Ted Martin Talks FISISFTQ+

Michael Ranquet: 0:00

I've been watching snowboarding from afar. And I've been saying, like I wrote all this stuff in like 2008 or nine, Asus, like kind of beginnings of my book, you know, more of a journal type thing. Suddenly the industry to saying at one point after winning the Olympics, it's gonna hit zero people cannot take that many more spins or that many more flips for that. It's gonna get straight line. Yeah, out there because like, you know, when things are so unattainable, if you open up a surf magazine, it's only dudes doing 80 foot drops on waves that are bigger than anything you could ever look

Ted Martin: 0:34

at saying, and nobody can relate to that. No, I mean that you go, Oh, that's cool. But so

Michael Ranquet: 0:37

that to me, is I was watching snowboarding just do that and sustain that, you know what I mean? Yeah, and the other thing was, like, the, the lifecycle of pros was that of like, you know, seasonal fruit. You know, because they didn't, they didn't sign them on for three years. So like, have a pro, he had a two year contract, she got hurt. And the two years he's just done, he doesn't get the best video part in those two years he's done. Or skateboarding. It's like you do five year contract tracks. Surfing is five and 10 year contracts a peep, because then you can build a whole marketing base around, right. Yeah, and they might not do good this year, but you have them for five years. And they you know, that's the sort

Ted Martin: 1:15

of thing with any product. You can't you know, if you try to try to market it for two years and expect it to go somewhere, and then you're done with it. Yeah, you're done. You might as well forget about so

Michael Ranquet: 1:25

like my take on it was like at some point, it's going to come back to zero. That's what I was just calling my head just come back to a point where it's kind of like they're gonna look themselves in the mirror and be like, who are we kind of? Are we a discipline scene? Or we want to be skateboarders? Are we, you know, what are we because it got so fragmented in this marketing process of like big mountain riding, big mountain riding on waterfalls, you know, slip sells whipsaw super slip sales. But like, all of a sudden, at the end of the day, like 50 different things and like, see what detail we're trying to take, like our Alaska rider, and we're gonna put them on a trip with our RailRiders next year, just so he can go and appreciate it, and put the Like, some of our kids just ride rails, taking them to Baker, they are, I mean, Fulton for a month, you know, like, just stuff like that, where like, you instead of like, breaking up, you integrate, you know, you go right, yeah, we're all different. But we're all the same in more ways than not, you know, and even with contest writers, I get, like, my thing is, like, you know, a lot of the contents guys are almost ostracized, because they only have these, like, big corporate sponsors, you know, because the lot of board companies aren't sponsoring those guys.

Ted Martin: 2:33

Right? But I mean, a lot. Some even have to buy their own boards. Yeah, like the snowboard cross boards are killer expensive. Yeah.

Michael Ranquet: 2:41

So to me what happened, there was like, a smaller brand, say, like, US would look at a contest guy, like, what's that gonna do for us? Whereas, you know, we were talking to this one kid that you know, does contest will probably go to the Olympics. And my thing to him is like, you know, if you keep one foot in the industry, and then just go full corporate on every other level, you're gonna have a family to come home to whether you win the Olympics forget tent, you know. And so it's like, so I'm trying to embrace that, like, bring in like everybody, because I think it's all and that's why I like see you as like, part an integral part of this sports history as much as anyone else's because you, you created that you. You were my age is I'm 45. Now, right? So you're 67 years, and yeah, so you're probably 40 to 43.

Ted Martin: 3:30

Like if it was 9990 90 when the incident Yeah, it was 26 years. Yeah. So

Michael Ranquet: 3:37

your floors for you on? Yeah. So you're just like, you know, you're a skier and you came into the sport, you're on this ship needs some organization channel. Roman, and then, and then what happened when you saw like the likes of Palmer or Roche? Or because you didn't see that on a workup? ski tour?

