Finding our way might be the biggest challenge of our existence, and yet it can be quite a simple thing, too. Damn, that’s probably a bit too profound and heavy for this intro, but I guess seeing Emma Crosby over the last few years, and chatting with her about life lately, made me realise that.

It is inspiring to see when things come together nicely without paying too much attention to the obstacles we can come across. But where do you draw the line, exactly? How do you pick your battles? How do you make yourself feel that where you are is exactly where you belong? Some things are only important if you think they are, and that might be the key right here! It seems to me that Emma has figured that one out. It’s quite refreshing to see, and probably the reason why what we’ve seen of her over the last years is so compelling. Whether it was in movies like Salomon’s ‘Foyer’ or Bryden Bowley’s ‘Dorothy’, it’s pretty clear that Emma is bringing so much more to our snowboard realm. The riding, of course, but there’s more to it, as if she and the group of people around her were capable only of spreading tremendous good vibes around, and it shows. Whatever it is, her singular style and commitment have been tearing our screens and pages.

A question remains. Is what we see mostly how it shows, or is it genuinely authentic? Is it just the beauty of cinematography, the power of filmmaking, the editing, or some sort of bigger marketing ‘happy/cool-washing’ program that’s responsible for it? Ha! Of course, nothing is and can be so binary, especially with human beings. Add to it the fact that we often try our best to show something, and it never comes across to others as we intended to. I say, it’s probably somewhere in between, and thanks to the talent of the cinematographer and photographer she’s been hanging out with, it tends to lead more to the genuine side than the superficial other one, making it the epitome of uplifting! As we patiently wait to see what comes next, we decided to catch up with her and try to find out Emma’s way, and where and how she draws her lines.

INTERVIEW: JUSTIN DUTILH

PHOTOS: JOSEPH ROBY, WIETSE THOMAS

Hey Emma, how was your summer?

It’s been good. I feel like it’s nice to decompress a bit and stay home for longer than two weeks, you know. You get into rhythms of doing small things you really look forward to, like cooking dinner, reading a book, going for walks, catching up with your friends, biking, sewing, and more low-key stuff that helps me get mentally regulated for winter, too. I also visited my parents back home in Minnesota. 

Cool! How was growing up snowboarding in Minnesota like?

I’m from Edina, Minnesota, and I got into snowboarding because Hyland Hills was kind of in my backyard. I actually grew up ski racing because my dad is a big skier, and naturally signed me up for ski school. I would always skateboard in my garage at home, though, and when I was going up the ski lift, I would look over onto the terrain park with all the snowboarders. To me, that looked way cooler and way more fun than this ski racing stuff. My dad was really awesome, and put me in a snowboard lesson, and then I’ve just been snowboarding ever since. Dropped the skis pretty quick *laughs* I was 13 then, and growing up at Hyland was so action-packed. The tow-rope life is ingrained in you forever. It was a very exciting experience to start snowboarding in that way.

Sounds like it! And then you decided to move west, right?

Then I moved to Salt Lake City for college in 2014. I studied for four years. After that, I had a little bit more free time and started snowboarding more. Desiree (Melancon) was helpful in facilitating some more snowboarding opportunities with Salomon, and it kind of picked up from there.

So, how was it moving from the Midwest to the West? Do you miss the rope-tows a lot?

Yeah, definitely. I really miss just that high pace repetition where you can snowboard for an hour and you’re good, whereas out here it takes an hour just to get to the mountains. At the same time, it was really exciting to be in new types of terrain and try new types of snowboarding. At Hyland, you can ride a lot of rails, but jumps and powder don’t really exist there. It got me even more motivated to figure it out, I feel. Also, the season is way longer out west, so just having more time to snowboard was cool. But honestly, having a bigger community and more friends to go ride with, arriving here was really helpful. That really shifted my experience as well. Back home in Minnesota, I had some friends who snowboarded, but it just wasn’t as many. I also think the age I was when I moved to Salt Lake was the same age as so many other people who moved there to snowboard. So it kind of happened naturally, whereas in Minnesota, I didn’t really have those kinds of friends yet. Back there, there was like one other person in my entire high school who snowboarded, so I kind of kept it to myself.

