Travis Rice mentored a bunch of kids in Stoked Snow Mentor program last Sunday at Snow Summit. As soon as he was introduced, he jumped right in with no coaching and basically set the bar for mentoring. It was awesome. He even led a snowball fight at the end. Check out this video from the day. Many thanks to Travis for being such an inspiration for kids and adults.

If you’re in Los Angeles this Saturday, come check out surf photography done by youth in Stoked’s Los Angeles program. Over the course of 6 weeks inner city LA youth were mentored by top action sports photographers and shot lifestyle, documentary, and event photographs. Should be a great time with giveaways, drinks, music, and photographs. Be sure to RSVP to gain entry.

This past spring, Stoked & House of Vans partnered up to do some good old community service and skateboarding in Brooklyn. At the end of the spring season, Stoked got 100 kids and volunteers to do 268 hours of community service. This is part of our Stoked to Serve program that rewards youth with action sports experiences for doing community service. Below is a quick recap video.

Stoked to Serve: Spring 2011 w/ House of Vans from wearestoked on Vimeo.

Last weekend was massive for my organization Stoked. Our biggest and best program, Snow Mentor (Snowboard mentoring) started its 2011 season. We took inner city youth from Los Angeles to Snow Summit and in New York to Belleayre Mountain. It was extra special in New York because we opened our very first Barn. We’re extremely grateful to the Harvey & Sylvia Young Charitable Foundation for generously supporting the construction of it. We’re also thrilled that this is our 5th year at Snow Summit as well. Check out the pictures after the jump.

I went to Snow Summit this past weekend to set up our upcoming Snow Mentor program. Our Snow Mentor program is headed into its 5th year in California. This winter we will take hundreds of Los Angeles youth from underserved communities snowboarding and teach them valuable life skills such as goal setting, overcoming obstacles, and how to create a vision for their future. Setting up the season usually consists of me flying to LA (5 hours) and then driving (2.5 hours) to Big Bear. After meeting with the director of the resort (30 minutes), the team and I have chairlift meetings and do laps around the mountain. We plan the program activities, special projects, and life skills workshops for the season. It was a fun and hot day at Snow Summit. I had Bret (our Senior Program Manager), Charlie (LA Program Coordinator), Constance (volunteer), former pro snowboarder YuLin Olliver of The Street League, and her husband, Brian Olliver, formerly of Fuel TV all in tow. I love snowboarding especially with a good crew. Usually the hardest decision I have to make while snowboarding is which run to take. Check out the video and more pics after the jump.

We can all agree that snow related films feed our addiction to ride. When I first started riding, there was nothing that got me more hyped than watching shred flicks. I don’t know whether it was the music, the editing, or just the scenery – films made me want to snowboard….bad. So for most of you New York shredders and skiers (sorry rest of the country), you’ll be happy to know that the inaugural Snow Film Festival NYC kicks off on November 19 – 20. For many of you this will be your only time to see the best snowboard & ski films on a big screen. Best of all, Stoked my organization is getting a portion of the revenue from the festival. We’ll be using the money to fund our Snow Mentor program this winter – which takes youth from under-served communities in NYC snowboarding at Belleayre Mountain. Major props to Morgan, Jason, Daria, Christian, and Pete for putting together an awesome festival.

Here’s more info!

SNOW FILM FEST, NYC’s mission is to showcase the diversity of the snow lifestyle by bringing the varied perspectives of snow to a wide audience. We will celebrate snow as the powerful silent element that stirs massive excitement in all ages. As enthusiasts find different ways to interact with snow, it’s important to explore both the range and the common threads that connects us all to the snow lifestyle. The SFFNYC aims to bring together the greater community to get stoked, create, inspire, motivate, reflect, and most importantly, live life in the snow.

Festival Overview

• Three days of screenings of independent short and feature films, cult classics, and world premieres from established snow filmmakers
• Q&A Sessions with filmmakers and notable snow athletes
• Panel Discussions on topics such as travel, the snow filmmaking craft and environmental issues concerning the snow peaked mountains of the world
• Snow Art & Expo showcasing new winter action sport products

The Snow Film Festival NYC, Walkabout from Driggs Bros on Vimeo.