Back before the Internet, before Twitter & the Kardashians things were simpler. When Coca Cola was launched in 1886 it was marketed as an Energy drink – the fact that it contained trace elements of cocaine until 1904 certainly would have put a pep in your step.

A lot has changed since the days of Snake-oil salesmen peddling dodgy potions in brown bottles, but recently I’ve started to think that the more these things change the more they stay the same. Now we’ve got Red Bull, Monster, Rockstar, Burn…the list goes on & on. These brands have become synonymous with all things ‘EXTREME!’ & the general public  loves buying into it too. In 2010 the Energy drink business was valued at $10 Billion by Goldman Sachs – those guys tend to know a gift horse when they look one in the mouth.

So what? If they’re gonna throw a few bucks towards snow/skate peeps where’s the harm in it? Well in my opinion there are a couple of issues worth actually thinking about before you suck down your next can of caffeinated gut-rot.

1. Like most ‘Corporates’ these brands don’t give a FUCK about snowboarding and they never will.

Their prime directive is to generate a return for their shareholders. That’s hardly newsworthy, but when they buy into ‘our’ thing, they want their pound of flesh. Just ‘cus guys that ride CAPiTA also rock a Monster logo, that doesn’t really mean they give a shite about ‘us’.

2. This stuff is BAD for you.

In 2004, energy drinks were banned in France after an Irish kid died playing basketball. He had consumed 4 cans of Red Bull and it was found to be a factor in his death. Other countries including Norway & Chechnya have banned various energy drinks & others (including Australia & New Zealand) have imposed strict controls on their sale. As someone who likes an ‘adult beverage’ – I am Irish after all – I can assure you that the worst hangovers I’ve ever endured have involved energy drinks. I know people who have had heart palpitations after guzzling ‘energy cocktails.’ Not good.

3. Water works.
I remember reading an old Transworld interview with Tony Hawk – circa 1990ish. He was asked what he preferred to drink during a skate sesh and he recalled feeling really bad after drinking a lot of some brand of soft drink. The Birdman drank water and did look at him now! Now, Austin Smith & Bryan Fox did the whole ‘Drink Water‘ thing a while back & fair play to ‘em. It must’ve been hard to give all that energy drink money the finger, but they obviously believed in what they were doing.

I was skating my local park last Sunday & I watched 2 (cute) Monstered-up youngwans stroll in with Ghostbuster-style backpacks full of their brand of jump-juice. The kids flocked, the product shifted and the girls left. A half hour later I witnessed kids on come-downs. Maybe they’ll learn.

The point of this rant is that we ALL need to be a little more discerning. Snowboarding grew from outcasts doing something they loved – usually in places that didn’t love them. Now that it’s a ‘mainstream sport‘ WE should choose where it goes from here & who pays for it….

Rant over,

Johnboy

The #Yogrammies are on! This week, we picked five photos we definitely would have clicked “like” on if they showed up in our feeds. Tricks mixed with booze, synchronized routines, and precious moments captured in time. All of these guys are getting a follow from us, but only one of them is getting sent a pair of Skullcandy Fix Headphones, and that, my friends is up to you.

Photo 1 by @_mattkrei

Photo 2 by @aueeford

Photo 3 by @mizzlyadams

Photo 4 by @noahprincestagram

Photo 5 by @ryanomurphy

Want to be part of the #yogrammies? Just post and hashtag your best shot with #yogrammies and follow @yobeat while you’re in the process. Boom, you’re entered. The #Yogrammies are brought to you by @Skullcandy

Featuring: Braedon Wheeler, Kai Ujejski, Alex Beebe, Chris Mullins, Brin Alexander, Anthony Stefanizzi, Keenan Filmer, Logan Short and Adam Franks.

