts man!! It’s been raining Parmesan since Friday night and I couldn’t be happier.

Check out his PRO part here:

What have you been up to over the past year? - who filming / riding with? How did it come about?

I spent a majority of my winter last season filming with Skylar Brent and Jordan Small for their Thirty Two project Prism. Dylan Alito was also with us on a few trips through my home area on the east coast, Quebec, and Finland. Thanks to Brian Cook and our sponsors we had a pretty good chunk of time to film some street trips.

Best city to film in?

My favourite city to film in at this point is Helsinki. Although there’s no place like home when the Northeast US gets snow.

Any countries you haven’t been to you like to go film in?

I still haven’t been to Russia. From what I’ve seen they have some of the coolest looking spots I hope to spend some time there soon. I also still haven’t filmed in Japan much so that is also up there on top places to explore.

Gnarliest spot / best session that went down in the project?

There was a 2-day period Smalls, Alito, and myself hit up a classic spot in New Hampshire that we all got clips on in different ways. You can check the clips in Prism. My clip actually took two winters of attempting due to getting busted in the past or getting hurt. 

Anything go wrong? Injuries?

I stayed clear of injuries this past season! Damn, that was honestly such a good feeling to walk away from it all since it was my first year back filming gnarly stuff since breaking my leg. I’ll be doing my best to stay away from any serious injuries like that again.

Favourite spot snack?

Sour candy, chocolate covered pretzels, pizza, beer, and the occasional spliff.

Looks like you’ve been on the road, constantly filming for a while now. Are you looking for some down time or still juiced up to keep stacking clips?

Ha! If I had the chance I would be snowboarding all year-round filming and working towards something. I mainly just get the winter to snowboard and then usually a summer trip to Mount Hood or Woodward Copper.

Any early calls for rider of the year? Who else’s films you been enjoying so far?

I would love to see Kazu get rider of the year. His project was great and his riding always inspires me. Colton’s ‘Blender’ turned out really good and there are still a couple projects I’m waiting to see Method Movie 3 being one of them. 

Favourite film / video part?

Favourite film is probably Dope 3. Favourite video part(s) would be any from Sami Luhtanen. This guy is breaking down the door and fucking shit up big time I really hope he will continue to do so with proper support. Definitely one of hardest ripping people in the street right now. 

Most memorable video part/project you filmed? And why?

Most memorable video project I worked on was the Union Stronger video. That crew I was involved with were a handful of my favourite snowboarders so that was a big life accomplishment. My strongest video part is in the Thirty Two 2032 video because I had the entire winter to film. Most other years I was either in school full time or didn’t get the chance to film all winter.

Who have you been rollin’ with last winter?

Mostly Jordan Small, Dylan Alito, and Skylar Brent. Between those bigger trips I spent some time with Ben Poachman, Mark Reznikov, and Devin Bernard filming some other small videos.

Soundtrack to your winter?

I was listening to a mix of different artists such as Witch, Johnny Cash, Big L, and Leonard Cohen. You can find my playlists and song choices on Spotify if you search my name I’m always on the search for new music.

Saw you got some pretty sweet first day of the season action?

Yup! Killington has been the stop so far for riding this season. Rode with Scotty Steves which is always the best time. Loon opens soon and I’m looking forward to riding my home resort in New York, Windham Mountain.

What’s the snow like on the east coast at the moment? Is it cold and settling?

We just got our first snow storm! I’m leaving the area for a few days so I’m missing it but I’m excited to go back and start getting into some filming.
I have a good feeling we’re going to get a bunch of snow this winter.

Plans for this season? - other projects in the works?

I am trying to put together an early season project together with the mastermind Skylar Brent. The idea is to make an edit filmed only on snow making mounds at resorts. You might know them also as ‘Whale Tails’. Hopefully you’ll see something hitting your screen sooner than later. After that I’m hoping to film in the street as much as I can and get another video part together

What’s your current setup and why?

I’m rocking the Capita Ultrafear and Union Strata bindings. It’s a very natural set up and you will feel very connected to your riding with it. I wear the Thirty Two TM-3’s which is a long lasting comfortable boot that also looks really good. My outerwear is also Thirty Two and I enjoy wearing a bunch of different products from them. Go check out your local shop and try some gear on.

Any shout outs? 

I would like to give a shout out to my family and girlfriend for all of the love they give. Dillon Ojo for dedicating his life to snowboarding. Mark Dangler, Riley Goodwin, Brian Cook, Todd Gilman, Blue, Kleckner, Martino, Larz Brent, Cole Taco, Chriso, my crew Danger Beach, and everyone I have shared a memory with in good times. I love you all tremendously.