We sat down to talk shop with Vince Sanders aka “The Chairman” from Never Summer about the newest addition to the Shaper Series: the Shaper Twin.

Never Summer Shaper Twin – Mid-Season Release Details

Never Summer is debuting the Shaper Twin with an early release, making limited quantities and sizes available just before Christmas. If you can’t snag an early release, you’ll have to wait for the complete offering, available in stores next season.

The early release is limited to 200 boards world-wide, half of which will be distributed in the United States, with a limit of 3 boards per shop. The early release 153 cm model will be known as the Chris Corning edition. It features a red, white, and blue base commemorating Chris’ bid for a spot on Team USA in the 2018 Winter Olympics. Chris will be riding the Shaper Twin during the qualifying events leading up to team selection.

Vince explained that the new Shaper Twin is a directional twin with a slight taper; good for pow float and turn initiation, without sacrificing switch riding capabilities. Vince also let us have a sneak peek of the Shaper Twin. We are demo’ing it now so that you can read our full review on agnarchy.com later this season. (Note: You can read our full review on the Never Summer Shaper Twin here) Before we got a chance to take our first turns on the Shaper Twin we sat down with Vince to learn more about the new ride, the Never Summer design process, and what’s in store for the future.

The Chairman Speaks

Ⓐ: What is your current role at Never Summer?

Vince [Laughing] : Aww man… You know I’m the Chairman of the Board here at NS. No really, I wear a lot of hats here. Here we go: I work with the Marketing team on planning events, video edits, promotions, catalog etc., I’m the liaison to our apparel and accessories licensee, and work with them on soft-good design. I also manage our e-commerce order fulfillment platform, warranties/repairs and customer service department. However, my original role at Never Summer was and still is working with owners, sales and marketing on product development and brand direction.

Ⓐ: You founded and ran the Board Room in Colorado for over 20 years before joining Never Summer. How has the experience of working directly with core riders influenced your product development strategy?

Vince: Working in a Snowboard/Skate shop for so many years gave me the insight to what the core riders are looking for from a brand and to truly understand the culture of snowboarding and skating. I was exposed to many personalities and styles. Marc Frank Montoya, JJ Thomas, and Dylan Alito all hung out and rode for the shop. These are very different but extremely passionate snowboarders. Plus, I was exposed to longtime, hardcore fans of Never Summer. So, I had a good idea of what a Never Summer customer is looking for from the company. I brought this insight to Never Summer and used it to help influence the product development. Plus having a long history and knowledge of the retail side and of snowboarding in general, I am able to help direct Never Summer on things that have worked out in the past and the mistakes that other brands have previously made.

Ⓐ: You have prioritized engagement with intermediate and expert amateur riders in addition to the elite-level Never Summer-sponsored team. How you use the feedback from such a range in talent to influence snowboard design and development?

Vince: The key is to combine the feedback from what we gain from interacting with intermediate or expert riders, and that of high level team riders. From engaging with intermediate and expert riders we obtain a closer insight to what a general end consumer is looking for, and from an elite team rider we learn what a board needs to perform at a high level.

The goal is to design a board that an average rider can enjoy while an elite athlete can use that same board to ride at another level.

The Never Summer Shaper Series

Ⓐ: How did this lead to the Never Summer Shaper Series- how did that come about?

Vince: The Shaper Series began with the Swift. Four years ago owner, shaper, engineer Tim Canaday started working on a throwback swallow tail shape that would not only be a great powder board but also a solid soft boot carver. We felt this was achieved- but as much as we all love the Swift, I actually like it as much for railing turns on hard pack as I do as a powder board, its shape pigeonholes it as very powder specific. So, we wanted to bring all the characteristics of the Swift and a re-fined fusion

of our two profiles into a series of boards with shapes that wouldn’t be deemed so powder specific- while still showcasing Tim’s experience of shaping snowboards for the last 34 years. Also, to have a wider offering in these tapered boards for different turning radius and riding characteristics.

