YoBeat: Making Fun of Snowboarding Since 1997

You gotta go big to freeze frame like this. photo: Amy Galbraith

Kumara Kelley is a bright-eyed early-to-bed early-to-rise lover of all things snowboarding, but it hasn’t always been this way. Once upon a time Ms. Kelley was a hard partying youngster circling the great snowboarding toilet. After a failed reality show, and a really rough time at SIA (see the bottom of the interview) she took some time off. Kumara couldn’t stay away though, and now-a-days you can find her charging hard as hell trying to make up for lost time.

Yobeat: So after one failed attempt you’ve decided to try and go pro again?

Kumara Kelley: Yep.

What made you quit the first time?

A culmination of things. The first time around I was really young, wildly insecure and lacked discipline, plus my parents were really on my back about going to school. Moving to Mammoth at 18 and diving deep into the snowboard industry proved to be a hard hit for me. The industry can be ruthless and cut-throat. I ended up partying more than competing or filming or doing anything really productive in snowboarding. Eventually I hit bottom, my party-antics had gotten out of hand. So I moved back home to go to school.

What qualified as bottom?

Suffice to say there was a lot of booze and variety of drugs. I didn’t really know what I was chasing after anymore. I was living in Mammoth at the time and thought I was trying to be a pro snowboarder. I thought that I was on the right track, snowboard hard and party hard. Turns out that doesn’t work for everyone.  I sorta lost myself and my soul for snowboarding, I was all caught up in the bullshit “Who’s Who” and “What’s What” of the snowboard industry.

It takes real balls to step up in the backcountry. photo: Greg Miller

During your party-fueled attempt at living the dream did you ever consider having sex with a pro, TM, or rep to further your career?

Nah.

Do you fan out when you see pros?

Oh man, I used to!  But not as much these days.  I realize they are just normal people that fart and cry too. In fact, I’ve begun to dislike pros and really, really like non-industry snowboarders. The pros get all jaded and too-cool-for-school.

Did snowboarding ever pay the bills?

Only for a brief amount of time did I actually earn an income snowboarding. That was when I did this reality TV show in Park City, Utah.

Years of healthy living and yoga give a girl a mean poke. photo: Greg Miller

What reality show? Who was involved?

Some production company out of LA. It hadn’t even been sold to a TV Network, they wanted to make it first and then try and sell it to HBO or something. So the funding was pretty limited, and that showed. It was a major flop. I lived in a house with J2, Lane Knaack, Chanelle Sladics, Jaqui Berg, Rob Kingswell, AMK, Nate Bozung and someone else, I am forgetting his name. It was totally crazy. I was the only non-pro in the house. I felt waaay out of my element. It never aired and I’ve never seen any footage from it.

How long did this circus last for?

It was supposed to be six weeks, but I think we stopped at five. Everyone was over it. The house was creepy. The floors were covered in Astroturf and there was leopard print everywhere and cheesy lights with faux fur trimmings around doorways and weird bear and animal paintings on the walls.

How did you get onto this show?

It happened like this. At the time I was working nights at Starbucks in Mammoth and snowboarding everyday. Chanelle, who was one of my main shred-buds then, came up to me at work one night and told me about it. She said one of the athletes bailed on it and they needed someone else asap. I was stoked Chanelle thought of me and flattered to be invited. I had to make a decision that day or the next day or something. I quit my job and packed my bags and left for it the next week. We got to fly in a private jet from LA to SLC. That was a first for me, and I was PUMPED. I was so excited to be surround by all these legit snowboarders. The private jet, snowboarding Park City everyday, and getting paid to snowboard were for sure the highlights of the experience.

Snowboard fashion is crazy, you’d never know if this was a boy or a girl. photo: Greg Miller

So what happened while you were in the house?

We did all these interviews, went to the bars as a group, and snowboarded.

How was living with Bozung?

Whoa. Crazy. Really Crazy.

Any moments you would like to share?

Funny thing. When he had his snowboard part in the Resistance I had a HUGE crush on him. Then we lived together and he shattered my perfect, little fantasy of who I thought he was. He would get super wasted and do mean things, say really dickheaded things to all of us girls. I think he loved girls, but then seriously hated them too. The next day he would always apologize and tell us he was, you know, “Just joking.”

Did you expect this show to catapult you to snowboard fame?

That’s what I was hoping for, definitely! But from day one, I knew it might not pan out like that. It was pulling teeth just to get the last few paychecks. We almost had to take ‘em to court. Class action style. But they finally paid us and no court was needed. It was after the show, which I was hoping to be my big “break”, that I left snowboarding.

