Image courtesy of Stewart Smith

agr: Stewart, what was the first thing you did when you got up?
Stewart Smith: Hopped on ichat and Facebook.

agr: What are your thoughts on Facebook: all aboard or sketchy?
Stewart Smith: It’s a little sketchy…but you gotta have someway to get in touch with people you’re not really around anymore… I guess I’m down with it

agr: Is it good for meeting babes?
Stewart Smith: Not a chance. Haha.

agr: Hmm. That is too bad. How are the babes in Michigan?
Stewart Smith: Just not quite up to par with the ones down south or Cali or wherever…The hot ones go where it’s warm…Not here.

agr: They sure as hell don’t come over to my house. But we don’t need to get all depressed. How is the snowboarding and stuff in Michigan?
Stewart Smith: It’s good. If you’re stoked on rather small park features and just lapping it all day long its real fun. Big jumps and powder are nonexistent. Probably why kids kill rails around here. It’s fun though, has a real good vibe.

agr: What else are you up to in MI?
Stewart Smith: At the moment, we’re doing a lot of skating. I’m working on our teaser for our video this year. And going to school and work, it’s busy for sure.

Fresh Air Fridays! Black Friday! from Stewart Smith on Vimeo.

agr: What’s going on with school?
Stewart Smith: I’m doing a Liberal Arts Associates program and then transferring to Grand Valley State University to study film for my undergraduate’s degree.

agr: Nicccceeeeeeee. I should have done that; the babes are all about art degrees, huh?
Stewart Smith: For sure. Engineers don’t get any…it’s all about the artsy types, ha!

agr: So you do the snowboarding stuff, and the film stuff, those seem to go hand in hand sometimes eh?
Stewart Smith: Yeah all the time. I love anything related to filming. I work for a company that produces wedding videos. I’ll go film skating, wakeboarding. Snowboarding is the best for sure though, just because it bridges the two things I love the most.

Image courtesy of Stewart Smith

agr: Weddings? Nice man. That is a good place for babes. So tell me a little about Fresh Air.
Stewart Smith: Fresh Air is the company that our crew started up last year. Our first project was a elf titled release that was filmed and edited by Ryan Wonfor and myself. This year Ryan and I sort of went our separate ways with filming to do our own things, so now it’s just me with the assistance of some friends to help edit and such. Its good, we have a really good vibe going to bring you some next level riding from unheard of kids in Michigan

agr: Tell me a story from filming?
Stewart Smith: Our Minnesota trip this year. We headed out to film rails in mid January. When we got there it was -10 degrees or colder throughout our entire trip. We had three riders and myself. One got hurt after three tries at the first rail we went to. Then he got sick and just chilled the rest of the trip. Well, over the next two days, Josh got down on a bunch of stuff and got a ton of shots. Erik spent two days trying to get this shot on the green elbow kink rail. It was difficult. So Cold! And then to top it off we all got sick from Tommy being sick, and had the flu for a week and a half after we got back. It was successful but just such a bummer at the same time.

agr: What are the plans for getting the video out to the people?
Stewart Smith: We’re not entirely sure yet. But I’m looking into doing a $2 or so download online and also releasing some hard copies here in Michigan for $10 or so.

agr: Why should Carhartt-wearing-I-won’t-go-out -unless-there-is-10-feet-of-fresh-shredders check out Fresh Air?
Stewart Smith: Because we bring more fun to the scene than anyone else. Midwest is best.

agr: So you guys don’t have any heli shots?
Stewart Smith: Nope. Not quite on that level.

Image courtesy of Stewart Smith

agr: I guess that’s okay. Why is it that snowboarders struggle so much to appreciate different styles of riding (i.e. why so much hate on the message boards)?
Stewart Smith: People just want attention… When they see a video out of the Midwest they automatically hate on not having huge jumps…well, when you only have 200 feet of vertical…30 feet is about the limit. Sorry guys. People can’t just see that it’s still snowboarding and we do other things because we know that our jump and powder game just isn’t quite on par, i.e. the rail scene of the Midwest.

agr: What influences can Fresh Air list?
Stewart Smith: For filming and editing, Pierre Wikberg and Robot Food, Riley Erickson, Whitey, Neoproto.

agr: How about non-snow influences?
Stewart Smith: hm. I really like Quentin Tarantino’s films. And maybe George Lucas.

Fresh Air. Update 3 from Stewart Smith on Vimeo.

agr: What kind of tunes does Fresh Air like to jam to?
Stewart Smith: Everything man. Hippie 60s stuff to Cut Copy and rap stuff. Maybe some Biggie Smalls.

agr: What is your favorite snack?
Stewart Smith: Hmm. I am a fan of potato chips.

agr: Favorite TV show?
Stewart Smith: As of this moment “That 70s Show.”

agr: Hottest babe?
Stewart Smith: Again with “That 70s Show,” Mila Kunis. But only in “Forgetting Sarah Marshall.” Haha.

agr: Obama?
Stewart Smith: No-bama.

agr: Word?
Stewart Smith: What?

agr: Dream car?
Stewart Smith: Bentley.

agr: Who in the snow industry is doing it right, and who is doing it wrong?
Stewart Smith: Everybody’s doing it right. There’s no wrong way to do it. There’s some stuff I’d rather see than others, but its all good. My favorites from last year were “Bad Ideas,” “Forum or Against Em,” and “These Days.” So I guess those guys are doing it right.

agr: Did you know that Alice Cooper is from Lake Orion?
Stewart Smith: Nope! Really?

agr: Wikipedia says so. Favorite non-agoodreed.com website?
Stewart Smith: TWsnow.com.

agr: Favorite children’s book?
Stewart Smith: “Where the Wild Things Are.” Pretty hyped about the movie. Got a good theme going for it. Should be really cool.

agr: Who would win in a fight, a skateboarder or snowboarder?
Stewart Smith: Skateboarder. They’ll just hit you with their board. I’ve seen it done

agr: Who would win a fight, a lion or a grizzly bear?
Stewart Smith: I’m gonna go with grizzly bear. They’re fuckin’ scary!

agr: Favorite curse word?
Stewart Smith: Haha. Fuck.

agr: Anything else you want to talk about?
Stewart Smith: Nah. Should be cool. Check out freshairvideo.blogspot.com for updates on “This Side Up.”