Could you describe the Salt Lake City snowboard scene in just a few words?

It’s a big scene with a lot of people, a lot of black clothes, and very good snowboarding. Everyone’s talented, creative, and inspiring.

That’s cool. Was that your first impression as soon as you got there?

Yeah, it felt like I was really diving into an entirely different community, and I was super inspired. I kind of got integrated into a friend group through my roommate, whom I have now, and it was like jumping in the deep-end and being immersed with the snowboard culture of Salt Lake City. It was super inspiring. I’m really glad that I moved out here at the time that I did. It really helped my career, and it made the shift in my mind where I was like, “Okay, this is something I want to do, and I feel like I’m in the right place for it.”

I imagine you started to go more and more into the backcountry to ride and shoot. What are you looking forward to when you go session the mountains, there?

I always loved jumping, which is kind of funny, coming from Minnesota. But I love how different it feels compared to being at home. Something about being in the backcountry is that you’re outside and immersed in the elements. You can’t drive and get a coffee or go to the bathroom easily. You’re out there. There’s something really special about that, because you’re just one with the elements. That creates a different energy for you to navigate and experience. 

Yeah, there’s not as many distractions as filming in the streets, I guess.

No, and you’re just like, there, and you have to be prepared and ready too, which feels cool. It’s just really nice to be outside and pack your lunch, and just be settled in the mountains. 

Do you manage to bring a low-pressure, friendly-park shredding vibe out there?

Yeah, I think it’s quite similar than park riding. The cool thing about being in the backcountry is that even if you don’t get a clip, and more often than not you don’t, at the end of the day, you get home and you’re like: “Wow, I just spent 12 hours outside hiking in snow with my friends.” That’s pretty remarkable. And the fact that we do it for a job is insane and awesome. So yeah, it’s the same vibe, you’re just hanging out with your friends, whether it be outside in the mountains, on the ropes, or at a street spot, that’s what you rely on, your friends, your dynamic, and the trust in one another. 

Sounds like the way to go! In the past, you’ve mentioned that personality and character were more important than the snowboarding talent of a rider. Can you elaborate on that?

Yeah, it’s funny that I said that. I think style is always something that’s an inspiration to me. How people choose to hit a spot or snowboard on or what kind of music they snowboard to, or how they choose to do a trick is really inspiring to me, and something that I’ve always been driven by. It’s fun to be able to say: “Oh, I like this person who does it this way, because I like how they do it, or whatever.” 

I totally agree, I would not be doing my job if I had to shoot and publish people who all look alike.

And that’s the cool part, too. What you think looks good, someone else might not feel looks good. And that’s the whole art of it and how people express themselves.

Well, it’s a real pleasure to see you rip more and more every year! Are you proud of what you’ve become today? 

Thank you. Yeah, I think every year you gain more experience and more confidence in yourself. No matter what, I can look back and see that I’ve gotten better at snowboarding, and I’m excited to keep doing that and keep feeling like that. It’s probably something I will feel forever, you know, that I want to keep getting better. But yeah, I’m proud of what I’ve been able to do, but I’m also excited to keep learning and getting better. I wanna be making more video parts that I’m proud of and keep building off my own experiences.

Yeah, and there’s probably something a bit more subtle about pride and progression, especially when you consider personality more important than talent. How do you actually progress as a person? 

Yes, it’s a great point and interesting to think about and talk about. As people grow, they take their experience and try to be better as people, you know. Be a better friend, a better sibling, or a better daughter for me, and I think that kind of goes into snowboarding as well. I want to be able to go on a snowboard trip and be there for the people around me, and be there for myself, too, with a really good mindset and attitude. I think that’s like a big inspiration for me to thrive. It’s really closely linked to snowboarding well, too. If you’re able to find this mindset of being the best person that you can, it also elevates your snowboarding naturally because of the energy that you’re giving to everybody.

There’s how you are and how you look, too. Having so many cameras pointing at you now, do you try to inspire others in what you do and how it shows? Do you think of that?