Ted Martin: 3:55

No, you know, but I didn't I didn't do anything on the World Cup ski tour. I I grew up back east, Massachusetts, and I went to University of Massachusetts was on the ski team for three years raced all over New England. And then I moved my dream was to move to two things. My dream one to go to the Olympics, to move to Colorado and live in Colorado and ski every day. So the first one was an easy thing. I got in my car and like take 71 and drove to Vail and then stayed there. Yeah. Been there for 44 years. The second one wasn't so easy. Yeah, because I wasn't quite good enough to compete at that level. Yeah. Only at the collegiate level on some beat pro races in Vail and I won the Vail town championships. So all three disciplines triple gold. Yeah, just like trifecta, Lee, so I'm dreaming. Yeah. No chance, no chance for me to ever think about going to the Olympics. So I tried to find a way to get there because I always wanted to go and, and being part of competitive events was a way to do that. So I started this sports promotion. company called us sports and then us events and we ran a lot of some ski events, but it was a lot of like road races, road bike races at that time. Mountain biking wasn't too big in the middle 60s and a bunch of different things triathlons by athalon did a lot of made up events in a way we invented. Yeah, we invented a Coors Light mountain bike by athalon series when it started to get popular. We did six or seven of those all over the country was kind of like

Michael Ranquet: 5:27

the bumps series didn't follow us. Exactly.

Ted Martin: 5:31

That was a big mistake bumps

Michael Ranquet: 5:34

to any household. He's overall reigning champion, one of the few people still have these holds that so

Ted Martin: 5:40

crazy and Jeff Grell to be the inventor of the high back binding. Yeah, he's a great guy. Good friend. But anyhow, so some scariest came to us in the late 80s. I think 8889 About five skiers came to us because they knew that we had run ski events before and said we want to put on some snowboard events. ago. Okay, that's fine. We don't know anything about snowboarding nothing. Well, we'll figure it out together. Okay.

Michael Ranquet: 6:06

You know what's funny is like all the guys who started Transworld, were the same that it kind of came into this so we didn't know anything about it. So like Sony for like, say palatini even when he works are working at snowboarder he told me he was in private was like 20 years ago. He's like Mike. I never really snowboarder I got this job I had to learn. And like back in the day, I used to look down and be like, Oh, that's they're not coming from us. But who F were we at that point because we just started so it's like, it was we're all immigrants in a way

Ted Martin: 6:36

were immigrants into the competitive side of snowboarder? Yes, videos weren't that begun at that? Yeah, that's kind of where we get our names out there in front of everybody.

Michael Ranquet: 6:46

but you had like the Greg stumps and skiing. Yeah, And that was like, starting to break off the late 80s. Right. I always saw like, people may argue this, but like, we kind of took a lot of wind out of that sale. If snowboarding had come like Greg Stone, probably you know what I mean? Not that he's not big, but like, you know, like, because I traveled with Plake quite a bit after like say 94 when he was on Rip Curl. Yeah. And he's not like this anymore at all. But at that time, it was that little transition period where he felt a little bit scorned. You know, he felt like, but that was But then He just recreated himself. I mean, like, he didn't make like a whole different world now. But at that, for that moment, he was just kind of like, sorted. You know, we've just gotten here and then all you've moved forward came this way. byline to this you know,

Ted Martin: 7:34

here we come whether you like it or not. Yeah. So so we started the Rocky Mountain snowboard series, and that's where it hits the one all those guys that pappases rocket Reeves

Michael Ranquet: 7:45

headset was one of the first to comment on that.

Ted Martin: 7:48

I still have videos in my garage someplace a VHS tapes, I'm sure of it, because we did some television shows zayley beer was the title sponsor one. Yeah. How they do now there. They're dead.

Michael Ranquet: 8:03

Cougars saw that. And they were like, no, we want some longevity.

Ted Martin: 8:09

They had lemon flavored beers and all these raspberry beer and everything. And they gave us 20 grand and we ran the Rocky Mountain snowboard series for four or five years. That's killer. It was great. The first event we ever did, we had 350 people show up for a GS.

Michael Ranquet: 8:23

And it was not like the Purgatory contests and stuff like that. Yeah.

Ted Martin: 8:26

And monarch. Yeah, like, Right.

Michael Ranquet: 8:29

Correct. 8089 to Colorado to do or no 8687 Yeah, maybe what year were you starting?

Ted Martin: 8:38

Well, we started the international snowboards Federation, I think in 88, or 8988 was the Rocky Mountain snowboard. And it was crazy. We had my copper mount. We televised him on I think ESPN. Yeah. And we were hand digging pipes. All the writers are out there handing them. And it went really well. And we're starting to make some money. And then NASA got created the North American snowboard Association by the aldens Paul all them and Rick golden and those guys.

