Print's Not Dead: Stalefish - Andi Griesser

Andi Griesser is an unbelievable human (well, he might not be completely human) who lives around the Kaunertal valley area, in Austria. He stands at about 2 meters tall and makes magic happen on what seems like whatever snowboard happens to be attached to his feet. He survives in the cold with no-name outerwear and doesn't really need gloves or goggles. He seems unbreakable, he knows what is behind a cliff without even looking and giggles when he sees avalanches trigger. Rumor has it he lives in the woods without electricty or running water. Andi gathers energy from the mountain, the sun and his cigarettes. It's hard to describe in words this man's energy, let's just say when he shows up the mountains part and create valleys for him to pass through. Alright, I might be exaggerating a bit but this dude is a bonafide hero. This might be a Stalefish but Andi sends it harder than pretty much any fresh meat out there. Check his Print's Not Dead extended interview from Method Mag 14.1 with some extra photos. All hail, king Griesser!
Andi & Ricky Rossner. Photo by ADT
Where do you come from?
My mother's virgin lap.

Where do you get your secret powers from?
If I told you, it wouldn't be a secret, would it? Okay, I'll tell you. I basically did everything you tell kids not to do, early.
This stale fish has fresh melons. Photo by Andreas MohauptCan you tell us about the resistance that your village upheld against the Franco-Bavarian army in the 1800's?
Austria lost the war but our valley resisted hard. We set up a trap near the entrance to Kaunertal and locked the frog-eaters in a narrow spot by releasing stone avalanches in front and behind them. Then all the farmers came with pitchforks and scythes and brutally mutilated Napoleon's army.

Are you okay with French people now or are your people still pissed at Napoleon for trying to Roquefort up your valley?
I get boards from a French company (APO). Regis Rolland, the boss at APO, is who more or less inspired me to first try a snowboard. In general my people don't really care as there is not much interaction with Frenchies up here anymore. We see them as "funny/weird" these days.

If a Michael Jackson on a 10-meter long rail sounds impossible to you, then you've never seen Andi ride. Let's zoom forward into history, tell us about what the Austrian shred scene was like when you started boarding?
My first time on a snowboard was in 1986. There was no "scene" as today. The crazy paragliding guys from my village had just gotten their first boards to try. "Schlögl Tommy" did a frontflip before he even learned how to make his first turn. Later, by 1990, a whole lot of people started snowboarding, and they did it pretty fanatically. Even untalented riders were really fanatic. You could either be a tight-ass skier or a hang loose boarder, so all the hot chicks were boarding and all the guys did their best to impress them. Also, local contests often had over 150 participants and lots of spectators. Even bad riders still competed for the fun of it. Most were drunk!
 
What is your powder policy or approach when you come up to a cliff?
Sharing is caring. I don't mind sharing my lines with strangers. It pushes me to find new ones. As for cliffs? No problem - you can hit it first. But most times I end up having to do it.

Let Andi teach you a simple but essential trick, the poma flip. (Sorry, it's only available in German.)
What does it seem like the young guys forget when they go snowboarding these days?
The mountain.

What do the old guys complain about too much?
Worn out knees.This the very tree in Ischgl that Mike Basich had a front board slam on in the legendary 1993 movie "Creatures of Habit 3" (slam section with Ministry soundtrack!). Andi is still the only person to clear this tree ride ever. It's still there and awaits another conqueror...Does snowboard technology really matter?
On the slope and in the park, yes. In steep pow you could ride a board from 1987.

Why don't you ever wear goggles?
Goggles just suck. Always fogged, no view. They are just good to hold your beanie in place. The winter sun is not too strong so I feel best without goggles. On glaciers or in crazy storms I wear sunglasses. 

What kind of weird stunts have you been working on recently?
No great inventions this year, sorry. I'm working on "backspins", e.g. FS3 with BS1 out, or BS3 to FS1 out. Another one I'm working on bringing back is the inverted FS1 I once did. Plus I constantly look for undone grabs/tweaks, of which there are plenty.
Poma flip. Just some more shred sorcery from back in 2005. Photos by Stefan Lusser
When you build a park, what do hope to accomplish that sometimes other parks get wrong?
Make sure you have big features that are still very easy to ride, so holiday riders can get impressive photos for their memories.

Tell us about the second-hand snowboards you fix up.
I buy any snowboard for really cheap, since I love having them in my possession. I fix 'em, wax 'em, clean 'em and keep them on hand for people who can't afford new boards. So I satisfy my collecting hobby, do people a favor, plus earn my cigarette money. Triple win.
Holy shit, method/tail grab! What do you even call this trick?? Call us when you put this one in the bag, kids. Photo by Felix Pirker


Cover image by Felix Pirker