Not too much. The biggest thing that I try to do is live my life and snowboard. I feel like I never think too much about the cameras or anything like that. It’s more so how I want to snowboard that day, or what I want to snowboard on, you know, on more of a chill scale.

You focus on what you do, that’s good. And then there’s the editing. The way you show in the film depends on that and stuff like songs or clips that are chosen and such. Do you ever get involved in the editing, or do you want to? 

I’ve been working with Bryden for three years now, and it’s awesome, because I really trust him to edit and choose music and portray me in a way that feels authentic to me. Because that’s part of it as well, you can snowboard, but it’s how Bryden sees things. And there are still definitely times when I’m like, “Dude, I look crazy in that clip, or lifey or whatever. Can we swap it with something else?” And he’s always down. But ultimately, with Bryden it’s been a privilege, because I trust him, he makes a great video, and I’m really proud to be a part of that. I’m proud to be someone that he likes to create with. But it would be cool down the line to keep that door open for creativity for my own editing, or whatever it may be.

About inspiring others through films, photos, or whatever, I feel that usually, people become true models or icons without really planning it, kind of naturally. What are your thoughts on this, and how are you living your ‘fame’ situation?

I think about who I looked up to as a kid, and I was really inspired by Desiree and MFR (Marie France Roy) and how they snowboarded. Obviously, you didn’t have as much accessibility to people and how their lives were through Instagram as much as today. I feel like you can get a little bit more insight into who people are now. Back then, I was really inspired by people for being authentically themselves and snowboarding how they want to snowboard, and being powerful. So I just try to live like that and be myself, and hopefully the rest will follow. If there are people who are inspired by that, and if it happens to just a couple of people, I’m stoked. That’s really the goal and would be amazing to have it come full circle like that.

Yeah, it also seems like you don’t overthink it too much, which is good.

Yeah, that is kind of nice.

How’s your imposter syndrome going these days?

Yeah, the imposter syndrome is always through the roof, and so high and present. The last two years, we’ve gone on a couple of trips with Louif (Paradis), and even just being there, you’re like: “This is crazy. What am I doing here? I don’t deserve to be here or whatever”. You have this battle in your mind where you try not to go down that hole. You deserve to be here and should try to enjoy it. This is where staying present and being grateful for what’s happening helps. So I try my best to keep those thoughts down and bury it.

Yeah, I guess it’s only feelings in the end. They exists if you make them exist, kind of. 

Exactly, you don’t want to give it too much power.

Is the confidence in the sense of belonging getting better then?

Yeah, I think so, for sure. I think the more time you’re in a space, the more you feel comfortable being there, and that kind of dictates it for sure.

That’s nice to hear. As a proud queer snowboarder, can you elaborate on that sense of belonging and how you’ve been dealing with it growing up as a person and a snowboarder?

Yeah, I feel like that kind of ties back to what we were talking about earlier. When I was able to move to Salt Lake, have more queer friends, see it and experience firsthand the queer community, which is very big and welcoming here, opened my mind to be like: “Okay, if I’m comfortable in this area, I’m also now getting more confidence in other areas of my life, like creativity, clothes, and music”. Being queer has also allowed me to be way more creative and excited. It kind of has this domino effect on other areas of your life. The snowboard community is obviously predominantly straight males, but the piece that is queer folks is also really important and a really strong one that makes you feel seen and heard. It’s like a small piece of my life that has now become a big piece that goes into all different types of confidence in different places. It’s nice to feel that I’m fully myself. And that has come with time, but also with the community that I found in Salt Lake.

Do you think it would have been a lot different if you were still in the Midwest?

I have no idea what my life would look like if I had stayed home. I’d like to think that no matter what, I would have ended up in at least a similar position that I’m in now with my queerness and with my confidence in all these areas of life. But I think it would have taken way, way, way longer. I think moving here has really allowed me to open up this new life that feels like I’m actually myself. It’s all tied together with snowboarding, my friends, and Salt Lake City as a community. Everything that I love and wanted to do was here, and there was also this added layer where I was like: “Oh, and you have a queer community, the art community, the music, and hiking!” All of these other areas of life are thriving, and you can take part in them all, and it has really blossomed for me. Minnesota is a great place, and I love it so much, but I think what I needed in life was presented to me in Salt Lake, and really allowed for everything to fall into place after that. I’m talking about all of those things that happened for me and brought me where I am now with snowboarding. That definitely wouldn’t have happened if I had stayed home.