While many of you are sitting around being bummed that you’re too broke to go to camp this summer, Jonas Harris is doing something about it. And by that we mean, asking for money on the Internet. That’s right, if Amanda Palmer can raise millions to make an album on the Internet, it certainly seems like this kid should be able to raise $1600 to make it to High Cascade. We don’t know Jonas. We have no idea if he’ll ever make it as a pro snowboarder, but gotta say, we support this cause more than the start-ups using crowd sourcing trying to pollute the world with more crap no one wants. So if you’re one of our older, more mature readers who enjoys steady employment and would like to help this kid out, you can donate any amount towards his cause at https://www.rallyme.com/rallies/64. And hey, for $100, he’ll paint you a damn picture.

Thanks A-Man and WWD for the tip.

Riding by: Erich Bubanick, Matt Soreasshole, Lil Brudda, Mark Blondie, Buddy Tenderass, Adam Andervan, Colton Bulky, Kahndaleeza Rice, Chunky, Young JOC with cameos from a bunch of other down ass cats.

Film and Edit: Sean Talonhands

After five long days at Superpark, I rode in the Gremlinz bus from Bend Oregon, to Portland. I would be bussing it with Dylan and Tyler lynch, Zack Lefter, Niko Cioffi, Brian Cannoy, Victor Simco, Shane Fortier, Riley Nickerson, Cam Peirce and a girl named Carrie. I plopped myself down on one of the laid back seats reupholstered in tie die and made myself comfortable. As the next 12 hours unfolded, I would come to learn many things about what it meant to be a Gremlin.

Tyler draws for the fans and Riley models shades.

The average American treats you like a rockstar.
We encountered an intoxicated mother at a place called Rio’s Mexican Cuisine. Carrie told the lady that the bus was carrying pro-snowboarders and her drunken eyes lit up. “Can my two daughters come out here and get your autographs?” The Gremlinz signed their names, put their instagram handles and took a photo with the two girls. One was 10 and one was 16. The drunken mother came back several minutes later to see if we were interested in joining her and her daughters for the 9:00 showing of Iron man 3 – 3D. The fact that this mother could possibly think that bringing 9 tattoo-ridden Gremlinz into a movie theater with their 10 and 16 year old daughters was a good idea was beyond me. They declined her offer, saying they had to make it to Portland. She wrote down her phone number and told them to call her if we were ever back in the area. “We’ve got a ton of land so it’s total freedom. Ride horses, shoot pigs, you guys can all fuck me…” She didn’t say the last part but we were expecting her to.

“squidy” the charger and the newly installed bus toilet. They didn’t even make me empty it!

Everything is communal.
And you better be able to catch. Whether it be a lit cigarette, an open beer, a joint, or your iPhone, the Gremlinz demonstrate surprising hand-eye coordination skills in passing each other their necessities.

In full effect. I got this photo from @GBPGremlinz

The bus is a mobile flop house
At 5:00 in the morning back in Portland the Gremlinz said it was time to set up the Sardine Pit. This is when you set up skateboards grip-tape-up between the two rows of seats and arrange the cushions to make a bed of sorts. You pack onto it like sardines, hence the name.

So many Fortier sleeping shots.

Prepare for the worst if you fall asleep first.
Shane Foriter, who probably got drunk three separate times on the ride home, made the unfortunate mistake of spilling beer all over the bus on his first pass-out. From this point on he became a target for pranking. While sleeping he received several snus packets in his mouth, some dicks drawn on his hands and some fresh #mallgrab photos with a longboard for his instagram.

You have to hang, no matter what.
Feeling like I had been living a different reality, I almost forgot that I actually live in Portland and I didn’t need to sleep on the sardine pit. When I broke the news I would be taking a cab home I was met with blank stares and complete silence. Perhaps they felt like I was bailing on the cause, or that I hadn’t gotten the full experience. Either way, I know they lost respect for me for not sleeping in there.

Riders: Jesse Park, Ryan Waiste, Ari Strickland, Matt Wainhouse, Michigan, Jordon Frager, Max McIndoe, Tim Carlson, Stuart Cambell, Jordan Ingmire, Elan Bushell, Ian Wood, Bart Patitucci, Kevin Hanson, Hans Jangaard

Edit: Matt Wainhouse

The winter season is more officially coming to a close now, which means the quality of edits submitted to the People’s Court is sure to improve. Let’s ease into it with these two young park rail aficionados.