Michael Ranquet: 9:12

Snakes in the grass, it was all

Ted Martin: 9:15

there was a little bit slippery. We went so far as to having fake airline IDs. What was it because because all didn't Uncle What was the was the owner or one of the top guys at a company called Air today. So So Paul had fake airline IDs made for us so we can fly internationally for like ID 90 10% of the full fare. And you know, these days you're in prison for life. Yeah,

Michael Ranquet: 9:49

we did if you're in there.

Ted Martin: 9:51

I'm an airline. Okay, well, you have to show me your ID when you get to Okay, fine. I need to book a trip to Europe. Okay. Boom done. How much 80 bucks. Okay, fine, awesome. We were flying all over the world and that but working for NASA and then I got this idea in 1989 because there was some World Cup was going on in Europe I said we got to do something here. We got to create a an international federation to oversee all this shit, right? So I called the guy up that was running the event in Europe guy named Christian Savio from Switzerland. And then I found a guy in Japan named Kazuko Gora. Legendary right because he, he was there with me when

Michael Ranquet: 10:38

he was in the room incident. Yeah.

Ted Martin: 10:43

And then we created the internet. We've all flew to New York City, got a hotel room and sat down and resist okay, we could let's create this was wondering how that happened. What are we going to call it? I said, let's call it the international snowboard Federation, ISF. Okay, good idea. How are we going to do this? And I said, Well, I guess I can try to incorporate it. So they said, Okay, so I went back to bail, which was living there with my wife at the time, put$200 opened a bank account, put$200 of my own money in a bank. And my wife did the incorporation papers, and we incorporated the ISF.

Michael Ranquet: 11:21

So do you ever so where did that point where you still skiing?

Ted Martin: 11:24

I've still skiing. That's Rule five. I was trying to snowboard when Bella was competing in the Rocky Mountain snowboard series, and I was he hooked me up with checkered pig.

Michael Ranquet: 11:35

Oh, I was gonna say, the liquored pig. That's what we used to call like five

Ted Martin: 11:40

or six pigs in my garage, and hard boots.

Unknown: 11:44

I was like to start it. Like, you know, tissues are looking pretty good.

Ted Martin: 11:50

I was horrible. And I was crashing into people I suddenly realized why people didn't like snowboarders at that time. Yes. We knew nothing about how to snowboard right. And I had no control over my border where I was going and every time I get on it I did somebody was scared because they don't in my way. It's just

Michael Ranquet: 12:06

sometimes it takes people from outside to get people from inside to do so because like even like say with journalists is what this girl Brooke that does Yogi snowboarding a lot of people in the industry always like she does snowboard I heard and I'm like, You know what? Their war journalists have never shot a gun. There are sports journalists that don't know how to drive f1 Or hit a tennis Well, yeah, but they can still you know, like, so sometimes it takes that outside person to like, oh, to help it along a little bit. See different perspective, you know, well that I

Ted Martin: 12:37

then eventually I switched over to snowboarding and I didn't ski for like 10 or 12 years so it was just totally snowboard. In fact, my my right knee is such a mess. Because when I was working, working on a snowboard isn't much fun. No, no, the payments shouldn't be done. Right. sqillzer Right. Yeah.

Michael Ranquet: 12:54

Well, that's I thought about I was telling you about that. This morning. I was like, you know, he used to show up at the sorbents whether he saw or not. He had to ski because that's you can't like fix a gate and asylum corps

Ted Martin: 13:05

carry anything

Michael Ranquet: 13:06

binding and hook up or walk up on your side.

Ted Martin: 13:11

Just give sense, but I got tired of people giving me shit for snoring up on ski so I was determined to learn how to snowboard and I did and I snowboard did really well. In fact, I did some halfpipe stuff and other stuff fun stuff but anyhow but anyhow, my knees so bad because I'm goofy. My front knee is so bad. I'm sure because I was writing all the time with one foot in my binding. Yeah, just because I had to do stuff

Michael Ranquet: 13:42

did you have a stance it was really forward to it was pretty forward Yeah cuz like like your Oh my whole life with a really like 36 in the front right six I wrote with a young group. Even though I did a lot of switch writing even then I felt like I was pre cocked for things. Absolutely just want to start writing couple years ago, I felt like my stance was so extreme that I just had to fix it. I haven't written in years. So okay, I'm going back to 18 and negative six. Yeah, so what that did was squared me up and all of a sudden I noticed I'm not twisting as much on my knee. Because I always look like a duck stance. Like okay, whatever. Like you can't turn that well on that because you're not kind of forward but it's the opposite actually. Because you're so square on your board. You can just put like right technique so you're not absolutely because I was always like this and but remember

Ted Martin: 14:31

I'm writing to check and pick the Burton customer

Unknown: 14:38

to get my board Ted Yeah, thanks.