How would you say the snowboarding community participated in that process of building your identity, and why is it so important?

I feel like, once you can see yourself in other people, then you have an idea of maybe how to move. You can be successful and be you, and having our crew with Jill (Perkins), Desiree, and Kennedi (Deck), for example, has been immensely powerful for me. Just 

having friends you can talk to about shared experiences goes so far that it makes you feel like you’re normal and you know, just like everybody else. And it’s important to have friends who are also professional snowboarders who are also doing it, and you just feel like: “Okay, this is us, let’s do this together.” 

Yeah, I imagine it makes you feel strong, or stronger.

Yeah, absolutely.

Why is it important to promote yourself not just as a snowboarder, but also being out there knowing that sexual orientation or sexual identity is such a personal and intimate part of everyone?

If you can see yourself in other people who have more of a spotlight, then you have more confidence to be yourself as well. I think that the most important thing is just to be authentically you. So if people identify with you, they might find the space and the confidence to do the same. It’s obviously a little bit hard in the States right now, but luckily for the most part these days, it’s normal. It’s been more normalized and more okay.

What place do you want it to be as a snowboarder, though? Is it something you really want to emphasise with so much of it being about personality and how you present yourself in photos, videos, or even this interview?

Yeah, it’s hard to find a balance. I always want to be a snowboarder and a supporter like everybody else, get on this spot, talk bullshit, and where I want this jump to be or whatever, but at the same time, I want to be a voice for people to find themselves in. If people read about this, align, feel close to me, and maybe are inspired by my story, then that’s cool. It’s cool to be different, but you can exist as a snowboarder who has accolades for being a snowboarder and also share light into the queer community. I think that’s just as important. We can have a scene that is less divided, and that’s something that I hope to carry as well.

Yeah, for sure, how do you see the level of representation and inclusivity in the snowboard world today? 

You know what, this is a hard question, because inclusivity levels are an ever-evolving thing that always needs to be checked and looked at. It’s great that I can have, what, five gay friends in the snowboard world that are like my close friends. That’s pretty amazing. I think there can always be more. If you look at a team and it’s fifty-fifty, that’s powerful and a hard number to achieve. But it’s inspiring to look around and see how many covers women have gotten in the last three years, all these inspiring video parts coming out, and primarily non-male, you know. There are so many different types of snowboarding, and groups of snowboarders, and I think that there can absolutely always be more. But I think where we’re at right now is a good step in the right direction.

I checked Method’s Instagram insights before our chat, and we have an 88% male audience. I’m not saying our followers are the entire snowboard community, but it’s definitely an information, right? Knowing how it’s heavily leaning towards a majority of males, and mostly straight, I imagine, do you see it as crucial to have it more equally balanced, or should we concentrate mostly on getting better at including people from minority groups?

I think that metric kind of makes sense. This is a huge thing that’s hard to begin to talk about or have all the answers to, especially for me individually. Let’s say you show more, I think that would help, maybe change the metric a bit, but ultimately, it’s a bigger issue than that. There are many reasons why your audience is a high majority of men but, for example, the people who can afford snowboards, have accessibility, survives and thrives off the snowboard environment, in itself, are males. In order to change this, we have to go way back to the basics and work on making snowboarding more accessible, and how to get different types of people snowboarding. This is where I feel that the conversation should go, rather than Instagram metrics, right? How do we then get more people involved in snowboarding who look different and who aren’t in that metric?

That said, I would imagine that the more content of female, non-binary, or people of colour, there is, would also change the interest of people who identify similarly to those who follow the account and what’s being posted, because they like to see themselves in that as well.

Yeah, for sure! We do it as much as possible, whether it’s online or in print. One day, we’d love to only focus on publishing what we think is the raddest of snowboarding at the moment, period, and not think of that, but for now, it’s definitely important to shift our focus a bit. The truth is, even if we’re super keen to push a bunch of different people, we see less content coming from minority groups, so we have to juggle with that. How do you think the snowboard industry could deal with this in better ways?

