“Style is something that just is. You can’t try to achieve it. When you try to do something, you’ve lost the essence of that style. In the process of developing mine… what came out was my own interpretation.” – Jamie Lynn
The year (and life) of Jamie Lynn continues. And as the man is far from a self-promotional type, we’re glad that the likes of Asymbol and Lib Tech and now Snowboard Magazine are putting him on camera, getting him to open up of what amounts to a quarter century-plus of unparalleled style and un-inhibited personality, both on and off the slope.
Jamie is the sort of snowboarder that is not only interesting in what he has to say — that is, when he is willing to say it — but inspiring all the same.
What makes him so inspiring? He began snowboarding and continues snowboarding for the singular sake of snowboarding. It was an expression for him, and while the money and fame allowed him to travel the world, he never reveled in the spotlight. That simply wasn’t his style. So when main sponsors Lib Tech and Volcom more or less exempted him of that commercial accountability, he breathed easy: “There wasn’t a shit-ton of responsibility other than to go ride powder, have a good time, and enjoy snowboarding. And to be released from the responsibility I carried all those years, of being put on the spot and having to perform. Fuck, that was a weight that I carried for decades. Once that was gone, I could just snowboard. You know how liberating that felt?”
Another liberation that Jamie has incurred through his exploration of expressiveness would be a tremendous love for art and music. Residing in Seattle, Washington, Jamie spends days skating, much like he did growing up, but since his days as a young shop rat in the cityhe has found additional freedom in the form of spray painting…
…and jamming out.
Anyway, I’m glad to see him doing what Jamie Lynn has done and continues to do so damn well: live life. It is a skill we should all be so lucky to be better at.