Ted Martin: 14:41

That's eventually the board I ended up on was a Burton customer did some stuff with Salomon because they gave it to me. Yeah. But anyhow, too much one foot writing so I'm gonna Yeah, have something done to it here in the fall. But anyhow, it was it was the start of the ISF and then we created the ice If media network and Ballantine's came along and liquor sponsor, which, you know, was frowned upon by everybody, and we got three parallel dollars, yeah. For balance in liquor wages. Were four in our 40s. And all of a sudden you have three and a half million dollars in the bank. So we did all this stuff. We bought the PDA pro borders, borders, Pro board, sailors was an association.

Michael Ranquet: 15:31

And what was that?

Ted Martin: 15:33

We brought them in to do all of our shooting because they were getting TV time. Yeah, wouldn't it? Yeah, I could argue. That guy took a whole bunch of our money and didn't do much with it. So that was stupid. I

Michael Ranquet: 15:44

do want to hear a funny side correlation I came up with since I was a I'd always said this, I'd always said like kind of proudly. But same time I retract with it. I'd be like, snowboarding would be different if I didn't come in the picture. You know, because like say, even with Craig Kelly, I live with him. In 86. I used to give him a hard time on where he grabbed his board and he was a skateboarder. So you'd be like, what does it make a difference? This is what I'd be like it looks better when you grabbed onto your foot when you grab it your tip. You look like a skier doing a Daffy to me. And when you grabbed on here, you're tight. You look like a skateboarder. And so like I don't encourage you look in magazines in 8687 and go to 88 and his style change. Like he didn't ever grab tindy or here, you know, he was always proper, you know? Yeah, absolutely. Everyone followed him. Yeah, so I didn't directly influence how but I know. You know my influence like Craig Ben. Now I look at windsurfing. Like I started kitesurfing right you go down to the beach, I'm hanging out. And I realize this is when surfing is snowboarding without Roche and I being the adamant trick app Nazis to kind of like no, that's stupid because people to me back then people just didn't have that kind of like, they Okay, so in windsurfing, there's no people that surf windsurf, right, but there's no hardcore winds or surfers that cross over into windsurfing. You know what I mean? They kind of left alone in a way, right? Because the Euros took over, you know, the euros were a little bit different. So it's the same, like matchup with snowboard exactly, no. But then you can look at one magazine where I'm doing a frontside nose, bone and everyone else to tell grabs two years later, everyone's writing like this, you know what I mean? And so it's like, it made me think like, holy shit, like we snowboarding would be like when we just kind of like a sail and the wind, just flopping because his was skateboarding. It has a base, it has a little bit of a base of tricks. Why they came from that where they came from, right. And had I not like been that adamant. Like it, because so many would have one day, but they wouldn't have had the voice that I had. Or, you know, yeah, there are other people out there like me,

Ted Martin: 17:54

but respected for where you'd been and what Yeah, so it was like

Michael Ranquet: 17:59

kind of interesting. It just having this fall was like, you know, what snowboarding would be like Windsor a lot like, not in a bad way. But like it would not have brought in skateboarding the way it did. Because, yeah, like it's kind of a trip to think.

Ted Martin: 18:11

Yeah, no, but it's you're right. You're absolutely right. And then it made a big so

Michael Ranquet: 18:16

you were you're in 40s with a couple million in your bank, all of a sudden, my bank. Oh, yeah. Your company bank? ISF. Yeah. To you, like,

Ted Martin: 18:25

mostly that went to the Euros? Yeah. So they're trying to start it. A little bit of the infighting. Yeah, people didn't realize what's going on inside the ISF. Because what what happened? You're 40 years old, you have three and a half million dollars in a corporate account that three people are controlling, or four because we had the ISF media network with with Jose Fernandez. And

Michael Ranquet: 18:49

Ted Jose, what is b? So this week?