The work that you guys have done for print is definitely super important. With the different interviews and the covers, I feel that the representation is absolutely there. I understand there are reasons for everything, and for both sides, as a snowboarder, a brand, or a magazine. There are so many groups of people who have never had a proper photographer or videographer with them. And that goes a long way if you have an amazing photographer on a trip. Take “Seen” snowboarding or “Sensesse”, how can you get a great photographer on the road with them? They don’t have the budget for that. Mikaela (Kautzky) is a great photographer, and I don’t want to diminish that by any means, but she’s also filming and creating the whole project. Maybe that would be a good place to start. Try to prioritise these different types of people getting access to great filmers or great photographers. 

Yes, it’s such a crucial point, and I hope to see some progression here. How do you think every snowboarder could get better at making people feel more included and comfortable?

Even the smallest things, like introducing yourself to people, go a long way. Just saying hi and trying to make more friends outside of your bubble, you know. Then, showing support in specific community snowboard days, activities, or events that may happen, like a Pride festival, and showing up as an ally for your friends there is good too. You can also try to sit and listen to the struggles other people may face and make them feel seen and heard. You can begin to maybe understand some of the difficulties they may face. 

These are good, simple tips, thank you. And by doing this, it doesn’t mean that you’ll make others be in a total safe space, right?

Yeah, I think that’s just something to know. However, you may choose to move with different people; you’ll never be someone who fully understands them, and that’s okay. You won’t completely understand where they’re coming from, and they probably won’t behave fully themselves with you or feel fully safe, seen, and heard, and I think that’s okay. So just to recognise that where I’m coming from is different than where you’re coming from and be thoughtful is a huge step.

To some extent, most people don’t feel fully safe enough to be fully themselves with everyone, so we can all understand that, I think. How does the actual political and social environment of the US make you feel right now? 

It’s super gnarly. It feels really scary, and you feel helpless and hopeless. I don’t know how we’ll get out of this. I don’t know how this will impact the world for the next years. It’s just a really sad time. Yesterday, there was a shooting at a school in Minneapolis right down the street from my parents’ house. You wake up to that news every day. If something hasn’t affected you, it will soon, and it’s just scary. I feel scared and worried. Yeah, it’s not fun.

Do you find support around you and within your community?

It’s hard because I feel like you do feel hopeless. My friends and I have gone to plenty of protests and rallies. We’ve done what we can and voted, but at a certain point, you just feel like the political environment outweighs everything, and everything you try to do ultimately feels like it doesn’t matter. So oftentimes, you can just seek help and mental comfort with your friends. There have been plenty of days when we feel really upset and sad, and go outside and just go for a walk. That’ll help us a bit and make us feel a bit better to just hang out in our safe space. 

Do you feel more insecure now than before, then? 

It’s scary to be a gay person now, and I can only imagine how other types of individuals feel. I would imagine they feel just the same way, you know, anyone who’s not straight and white. So it’s important now more than ever before to still be yourself and speak up for what you think is right. We’ll never conform to the realities that the political parties are trying to push you into. That’s all I can do now, to continue to push and stand up for what I believe in, and be myself.

Well, Emma, thanks for sharing these experiences and what’s on you’re mind. Very nice chatting with you. To end this on a more positive note, how about you share with us what inspires you in snowboarding these days and what you’re looking forward to.

Yeah, thanks for including me and for this interview! Something that’s inspiring to me is just seeing different types of people snowboarding. I’m really inspired by Sensesse. I’m really inspired by Seen snowboarding, by my friends, Jill, Kennedy, Desiree, Savannah (Shinske). I’m really excited to see Sierra’s (Forchheimer) footage in the new DustBox video, because I haven’t been able to see her snowboard a whole lot. I want to see what Iris (Pham) snowboarded on, too. It’s just exciting to see those types of people snowboard, and that’s what I’m really inspired by and would love to see more of. I would also love to see different groups like Sensesse emerge and stuff like that.