YoBeat: Making Fun of Snowboarding Since 1997

A normal dude, sitting on a normal trash can. Photo Mike Theines/Bald E Gal Productions

By Jack Boyd

I’ve only met Dan on one occasion and that’s when he saved my life.

Ok, not really. Except the meeting him once thing, that part is true. It was at a premiere party a few years back for Capita’s “First Kiss” flick. The show had just wrapped and we were standing in a bar making the type of awkward small talk that only a dude built like a brick shithouse (Dan) and a short, skinny twerp (me) could make. Aside from pondering about how easy it would be for him to slaughter me, I was more impressed with how genuinely nice and down to earth the guy was. I guess I figured that if some 17-year-old dude that whippersnappers a measly eight-stair on film could be a pompous prick, then the guy that gap back-lips a gravel truck would be the iron-fisted ruler of the entire dickhead universe. Luckily for me that’s not the case. “He works harder than anyone and doesn’t give a fuck about image,” Mike Theines, longtime friend of Dan and founder of Bald E Gal productions, says of Dan. “I think everything comes easy to him but he also works his ass off to get better. Wait until you see his part in Neverland.”

So it’s settled then - while the shred gypsies are busy setting up their harmonicas and synthesizers for the on-snow jam session chances are Brisse is out there getting paid to do what he does best – act bat shit crazy on his snowboard.

Apparently one of the magazines is sitting on every photo of Dan from this year, so all we got where these lousy screen grabs. Thanks to Bald E Gal. Seriously. thanks.

Jack: You don’t have a moustache, wear women’s snowpants or maintain a shitbag image – what’s your angle? How do you expect to stand out in this industry?

Dan: My angle is being myself and acting like I would regardless of if I have an image to pull in snowboarding. I am not trying to stand out, I am having fun snowboarding and focusing on being a real dude. In my opinion there are too many snowboarders focused more on their image and standing out than their quality of snowboarding. I will probably stand out by fitting in to the “normal” category, because almost everyone wears girl pants and acts like they are homeless.

Jack: Where did you grow up shredding and with whom?

Dan: I grew up shredding at Powder Ridge in Minnesota with Ezra Jacobsen, Brian Olson, Mike Roeder, Mike Theines and Tony Conrad.

Jack: Are you missing the crusty Minnesota hard-pack yet? It must get boring trudging through that Utah powder.

Dan: Ha. I love Minnesota snowboarding. I like to have some Minnesota and Utah in my winter – Minnesota is the place that speaks street while Utah has the pow.

Jack: How often do you make it back home?

Dan: It’s been a couple of times a year for the past few years. Usually it’s once in the winter to shred and then again in the summer to hang out on my parents’ lake.

Jack: Were your parents bummed on you leaving to pursue snowboarding instead of attending college, getting a lousy job and settling into a mediocre existence?

Dan: No, they were very encouraging actually. They told me to do something I really enjoy in life and I am really grateful for that!

Jack: The rooftop gap (above) is getting some heavy rotation on the web – are you afraid of becoming known as a one-gap-man?

Dan: Nah. If people actually want to get to know my boarding they will see Absinthe’s film, “Neverland” - it shows the full picture of what snowboarding is to me.

Jack: What was your first thought after riding away from that beast?

Dan: “That shit was really fun.”

Jack: Do your sponsors ever make you do horrible things like telling you to stop smiling and look more hardcore during a photo shoot or pretend like your blown away finding the secret stash pocket on your jacket sleeve?

Dan: No, there is none of that.

MN’s finest terrain. Photo: Mike Thienes/ Bald E Gal productions

Jack: How’s it been shooting with the Absinthe dudes as opposed to the hometown Bald E Gal crew?

Dan: Shooting with Bald E Gal was awesome! Those guys are my good friends and I am very appreciative for all they helped me do along the way. Shooting with Absinthe has been unreal because we go to some amazing spots around the world with awesome dudes. One of the filmers, Shane Charlebois, is straight comedy and makes you laugh all day. Then Hostynek was real open with the editing side of things and let me have some say in how my part ended up; real stoked.

Jack: How has the Absinthe premiere tour been going?

Dan: It has been insane, just so many stoked kids at every premiere, which is rad! Volcom has this massive RV that is driving from stop to stop so it really feels like a tour.

Jack: Are you satisfied with your part or do you lie awake at night bummed and thinking that you could have done more?

Dan: Yeah, I am pretty happy with how it turned out. I would have liked to get a few more real solid jump shots and some rail tricks but overall I am stoked.

Jack: Do you like Shaun White? Honestly now.

Dan: Sure. The dude rips and does his thing really well and I think that is what counts. That is about as much as I can say cause I don’t personally know him well enough to talk about him. Saying “Hi” at contest here and there is not really knowing someone.

Big man. Big tricks. Photo: Mike Thienes/Bald E Gal Productions

Jack: Do you ever worry that CAPiTA is going to give you the boot for not being artsy enough?

Dan: Ha, I try not to worry about lame things like that. I think solid people like the ones behind the scenes at CAPiTA can see past having to act an exact certain way to fit the brand. I know snowboarding is a lot like high school with being “cool,” but I think a brand needs variety on the team. If we were all the same we would only speak to one type of shredder. I hope our CAPiTA team speaks to all shredders out there and gets them stoked.

Jack: Who else is picking up the tab for you these days?

Dan: Volcom, VZ, Union, Deeluxe, Celtek, DVS, Nixon, Skullcandy, Park City, Milo Sport and The Youth Shelter Supply.

Jack: Had you ever heard of Yobeat before this interview?

Dan: No.

A Yobeat fan for life now!

Jack: Any thank you’s or death threats you care to throw out there?

Dan: Thanks to my parents, brother and wife for all they have done and do! Thanks to all my sponsors and Absinthe Films.