Ted Martin: 18:53

He was a big influence in the in the eyes. Yeah, for sure. And a classic writer knows that Jose is great. He's great. He's great. He's a great guy. And he's still I talked to him on Facebook. Yeah. Super guy. Anyhow. Yeah. So you know that you got money. You got testosterone. And you got egos? Yeah, that's a bad combination. Yeah. Poor guy. Just numbers. Yeah. Just so

Unknown: 19:26

that this

Ted Martin: 19:27

eventually, that kind of kind of brought everything down. Yeah. And Ron, I think the egos took over. And, you know, there was a number of reasons why I left when I did. Which is a good story. We should talk about that because that's a classic. So let's just say right now. First of all, this is a very, very perfect beer for arrogant bastard Dale

Michael Ranquet: 19:50

Cooper source banquet. area, I just got this bring back memories as funny You do? Not ever, ever Palmer launch one of those Alpha? Yeah. Whack a Mole. We

Ted Martin: 20:05

will talk about the incident. Yeah.

Michael Ranquet: 20:07

So what's the ISF what was?

Ted Martin: 20:10

So the ISF is going on? Right? And we're going on and we're we made an application to the IOC. Because we wanted to be the governing body for snowboarding was this 9091 is around 92 or nine. Okay. All right. Because I think they had announced or they were getting rid of announced that snowboarding would be in the 98 Olympics.

Michael Ranquet: 20:33

Yeah, they can introduce it a little hammer a little bit, right. Yeah. Like I remember that.

Ted Martin: 20:38

So we made the application. I was I signed it and sent it to Samaranch at the time. I got this nice letter back long letter from Samaranch. Thank you. Thank you for everything that the ASF is doing for snowboarding. I still have it somewhere. It's classic. And but unfortunately, we've decided to give snowboarding to the International Ski Federation. So then the what way

Michael Ranquet: 21:07

is that this same acronym? ISF? Yeah, in a different way. So it's not grammatically

Ted Martin: 21:14

doing this. I would have brought my old ISF T shirts. I have so many of them. Yeah. Like,

Michael Ranquet: 21:20

let me get this straight. snowboarder Federation? Yes. And it's also International Ski Federation.

Ted Martin: 21:28

FIS is Federation international de ski.

Michael Ranquet: 21:31

Okay, cool. Was that the one that was taking over snowboarding that you're saying International Ski Federer. So that's a letter you got back from the IOC. So you know, unfortunately, these people were doing it. Right. Okay.

Ted Martin: 21:42

It was it was. Yeah, I don't know. Totally political is right. Because I respect most of the guys in the UFC. But it it happened. Okay.

Michael Ranquet: 21:51

The IOC political No, come so.

Ted Martin: 21:56

So I'm being politically so so I'm thinking there goes my dream. Right. Yeah. Number two reasons why one move to bail and to Yeah, I want to go to the Olympics. Yeah. Because that's been a goal of mine, right long term goal as

Michael Ranquet: 22:15

a spectator, you mean in it like man part of the organization meaning

Ted Martin: 22:19

initially, but then I realized it wasn't good. And so you got to find another way to go there. So, um, then we had all this stuff going on with all the stickers, bomb fists, headquarters intelligence of the community. Fist sucks all this other stuff, right, Steve, you write that stuff today. And again, you're in jail for a long time. Can't do that stuff. I probably should have some of those, you know, I'd lose my job. I still stick all the stickers at home too. I could have brought it to take some pictures. Anyhow, in 1992 or 93, we started kind of the fighting inside the ISF started to get a little bit more intense with money and we weren't getting a big share of the money of the 3.2 million in the US and North America. And we had also started the PSA, that professional snowboard is associated

Michael Ranquet: 23:19

with that money. You have to do a lot with it right? You have to organize contests you have to like like put money on TV. Was it just like money in your pocket? Oh, no, no, no. Seriously serious organization and where are we going to do this? What here is what countries okay,

Ted Martin: 23:36

but but PSA North American UNICEF, North America. We're testing Christy Martin, basically, with a board of directors who had Jake, Mark fosse and all these other guys, right, controlling what we did. So we were pocketing all the money. But our our, our drawers were like $20,000 a year. And all the rest of the most of the rest of the money stayed in Europe and a little bit went to Japan. Yeah. So we weren't getting a big chunk of that. To keep ourselves alive. Yeah, totally. Thanks. So we so we there was a ISF versus FIS Transworld seminar in Bamp. In 19, I want to say 93 or 94. Somewhere around there, where we have all the all the industry people were there. And they set up a table discussion I was invited hash table or you were a bad boy.

