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Brady Larson
The come-up kid
Words and Photos By Katie Panzer
panzerphotography@gmail.com Brady Larson, 180 to switch 5-0.
“It was a Lamar—it was the sickest board ever,”
said no one, ever. Unless, perhaps, you’re Brady
Larson and you’re speaking of the beginning of a
decade-long love affair with snowboarding.
Larson’s love story begins the same as many
of ours—a 9-year-old on Christmas morning,
a budget snowboard from Sports Authority
and beginner lessons at Brighton. And, like
many of us, his love started to grow as he
became a weekend warrior through middle
school and high school. These days, at 19
years old, Larson has come a long way from
that first Lamar board. He has dedicated
himself to snowboarding, and people are
starting to notice. He’s picked up sponsorships
from Technine, Neff and Electric, as well as
landing spots on all of their respective Am
teams. Larson may be on the come-up in the
world of professional snowboarders, but he
still maintains that 9-year-old’s excitement on
Christmas morning.
Larson never had serious aspirations of
becoming a pro until things started falling into
place for him. In 2009, his sophomore year
of high school, he met Jeremy Seegmiller
and Dylan Thompson and started riding
with them. “Dylan and Jeremy kind of showed
me the ropes,” he says of tagging along
with them on urban rail missions. Thompson
taught him all about setting up a spot, using a
bungee and dealing with cops. Shortly after,
Thompson and Seegmiller introduced him to
Cole Taylor, a filmmaker for Technine. He
started receiving flow from Technine and,
eventually, was officially placed on their
Am team. From there, Taylor talked to Cyle
Cadem of Electric, and showed him some
of Larson’s footage. Cadem was impressed
and put Larson on their Am team. Before he
had even graduated high school, Larson was
already stacking sponsorships.
In 2010, Larson was riding in the Neff Beach
Bash at Brighton’s end-of-the-season party,
Natturday, when he was spotted by Neff’s
owner, Shaun Neff. Larson happened to be
riding Thompson’s board (who was already on
the Neff team) that was stickered up in Neff
decals. Shaun noticed the board and Larson’s
talent and asked if he was riding for Neff.
When he found out Larson wasn’t, Shaun asked
him to send him a few edits and soon, Larson
was on the Neff Am team. Between a little bit
of luck, being in the right place at the right time
and knowing a few of the right people, Larson
has started to make a name for himself.
While getting sponsored sounds like a dream
come true for almost any snowboarder, it’s
not all heli rides and champagne showers—
unless you’re Shaun White. “It’s a job,”
Larson says. “I feel like people think being
pro is raking in the money and riding resorts
and partying.” Although it’s a much more fun
job than you or I have, it’s a job nonetheless.
Being an up-and-comer is even harder––you
have to constantly be on your game, filming
and putting together edits, or you’ll lose your
spot to someone younger and hungrier than
you. “Cole tells me all the time there’s a million
kids out there trying to get into the situation I’m
in,” Larson says. “He just lets me know that I
need to step it up.” Larson realizes that what
he has now won’t always be if he doesn’t
work hard to keep his spots on these teams.
“Every kid is really good these days,” he says,
and all of those kids want his job.
Staying motivated is a big part of the game.
Larson tries to stay on top of the competition
by finding new spots no one has hit yet
and being creative. Instead of going bigger
and crazier, he focuses on dialing in more
complicated tech tricks with style. “I’m not
trying to die every time I pull the bungee
back,” he says. There may not be any triple
corks or Brisse-esque death gaps in his
near future, but you can expect him to keep
progressing and pursuing snowboarding as
long as it’s still a good time. “When it stops
being fun, that’s when I’ll stop,” he says.
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