Derek Gardner

Grady Tank

The People’s Court is a weekly competition and is open to any amateur snowboarder. You may be sponsored to play, just not paid, son. The winner of each weekly battle will receive a pair of goggles from Arnette Eyewear and be in contention for the year-end battle with a grand prize of a one-year Arnette sponsorship. To submit your edit, email the link to peoplescourt@yobeat.com.

Hi there,
I went to your blog and wanted to reach out with an infographic my team is promoting that imagines a World Without Post Offices. I thought it might appeal to your stamp collecting readers: http://www.numbersleuth.org/trends/usps/

If you could blog about this as a thank you, I will send over a hundred visitors directly to your post via our social share campaign. (Just email me the post URL and I will get on it immediately.) If you are too busy to blog though, a tweet or facebook post to your fans is appreciated as well!

Thanks so much,
Cara Delany

Probably not a good fit. Though I did respond:

And while we’re at it, no Lamont Johnson at BlinkPR, we don’t want to test any weightlifting gloves:

Dear Brooke,

I wanted to reach out to see if you would be interested in sampling and reviewing the new G-360 Men’s Weightlifting Gloves by G-Loves – as they are a luxury for training like a beast at the gym. With the cut off fingers, strategic grip, open knuckle breathability and adjustable hook and loop closure, the gloves give you a comfortable, yet premium fit.

Also, 360s are designed to help eliminate hand fatigue. They adjust to fit the shape of your hand while leaving your fingers free to grab the weights, dumbbells or handlebars. Please contact me if you would like more information, pictures, or samples of the product.

Here they are…good looking gloves that protect your hand while you train like a BEAST. Throughout history military forces have worn Camouflage to be less detectable to their enemies. These gloves may be Camouflage, but they do not blend in!

G-Loves (gloves) are innovative, of the highest quality, beautifully designed, and available in a wide range of colors and patterns.  It has been well received by active people.  They are also being worn and shown on Facebook and Twitter by several celebrities.  G-Loves has the newest innovative grip technology with a silicone grip that makes doing a pull-up easy on the hands!

Product features:
·         Neoprene fabric with spandex piping for durability and comfort
·         Textured silicon material on the palm and half fingers enhances grip for all exercises
·         Open knuckle design gives the back of the hand breathable comfort
·         Half fingers deliver superb finger dexterity and range of motion
·         Fabric provides less bunching and heavier lifting
·         Thick enough to protect hands from the gym elements, yet thin enough to feel the weights

Price points start at $45, samples and hi-resolution images are available upon your request.

For more information on this amazing company and their product, please visit www.g-loves.com.

And this is just today… Now, we usually would ignore these, because technically by posting them, the idiot PR people are winning, but consider this a public service announcement: Hiring a PR firm to handle your PR is a really great way to make your “core” corporation look really stupid.

Chris Beresford will be at High Cascade Snowboard Camp for Session 2 (June 25 – July 2) and we want to give you his gear. Here’s how it works:

Thee the 1st person to register for Session 2 after seeing this promotion and K2 Snowboarding will send you a brand NEW! 2014 Hit Machine Snowboard but we wont stop there. As a way to support those a bit slower in the game we’ll be awarding the 4^th person to register from this promotion with a pair of 2014 K2 Hurrithane Bindings.

HERE’S HOW YOU WIN: During the registration process you’ll be asked to specify how you heard about camp. In order to be entered for the free product you’ll need to specify “OTHER” and enter “Session 2 Winner.” High Cascade personnel will be tracking the registrants and notify the winners accordingly.

Two lucky kids who attend session 2 this year at High Cascade will receive 2014 product from K2 Snowboarding and we’re stoked to hook them up. Here’s to snowboarding taking over your life…

Register at- http://www.highcascade.com/dates-prices/dates-prices-2013.html