Michael Ranquet: 24:39

I hope so. Yeah. Okay, so So,

Ted Martin: 24:42

so, and we're all sitting at the head up at the table and yet, Chuck Allen, founder of the USA, USA in the crowd, very vocal guy, always a vocal guy Rest in peace, Chuck, and all the rest of these ISF supporters. Right And they invited Honnold triangle who was in charge of freestyle skiing and snowboarding for fists at the time. Was this man? Honnold triangle?

Michael Ranquet: 25:11

I remember that. I never heard that one. Yeah. Oh, yeah.

Ted Martin: 25:15

A actually he and I had become and we're good friends and became good friends. But anyhow, we were sitting at the table. And in those days, no iPhones, no cell phones, nothing. So strap slide presents. I prepared a slide presentation. And we didn't tell Hana what transwell didn't tell Hana what the meeting was about. There was just an open discussion about fists versus ice. Well, he shows up I have a 20 minute slide presentation I put up on the wall everybody's clapping and cheering and chanting, ISF ISF Hahnel sitting there going scratching his head going okay, this is what fist is doing for snowboarding brava and that was it

Michael Ranquet: 25:59

for a gunfight with a knife. Right. Exactly.

Ted Martin: 26:02

And so afterwards he's walking we finished we are clearly won that battle right? Walking around in the hallway. And this is this is a really great story. It's funny, he's great. strive toward the top a bunch of people anyhow, walking around in the hallway. I'm seeing the writing on the wall, right? Because is fist just get the Olympics, right. I'm losing my Olympic dream. We're fighting inside the ISF a little bit about money. We don't have a lot of money. And so I walk out to the hallway, and Hannah was walking around pacing around just shaking his head. And I Ohana i We haven't been formally introduced. But I did. But Nice to meet y'all y'all 10 have heard about you. And, you know, I know. I think you guys need some help. Like I'm talking about. I think you guys need some help. And if you're interested, I'd be willing to maybe help you a little bit. Because it's clear to me you have the Olympics and I want the sport to grow. And I want to help it as much as I can. So if you're interested in some help, let me know. Like when

Michael Ranquet: 27:11

the two Democratic nominees like one society, the other one helps other.

Ted Martin: 27:18

That'll take time when we start talking about Yeah. So I, we left, right. That was on a Sunday. He flies back to Europe. Monday afternoon, I get a phone call. No, I was trading. Next Friday. I get a phone call. And this was in December, right. This happened before Christmas. I get a phone call. Ted. Who's this panel? Oh, hello. How's it going? Yeah, it's going good. Ted, how are you doing? Good. Are you serious about what you said? I said, Yeah, I'm sorry. I was serious about what I said. He said, Okay. Well, I talked to John Franco, who's the president of FIS now and was the General Secretary then. And we'd like you to come to Switzerland. And, and talk to we'd like to talk to you. And I'm going how am I going to get there because you don't have any money to go. There he goes. I said, Well, that's okay. But how should i How do you want me to get there he goes, Well, we'll We'll fly you there.

Michael Ranquet: 28:23

So even FAS corporate jet. Yeah. No.

Ted Martin: 28:26

I said, he said, I said, When should we meet? He said How about Monday morning? This is Friday afternoon? Yeah. Okay, fine. Yeah. Okay. So Monday morning, I get on an airplane, fly to Switzerland, fly to Zurich. Get on a train, go to FIS headquarters. Walk in there. And I'm sweating like a fat girl at a dance. Shaking like, I'm in the enemy camp. Right. I'm looking up at the building is big building on the lake with all these nice offices. We're working out of the basement

Michael Ranquet: 29:00

right now. And Golia are some Yeah.

Ted Martin: 29:04

The basement of our house working out of our house and two of us. And so I walk in the door and introduce me to the secretary there and took me upstairs. John Franco's office. It's like going to the principal's good. You just did something wrong. walk into the office. A huge office. Really nice place going on. Okay. Sit down. John Franco. Hi, I'm Ted Martin. I know who you are. Thank you, John. And Annalise might

Michael Ranquet: 29:38

say the penguin scene in The Blues Brothers.

