“Boss Huot (@sethhuot) presses proper.” Photo: The Spot | @_thespot_
There has always been a do-it-yourself spirit in snowboarding, and when snow is scarce in the pre-season, that spirit gets amplified. For the past thirteen years, Jeremy Jones and his crew have hiked into the woods to get their legs, bodies, and minds ready for winter. In the last few years, the area and concept they call The Spot has gone mainstream. A dialed setup of rails and log jibs has led to video parts, photos, and magazine articles, and while a recent partnership with Brighton Resort has added some “legitimacy” to The Spot, the DIY ethos remains the same.
“@jeremy___jones chills while @therealjp thrills #thespotbrighton” Photo: The Spot | @_thespot_
I reached out to Jeremy Jones for some more info about how The Spot got started and how it’s evolved over the years, and he was kind enough to answer. Maybe I should have asked if I could be initiated into the crew while I was at it?
Where did the idea for The Spot come from and who was in the original crew?
Thirteen years ago, JP Walker, Seth Huot, Mitch Nelson, and myself started the whole concept. Back then it wasn’t a concept though — it was just us trying to snowboard as soon as we could while we patiently waited for the resorts to open. It slowly modified into an actual Spot. We would keep everything tuned up and running smooth, and build new rails to hike in a mile into the woods in the fall. We even started building wood shelters so we could hang all day with lunch breaks and just keep shredding.
“Good times this Spot season!” Photo: The Spot | @_thespot_
What happened to the original Spot. You had some issues with it getting torn down, right?
The Canyon Police destroyed our original spot three years ago, two different times within a two-week period. We got the point and hit up Brighton to colab with us, they were down, and the last two seasons, this being the third, we have been doing it and cross promoting it with Brighton. It works for them and it works for us. It’s been a great relationship and The Spot is running all-time right now!
How has The Spot changed from when you first started it to now?
I guess it’s just evolved with our snowboarding. We always have the “double line”, consisting of 2 straight rails, a 20-foot and a 22-foot fat pipe. We have the warm up rail, The 15, and we have the QP and the The Kink (The Beast). Those have always been in the line-up, one way or another. We would try different build-outs and gaps made of logs, “flat bars to drops” Etc.
“Who’s gonna be the first to get a Shirtless 270 clip up on the @brightonresort #shirtless2thespot? The Bosses are going to roll out the red carpet for the winner and give an experience you won’t ever forget! Don’t slack or we are going to send the prospects out to crack the whip! Haha! Get them clips up and tag it!” Photo: The Spot | @_thespot_
Now we have a regular line-up and it’s always pimped and running perfect. Above it, in the trees we have The Village — it’s all BMX-style zone built with rhythm sections, s-turn berms, log jams, spines, and hips. It’s insane.
“Prospect @chris_grenier has been on fire at The Spot, shred, shovel, perch, pack mule and all round terrorizer! #thespotbrighton” Photo: The Spot | @_thespot_
How much work do you have to put in, maintaining and building features at The Spot?
It’s so much work to keep it running, but it’s epic for the pre-season. It gets us used to the workload that the regular season delivers: hours and hours of shoveling and stacking snow, and ripping it down.
What’s your favorite aspect of having a pre-season training/warm up zone like The Spot?
I like that I am in a closed setting and can rip with my best friends. We film each other, warm our tricks up, and sniff out our new ideas for tricks, under ZERO pressure to come through. The best thing is we have been running an Instagram account and post a daily photo from The Spot. It really seems to get people hyped to snowboard and go DIY style in the early season. It’s pretty sick. We have been really stoked on The Spot and are more stoked than ever about it.
Screenshot: Instagram
You don’t have to be friends with one of the heaviest crews of pro snowboarders to create your own Spot, or version of it. Snowboarding is all about that DIY spirit. Get out there early and you’ll be glad you put a little grease on the wheels when the season gets going.
To keep up with what’s happening at The Spot, follow their Instagram account. And be sure to follow JP Walker, Jeremy Jones, and Seth Huot, as well as 2014 Prospects Chris Grenier and Alex Andrews.