Our main goal with the Shaper Series is to offer snowboards that embrace dynamic turning. Not everyone has access to deep pow, big steep lines or the ability to hit 80’ booters- but most people have access to groomed, packed snow/slush and can turn a snowboard.

These are things that are attainable to most snowboarders, and by embracing the carve with the Shaper Series we will not only appeal to existing shredders but bring some new people into snowboarding.

Ⓐ: Which brings us to Never Summer’s newest prototype, the Shaper Twin. What can you tell us about it, and what style of rider will be drawn to it?

Vince: You can think of the Shaper Twin as a directional twin version of the Insta/Gator with the flex of a Proto Type 2. It has a 10mm taper for the benefits of float in powder and a smooth turn initiation without hindering riding switch. The Shaper Twin will have a broad appeal from a very technical freestyle/park rider like Chris Corning to an intermediate all mountain rider wanting the balanced feel of a centered stance and twin shape, with the directional performance of our Fusion profile on a tapered board.

Looking Ahead

Ⓐ: Over the past few seasons we’ve seen an explosion of new shape ideas and designs come to market. Some of these are relatively new ideas; asymmetric boards like the Never Summer Funslinger and Gnu Space Case. Other designs are a call back to the past- the resurgence of swallow tail or traditional camber boards. Where do you see snowboard technology or design heading in the future?

Vince: These aren’t new ideas. True asymmetrical race, free carve & asym twin boards were prevalent and popular in the late 80’s and early 90’s. Never Summer’s first board was an asym twin. So these were designs that worked and have just re-surfaced with new technology to make them more versatile. I don’t think you’ll see true asym boards come back or gain a lot of traction. It’s just too difficult for retailers to order and sell and for manufactures to project on what to make. How many regular vs. goofy to make or order. Plus, they fall over when you stand them up.

I think this revolution on shapes will wane a bit from the larger manufactures, and as boutique brands find it hard to maintain as a business. Majority of new shapes are really just different for the sake of being different and add no functionality.

Many companies use this to try and get noticed, but they’re just funky shapes. For us, we can only do so much with shapes because we like to have the protection of a full wrap metal edge and you can only do so much with bending the metal edge. And some of the more dramatic shapes are not that functional. Directional boards and profiles should continue to gain momentum as most people ride forward. The majority of the market doesn’t compete in contest, or ride pipe/park, etc. They want a board that fits the way they ride every day, and typically that is most of the mountain, groomers, trees, and powder. I feel the resurgence of the swallow tail is from consumers wanting snowboarding to get back to its roots a bit. Personally, I would like to see us offer some niche boards. I’ve been testing a BX/Freecarving board. It has a very extended version of our Rocker Camber that provides broad, consistent pressure across the entire board. We pressed a 161 cm board in an old 172 cm. mold set, while using very low profile tip ramps. It has massive effective edge for stability and edge hold, while still having a rocketed mid-section that makes it more manageable and versatile than a traditional race or competitive BX board. We put mega rubber damping into it- this combined with massive effective edge make it hold an edge at speed and in a long carve incredibly well. There is virtually no chatter carving across a choppy slope. I believe with the inherent nimble nature of Rocker & Camber we can increase the damping and effective edge without making the board feel over damp or too long. I see the future with more refinement in boards that give the rider more versatility as well as individual boards that are very specialized.

Ⓐ: You’re often asked about the challenges facing snowboarding, but what opportunities do you see for the industry?

Vince: I think a big opportunity is to show people that snowboarding is the closest of the board sports to surfing and easier then ever to learn. I believe that showing people the joy and beauty of a snowboard turn will bring new people into the sport and capture the next generation to snowboard and not ski. Another opportunity is in the back country. As lift tickets and traffic increase, I believe more and more riders are going to gravitate toward back country snowboarding.

Ⓐ: We appreciate you taking the time to talk to us. Before we go tell us something about snowboarding that you think has to die.

Vince: Pushing with your foot on your heel side, instead of it in front of you on your toe side, like you would when pushing a skateboard. To me this never made sense and looks awkward.

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