If the genres of professional snowboarding mirrored a video store, Mike Basich’s rightful place would be in the “Western” section. The John Wayne of the shred scene, he has found decades of success as the cowboy who doesn’t play by anyone else’s rules. As a prominent fixture of the 90’s contest scene, he was instrumental in vaulting snowboarding’s legitimacy beyond a fringe sport to the next best thing.

In the past 15 years, Mike has distanced himself from the glitz and glamor of the mainstream while at the same time forging ahead in a career where many around him found other lines of work. He has invested his time and money developing a tiny-home and shred compound at Lake Tahoe for himself and his posse, complete with his own private chairlift.

If anyone is in it for the right reasons, it’s Mike. He could have sold out a long time ago, but that’s not his M.O. He is living proof that someone can do what they love for a living without sacrificing integrity for corporate cheese. That’s not to say that the limelight hasn’t found him – his talent was on full display to a worldwide audience recently in the remake of Point Break as a stunt double.

He has inspired generations with his photographs, both in front of and behind the lens, and often at the same time. He recently published The Frozen Chase, an anthology of his best self-portraits over the past two decades. The cover shot was one of his most famous images, maybe one of snowboarding’s signature images, ever. He talks about that shot and more in our latest HEADSPACE.