Every now and then we like to sit down for a good a movie and no, I ain't talkin' about porn this time! Well, maybe more like snowboard porn, raw shredding which can get some people (guilty as charged...) as aroused as the stuff on sale at the shady "video" store down the street.

This time we’re having a chat with the man responsible for some of the most chubby-inducing footage of the last few seasons: Pierre Minhondo. "Uh, who?", you might be asking yourself... Well, Pierre and the rest of the People crew have thrown together such shred-tastic gems as Down With People and We’re People Too. So we decided that we (and of course you as well, dear reader) wanted to know more about what it’s like to be a (snowboard) smut peddler.

Hi Pierre, how are you doing and can you tell us something about yourself?

Busy but good, thanks! Let’s see, something about myself… I am a Leo and it’s taken me about a year to finish this interview.

What’s up with MDP and all the different projects?

Well, to start off, Down With People was our last movie under the Mack Dawg Productions umbrella. We have split ways with MDP but we are continuing to make PEOPLE movies under our own company called People Creative. Let me say though that working for Mack Dawg Productions was a great experience for me. I learned a lot working for Mike and I’m proud of the movies that we made for them. Well, I’m proud of We’re People Too and Down With People, I botched the first one I think. I don’t like it, at least, haha. Anyway, Mike McEntire is continuing Mack Dawg Productions with a new documentary on Peter Line, due out this fall. So I started a new company with my co-director called People Creative and we are currently directing another PEOPLE movie, called Nice Try, which is due out in the fall as well.

What are you thoughts and opinions on your previous efforts and what will be different about the new movie?

We’re People Too I think had a really good feeling to it. Looking back, I could have made a few changes but in general I think it was a fun movie to watch. Overall, it was a really good year for us, Austin Smith had an amazing part, he won Rookie of the Year and Video Part of the Year at the Transworld Rider's Poll Awards. That was pretty awesome. Jordan Mendenhall’s part was so good that year too, and since he started off the movie I think it really set the tone for the rest of the parts. I think a lot of snowboarders responded really well to the movie, at least that’s what I heard. It was really nice to have a good response since I fucking hated the first PEOPLE movie, it had no personality... So yeah, that first PEOPLE movie fucking sucked, so like I said, it was nice to finish We’re People Too and be stoked on a year's worth of effort again. My thoughts and opinions on Down With People? I like it now, but I hated it when I sent it out to get duplicated. I thought it sucked. When I edit, I suck at life... I drop everything else in the world and just focus on editing the movie. That might seem good, but it’s not. I watch the footage thousands of times, nit-picking every little thing, and with Down With People I kinda felt like I was going crazy by the time I finished it. So yeah, for the first month I hated it, then I went to the premiere after not watching it for a month and now I can look at it and say that I like it. I think the new movie Nice Try will be different from the past two movies. The goal for me is to make a video that makes you wanna go snowboard. I hope those are the type of movies that I make, and I want to continue making that type of movie but change a few things up for sure. I’ll definitely try and continue adding a lot of personality and a good soundtrack. I hate when snowboard movies don’t have personality in them. I hate that. I wanna know who the riders are and I wanna see them interacting with each other, that’s part of the fun of watching a snowboard movie.

Will you be coming up with a new lineup of riders?

Yeah, we have a lot of new riders in the film this year. Austin Smith and Jordan Mendenhall are both hurt and had knee surgery this summer, so they might be back soon but don’t expect full parts. The rest of the crew is: Seth Huot, Brian Fox, Wille Yli-Luoma, Louie Fountain, Zac Marben, Jon Kooley, Curtis Ciscek, Robbie Walker, Eiki Helgasson, Shaun McKay, Will Tuddenham, Jonas Carlson, Josh Mills, Ricky Tucker, Lucas Debari & Max Baillargeon.

How has the season a la snow been for you until now?

I’ve been working a lot with Jon Kooley, Seth Huot, Will Tuddenham, Zac Marben and Eiki Helgasson this year. We’ve been having a good season minus a few injuries. Kooley and Will both got fucked up on the same rail at the same session. Jon got hurt first, we drove him to the emergency room and dropped him off. Then we went back to the rail with just Will and Zac. Five tries into trying his trick, Will slips off on this big kink, right before the flat part, lands super hard on his ass in the center of the kink and completely breaks the flat part off. The rail was solid steel, Will weighs like 150 pounds (68 kg) and somehow he broke the fucking rail off its welds, then rams into the next down part cause there was no flat part in the middle of the kink anymore. It was super crazy and Will thought he had a broken rib, so we went back to the hospital. Both those guys got hurt bad in a matter of two hours during the same session on the same rail. Weird. But besides that, it’s been a good season for me. I’ve heard a lot of the other guys are having a rough season. I haven’t seen anyone’s footage other than the riders in my crew, so I’m not really sure how everyone else is doing, haha. I probably should though...

What gear do you use and do you have any tips for up-and-coming filmers?

As far as gear goes, I use a Panasonic HVX camera to shoot most things these days, Bogen and Manfrotto tripods, a smaller Sony camera for certain shots and behind-the-scenes footage, and that’s about it. My backpack is pretty light these days in comparison to when I dragged around a digital camera, a 16mm camera, a super 8 camera, all the lenses for those three cameras, as well as all the film. I’d say I’ve lost about 25 to 30 pounds off my back. As for any tips... I think a lot of this "business" is all about who you are as a person, and then comes talent and your technical ability. Who you are, how you interact with riders, friends, industry people, companies, etc... If people can’t work with you, you are going to go nowhere. If you are able to learn, progress, and be open-minded to meet new people and gain new experiences, I think that is what will push you to “make it” in this industry.

How do you like traveling as part of your job, dealing with customs, lost luggage, etc?

I love traveling from December to April. Well, maybe till March. I guess it depends on the year. I love traveling in that time-frame, because it’s all new again. I anxiously await the filming season, so when December hits it’s go time and you're out the door for months. Then when April hits I pretty much want to kill myself because I haven’t seen my girlfriend in months, I haven’t unpacked my bag for months, I smell and all I wanna do is spend some time at home for more than 20 minutes. I guess I kinda sound like a bitch there. I do get to travel around the world filming my friends ride their snowboard down a hill… So who am I to complain, right? Although, I could complain about Canadian customs for another hour, but I won’t.

What is it like to film with such a versatile crew of shreds?

In my opinion, the riders that I work with are the most interesting, talented and unique personalities in snowboarding. They aren’t some cookie-cutter rich kids with nothing to say, they speak their mind and they do things their own way. I love the fact that I get to work with this group and call them my friends.

What do you think about tricks getting bigger and bigger?

I don’t know, man. It’s pretty crazy, the progression of everything. Especially on the street side of things, tricks are progressing so quickly. What was hard last year is just a normal trick this year. Progression is good and all but when it comes down to it, I’d rather watch someone with style spin a FS 3 on a 20-foot jump then some fucking contest dude spin a 1440 on a 250-foot jump.

What do the riders think about filming with People?
I hope they think it’s a good time.

What equipment do you use to edit the movies?

A lot of love, ingenuity and Apple computers running Final Cut Pro and After Effects.

What do you like about snowboarding (and what do you dislike ?)

Wow, I could write a lot about this subject... But I'd probably bore you guys to tears.

And finally. what do you like about your job and how did you get started directing movies?

What do I like about my job? I like everything about my job. But I am human, so I have days where I hate everything about my job... Still, when it comes down to it, I think I have the best job in the world!

Interview by: Edgar Lanting
Photos courtesy of : MDP People / Mark Welsh