You recently became an American citizen. What was the process like? Was it hard, and how long did it take?

Yeah, it was hard and long and a lot of paperwork, but basically, I got my green card
10 years ago. It was expiring, so instead of just renewing it, I just took it upon myself to become a US citizen, which means you have be tested on US history, along with a lot of
other paperwork. You have 100 questions to study, and then at the interview, they ask you 10 of those 100, so you have to know the answer to all 100 questions.

 Damn.

So yeah, I studied a lot of US history the past six months, and along with that, you
have to get all your biometrics and fingerprints and things like that done. And then once you pass your test, you have an oath ceremony, where you get sworn in as a citizen and have to do the pledge of allegiance and what not.

 What's the coolest thing you learned about American history that you remember?

Oh, man. Susan B. Anthony fought for women's rights.

 What is the biggest difference between a New Zealand accent and an Australian accent? A lot of times in the US, people are probably like, "Oh, you're from Australia." Am I correct?

98% of the time, people go with Australia first. I would say the biggest thing is the twang in the vowels. An Australian accent just has a little more twang to it, and New Zealand is maybe a little more mellow. But New Zealand accents are different throughout the country too, and my accent has mellowed out a lot because of being in the US for 10 + years. But yeah, the twang.

Correct me if I'm wrong, in an Australian accent, the letter O, almost sounds more like an R to me. That's how I hear Australian, and I don't hear that in New Zealand.

Yeah, yeah, I think so, but the letter R, for me, is like, "Ahhh." The hardest name for me to say, is Parker.

What is the thing that you miss most about New Zealand when you're in the States?

Well, obviously, my family, but that's a boring answer, so I'm going to have to say just the mellow, laid-back lifestyle. It's a little less hustle and bustle and just chill over there.

 Best part about living in Mammoth Lakes, California?

Just being around mountains, lakes, and forests is my favorite. I just live outside, and so that's the reason I live there, the access to the outdoors is at your doorstep. That's my favorite part of it. Summer and winter, it's very accessible.

What does your perfect day in the backcountry look like? Meaning, would it be bluebird and sunny, with tons of pow, and would you ride some lines? Or would you build a jump? Or would it be cloudy, storm boarding, free refills?

Well, my new perfect day in the backcountry is showing up at 7:00 AM to a parking lot
with a snowmobile. A bluebird day with a lot of powder and riding jumps is for sure my favorite.

You know what the most nervous part of a day of snowmobiling is for me?

Loading it up in the truck?

 Exactly.

Yes.

Getting the sled up in the truck and getting the sled out of it. If I can do those two without breaking anything, it's a super successful day to me.

Yeah, I was nervous every time I did it. And Sam Taxwood lent me his whole setup
so i really didnt want to break anything.

 Damn, so you had it all.

I had it all, and it was not mine.

You've probably heard the horror stories and seen the YouTube videos of people driving their sleds up onto the roof of someone's truck and it falling off?

Yeah, and Sam just got his back window fixed because he smashed into it, so I was like,
"I'm not doing that." I’m a beginner sledder, and I was like, "I've never even unloaded or loaded before."

To you, who is the most influential women's backcountry rider of all time?

Kimmy Fasani. She introduced me to the mountains in the summer and in the winter, and
so she's my absolute role model in all backcountry riding aspects.

What is the most impressive thing you've ever seen Scott Blum do on a snowboard?

So many things.  He can do any handplant any time, in any conditions. Actually, okay, here's my answer: Scott handplanting with a cigarette in between his fingers.

That's a good one. How did you first hear about the Armada thing? Was it when we contacted you, or had you heard before that?

I heard about Danimals signing on, which I didn't know if it was a rumor or not. And
there was so much talk about who are going to be the women on the team throughout the summer. It was pretty crazy when Tanner hit me up and wanted to chat, I was pretty surprised. So yeah, I guess through the rumors that Danimals was on was the first time.

What was the tipping point? What made you say, "Yeah, I'm going to sign onto this thing. This sounds cool?"

The people involved, for sure. You, Tanner, Danimals, Mike, Phipps, Alek, Ivika. Just the people involved and the opportunities. For me, it's a cool way to dive deeper into learning more about everything too, which is fun, like developing boards and just being a part of that process is all new to me.

Awesome, and I want to talk a little bit about the testing process too, because that's something that a snowboard brand hasn't done in a long time. Starting with Loon.

Yeah, I had never been to Loon before. It was really sick. We also got to test the boards out in a lot of different snow settings. The engineers were with us which I think is a huge part of being able to develop a perfect board, being able to give feedback in the moment. And I think it's probably something that maybe isn’t done enough in snowboarding, riding in person with engineers that are making these boards for you. I think it was a really positive, awesome trip, and so fun to connect with the team for the first time.

Tanner and I were joking that we went back east and got pow and then we went to Utah and got slush. How was the Pow Mow trip, because it was a different vibe and we were testing some different boards.

It was cool. It was really fun to connect with Alek again after many years and see him
riding. He's such a great rider and so fun to watch. We got pretty much sunny park conditions, which luckily, Pow Mow had an epic park. I think we were pretty productive photo-video-wise with the conditions we had, too. And yeah, it was just a cool way to test out everything again in different conditions and dial in the boards.

With all the stuff you're doing with R&D, and being super honed-in on the next generation of backcountry riders, who are a couple riders that you're really hyped on right now that are coming up in the scene?

I would say the Pelchat sisters. I love their style of riding and enjoy that they ride a little
bit of everything. Ellery Manning and Mia Jones too. They're both solid riders, and I feel like they're going to have a successful future because they are both such strong riders.

Was it your decision to work with Bella Jayne for the Do-Si-Do graphic? And did you think the graphic would be so popular when you first saw it? 

It was Josh Menoles who came up with the graphic idea and is friends with Bella. So those two are the creative ones who made it happen. I had a feeling people would love it because it’s more than just a graphic on a snowboard. It tells a story and stands out. The response has been incredible and I’m excited to see it in the wild because it is so bright and different.  

 What in your eyes makes a good snowboard? 

Stable but playful. Not to narrow where your feet drag. Heaps of pop and a little bit of kick in the nose so you can stomp, carve, hold and edge and hit rails. There was so much attention to detail what went into the production of the Do-Si-Do.  

What kind of rider would go out and enjoy the Do-Si-Do? 

Everyone, that was the whole point behind the design of this board I didn’t want to make it too aggressive for the weekend warrior but I wanted to make it stable and good enough to be able to ride on the backcountry, streets or in the park. So, it really is good for anyone and everyone and I made sure to test it in all conditions with everyone in mind.