Did you feel like a loser when it didn’t work out?

Jeez, just cut right to chase huh Nick. I feel like I am on Maury Povich. The answer is yes.

Not feeling like a loser anymore. This air is huge! photo: Aaron Blatt

So you quit your dream. Then what?

Moved to Seattle. Studied acting and starting modeling a little bit. Then found myself studying Buddhism and seriously studying yoga and martial arts. Since then I have been an honors student studying my life away. In January I found myself telling all my professors to cut me some slack cause I had just won a Burton Am Series stop and I was going to the US Open.  It was cool because all my professors were stoked. Literally in a blink of an eye, I was back on the snowboard horse.

You said you’ve done modeling. Have you considered cashing in on your looks to get a leg up in snowboarding?

Heck yeah!

How has that worked out for you?

Well, modeling has been working out pretty nicely. As far as “cashing in” within the snowboard industry, that’s still in the works.

YOBEAT-OFF.  photo: Ty Milford

Can you even snowboard?

No. Not really. I’m pretty mediocre, which is why I have to lean so heavily on my looks. (Laughs)

Burton has you head-to-toe though correct?

Yeah I guess so, they keep giving me stuff and emailing back when I email them. I got picked up by one of the NW reps while I was at the Burton Am Series, Chris Zimmerman and the GMW crew. Those guys have been showing me lots of love.

Burton is a huge company, do you feel lost in the shuffle?

I am really close with the NW guys, which is rep level-product flow ranks. Beyond that I feel a little small, I would be stoked to move up with Burton.

Do you think it’ll happen?

To be perfectly honest, this is a business. I know they will be looking out for their interest and I will have to do the same. One thing is for certain, coming at this a second time around, I am not looking to get strung along by sponsors and waste time. I’m dedicated and doing it, with or without you. Love me or leave me.

Getting dirty on a late summer jump. photo: Amy Galbraith

How did you transition from a Mammoth drunk to a soy bean eating PNW pipe jock?

I think that I was always the PNW, soy bean, contest jock, dedicated cheese-ball back then, it was just harder to see because of all my insecurities and proclivities to party.

What were you insecure about?

Everything, I wanted to “go pro” so badly. I wanted to make a living out of snowboarding - because I love to snowboard. But I was stuck on the fame and novelty of “being pro.” I didn’t know how to do it, but I guessed from videos that you partied, met the right people, moved to mammoth and then boom- you’re pro.  I kinda knew competing was a good idea, but my whole identity was based on me being a good snowboarder. If I went to a contest and did poorly, I, well, I couldn’t have handled that. The whole idea of someone finding out that inside I was truly a failure, a shithead, a phony kept me from fully pursuing snowboarding. I was my own restraints on my success back then. Moving home, working through some tough life shit and exploring spirituality with yoga has helped me feel okay with myself. Now I can laugh at myself, sometimes.

How many sponsors did you lose during round one of your career?

Well, not all of them were ever really legit to begin with. Except for (Insert large board maker here), that was the big one I was bummed about losing. Then there were bunch of beginnings of sponsorships that fizzled. But I’d say fourish. Shit, I probably shouldn’t drop (Insert large board maker here).  Let’s take that part back. If we just say “some big company” I’ll tell the story.

Deal.

Ok, Demo days was happening at Mammoth. I went up to (Some Big Company’s) booth and starting chatting with the rep. He was cool, and after chatting and demo-ing a board, I had finessed my way into some product flow. We went to the huge van, rock star type bus, and he gave me everything. Boots, board, bindings, clothes, t-shirts, even underwear and told me that if I wanted to get into “X” contest they would pay my entry fee. This was in December. Things were going well, until I showed up to SIA. I had no problem asking them if they could accommodate me (the answer was no.) During the day I would drink like a mother-fucker, party all over SIA and walk around the booth, thinking I was someone. Thinking I was “in.” I definitely was not in. Probably everyone at the booth was thinking, “Who the hell is this chick and why is she partying so hard at 2 PM?” At night I would drunk call my rep millions of times to invite him to come party, completely unaware that some people actually work at SIA. Then on day three he asked me to sit down with him. I sat down, with a beer in hand, and he proceeded to tell me, “It just wasn’t going to work out.” I was stunned. Afterward I went to the Technine booth, told them what happened and they took me on right there.

So who are your sponsors now?

Burton, Pow Gloves, Fabel Headwear.