The Atmosphere Super Fashion Company is the brainchild of one of our favorite dudes in snowboarding: Chris Prosser. If you are tired of mass-produced, mass-consumed threads then Atmosphere is the brand for you. Prosser and the rest of the Atmosphere family refuse to compromise their ideals and values, as they continue to push boundaries and create their own unique vision of personal style. We paid the Atmosphere office a little visit and asked Pross some questions, and shot a little video of our tour through their office. Enjoy and make sure you do your part, support independent brands like Atmosphere!

Atmosphere, what is it about and who is behind it?
First off, let me say sorry it took this long to get back to you, things have been crazy around here to say the least. Okay, so... Atmosphere is about snowboarding, skateboarding, surfing and the whole lifestyle that surrounds those things. I know that sounds corny, and it probably is, but that's what we are doing, and that's what we are promoting. And it's probably only cheesy to say because so many other brands have said the same thing when in actuality they have other motivations. As far as who is behind it, Atmosphere is a family, and by that I mean everyone that is on "the inside" of this brand, we are all good friends.

Tell us a bit about the history of Atmosphere, how did it start, how did it evolve into what it is today?
I started making tee's and stuff when I was in like 7th grade, I would have my mom sew stripes and shit on shirts for me. Then I just worked on learning graphic design, and trying to find my style... A few years down the road, my family and I ended up in Oregon. My first day of school, first period I had screen-printing class, and just started putting all my skills and interests together. My friends Matt Quiroz and Dan Huynh would sell the tee's we made right out of their lockers, and we would take the money, get stickers made and repeat the process. Now fast forward 10 years, we are making full technical outerwear collections for men and women, along with a softgoods line and accesories. It's a trip, man.

You were once a pro shred (you even had a couple of shots in an FODT movie back in the day), why did you decide to create a streetwear/outerwear brand?
Hahaha, I guess I was... At least I was trying to be for sure. The whole time I was trying to be a pro shredder I was also doing the Atmosphere thing, I mean it was pretty mellow with the label but whatever, I was still doing it. Anyways, we were shredding this jump one time, and I was there with some of the Forum dudes, I was trying to get some shots in the movie and... Yea, I pretty much landed some hot shit and no one even broke out the cameras for me... And that's when it hit me, I was like, boom! Career change! I really focused on getting Atmosphere rolling after that.

Even your dad got involved, that's pretty rad! Tell us a bit about that.
Yep, he's the man behind the scenes, he was gonna retire but I scooped him up to come help me with this! Pops holds it down, without him I would have nothing... He makes sure all the books are lined up, works with distributors, works with overseas vendors and gets all the logistics poppin'! He makes sure people pay us, that we pay people and that pretty much everything rolls smoothly. Who else you gonna turn to but family, right?

Totally! So, where do you get your inspiration from?
The corny answer would be my "atmosphere"... But yea, that's pretty much it, that's why I love traveling so much, because you always come back with mad ideas, traveling to new places is the best. I think that so many people/brands literally paint themselves into a corner because they don't have an open mind, or their direction is too specific, but (not that this is necessarily a good or bad thing) we try our hardest not to limit ourselves in any way, shape or form. I have friends from all walks of life, from all over the planet, and I don't ever want to make anything that they can't get down with.

Who is your target audience, who would like to see rocking Atmosphere?
I don't really want Atmosphere to be that specific in the sense of "this is our target demographic", but I would like for our customers to have a "mindset" kind of thing. We like creative people, happy people, wild people, travelers, open-minded people... And it should pretty much go without saying that they participate in some of the same "sports" that we do.

Why is Atmosphere based out of Portland (Oregon), are you a local? What is it about P-Town that seems to attract some of the best and coolest heads in snowboarding? Is it the strip clubs?
Haha, I think it might be... (if you like tattoos on your babes, that is). Seriously though, not really sure to tell you the truth, I have been here for like 11 years now and I guess it's home, although that sounds weird to say. Portland's cheap, Portland's got a good music scene, Portland has good snowboarding close by, although I used to think Mt. Hood Meadows was the shit until I went to St. Moritz this past winter. My family is here and for the record, and I know people will hate me for saying this, but there are no, I mean no girls here, and that makes me want to kill myself from time to time.

You've collaborated with a bunch of artists, who are they and what criteria do you look for in people you'd like to work with?
I look for friends to collaborate with, we pretty much will not work with people unless they are friends or friends of friends. So the family connection comes first, then we look at the art.

What makes Atmosphere unique? Why should people buy your clothes?
I think Atmosphere is unique because it still has what a lot of the other "big brands" started out with. The original theory behind all these brands is for the most part the same as ours, I just think a lot of the big guys now have seriously lost touch with their "market". Atmosphere is still at that original theory, making snowboarding gear for snowboarders, and that's what we do. We have no one to answer to and do whatever we want, no board of directors, no nothing. We are creating this brand from scratch. People should buy clothes they like, and I hope they like Atmosphere.

Where in Europe can we find Atmosphere?
Right now we are selling Atmosphere in the United Kingdom, Denmark and things are being lined up as we speak for Spain, Italy, Germany, Austria, France and Switzerland... I'm not really sure about the details, I have been out of the office lately. But check the website, all the latest info on our distribution is there!

Is Atmosphere hesh or fresh?
If you want it baggy, buy it bigger. If you want it tight, buy it smaller, as far as design goes, the clothes are pretty much right in the middle.

Who is on the team?
Like I said, Atmosphere is all about family, so our "team" is thick. There are mad people on the "team", most of them I can't use their names because of "conflicting" sponsorships... See what I mean? A lot of the other brands shot people down from being on our "team", so lame... Don't worry though, all you hater team managers, your riders are still getting boxes.

The Atmosphere crew has a reputation for being party monsters, any truth to the rumor?
Hahaha, nah... Maybe from time to time. But when it's on we like to get truly down, so keep your girlfriends locked up!

If you had to describe Atmosphere in one word, which would it be?
PARTY!

And last, but certainly not least, can we get a free tee?
Address and size, please!

Check out the full line of technical outerwear and streetwear at the Atmosphere site!

Interview by TAG
Photos & video courtesy of Atmosphere