Happy Snag, Bringing Old Slash Boards Back To Life
Please tell us how long you have been making Happy Snag.
I built the first Happy Snag about 6 years ago and used it in my backyard when there was not enough snow to ride our local ski resort.
Where did the idea come from?
The idea came pretty naturally and like most (good) ideas it came out of necessity. We had a really bad snow season and our local ski resort closed pretty early. There were still some good patches in some areas but not exciting enough to hike there with the snowboard. I had some broken snowboards in my garage so I just cut one in half and put two wholes in it like on a snurfer. I cut the pieces quite small so I could carry it easy on my backpack. In the parts with good snow I was standing on it and on the steep parts I just sat on it. It was so crazy fun that I just kept on building and trying different tail shapes and lengths. Next season we had a massive dump before the official winter season started so me and my friends built longer ones for powder runs and it also worked great. So basically we just kept improving the shapes and materials and asked around for old snowboards. The feedback was great and so we approached different snowboard companies if they want to be involved and support us with their old or broken snowboards. That’s pretty much when we called Happy Snag a company which still sounds a little crazy to me ;)
Tell us Happy Snag's Mission Statement.
Our mission statement is quite easy. We want to keep old or broken snowboards out of landfills and re/upcycle them in the most non-toxic way possible. We use natural cork from Portugal for traction pads, water-based glue, linseed oil varnish, our ropes are made from 100% recycled PET plastic bottles… we just try our best to be as sustainable as possible. Of course we build all happy snags by hand with tons of love, so every piece is unique.
How many products do you create / upcycle each year?
There are many variables, it all depends on the partners, how many boards we receive, how many workshops we are able to do, the snow conditions and so on..
Tell us how long you've been working with Gigi/ Slash and how many Slash boards have been repurposed.
Back in 2020 we got our hands on some old Slash Snowboards and converted them into Happy Snags. We sent two of them to Gigi to try it out and I think he liked the idea. Especially for kids that want to get started with snowboarding. We stayed in contact and met at ISPO 2022 again. That's when we started the cooperation. We've converted about 15 Slash Snowboards so far but hope to get some more in the near future ;)
We are super happy that you guys like our idea and hope to spread the stoke for re/upcycling products. Recycle the present and save the future!
Peace out Simon & the Happy Snag family