Ted Martin: 29:43

They got Holy shit, what's gonna happen here? So John Franco sits back in his chairs. He smokes like at least one cigarette every 10 minutes. Three packs a day smoker,

Michael Ranquet: 29:55

still still just ashes this long, and

Ted Martin: 29:58

ashtrays filled up. But because so here you want to go to work for us, Ted. I go, Yeah, John Franco. You know, I think I can do something good for the sport here with you guys. I think I can help you out. I know you have the Olympics and I'd like to be a part of all that. He goes, Okay, fine. He goes, so tell me how much money do you need? What? didn't really go like that? But it's like, yeah. What do they say? I said, Well, John Franco, I didn't think I hadn't thought about it. I think the first question was so how much money do you want? And I go can I make a phone call? You know, sure. There's a juice out office over there. There's there's nobody no bills. Christie, what are you doing calling me at four o'clock in the phone bill? And$20,000 a year from from the ISF. What should I tell him? She goes, Well, you know, Ted, they're the enemy. I go. Yeah, no, they probably aren't even going to pay you. I go. You might be right. But what I gotta tell them something. What should I say? Tom? $60,000. Who is it, John? I said, Come on in. Okay, Ted, what do you decide? John Franco? All things considered. I think the job's gonna take 60 grand. Okay, no problem.

Michael Ranquet: 31:40

The same thing happened to me with Lamar some words. That I'm gonna call it Craig Kelly. I'm like, dude, Burton wants me to ride for him. He's like, fuck Bert. Lamar. You know, like, crazy, my brother. I think Bert knew that. You know, like Bert did that with him a little probably. And so I call him up. So I asked for it was like, was like, two, three grand a month. He's like, ask for 60. And next year, I asked for 60 grand, but it's like, Okay, remember, it was fried the same year at 92? Yeah.

Unknown: 32:10

Holy shit. That's$5,000 a month. That's what I thought. I'm a millionaire. 60 grand. I'm a millionaire.

Ted Martin: 32:20

So. So the next question how do you want to get paid? Right? How do you want to get paid? What do you mean? Well, would you like to get paid in Swiss francs? Would you like to get paid in Italian lira? or US dollars? Canadian? How do you want to get paid? I said can I make a phone call? Sure. Go ahead was at this time. I don't know what he's thinking but. And I didn't know at the time I obviously the job security because the ISF was still out there. Right. waging this war. Yes. So that was my job security. So I didn't even think about it. 10 years later, I thought that that's right.

Michael Ranquet: 33:06

Like you had the what do you call it the Army's at the gates of Rome and you're sitting with the Emperor having having tea.

Unknown: 33:14

And I'm the bad guy. You're the Germanies. Yeah.

Ted Martin: 33:18

So I go okay, I'll be right back. She Christie what? I'm sleeping. No. How do we want to get paid? What do you mean by blah, blah. Or tell him you want to get some in US dollars in some in Swiss francs. I said, Okay. Hey, John Franco about Swiss francs and US Dollars shirt. No problem then. I have one more question for you. And then I'll let you go. Okay, what is it John Franco? How should we pay you? What do you mean? How should you pay me? How do you want to get paid here? It's at the fifth. I don't remember exactly. It was maybe every month or every two weeks I think was every month maybe every two weeks. It goes but I can pay it every two weeks. I can pay every week. I can pay every month I can pay for a couple of months. How do you want to get paid? Well, one more called Christie 10 You realize now that you're dealing with the enemy I already told you that and you realize that you probably will never get paid if you wait to see the money. Tell them you want it all. Back in my back on Monday morning, January 3, I had $60,000 in my bank account.

Michael Ranquet: 34:39

Was this 9293 You think? Yep, just right in there. Okay, so obviously all of it so you had 60 grand to go work for nothing? Did you have to go until it is well

Ted Martin: 34:52

then no. Then the is then the ISF and the fifth world championships were the A week later. So I had to fly back over. Yeah. Go to the ISF World Championships right because that's was who I was still working for. I didn't make any announcements. And John Franco called and said, We're gonna we need you to come over to the ends. So I said, Okay, John Franco, fine. Your shoe said dang Franco because Okay, don't come over there. He said, Have you told anybody and I said No, I haven't said a word. He said, Okay, we'll send the van over for you. And Lance and I Fieberbrunn I think we're like 45 minutes away from that. So I packed my bags sneak downstairs in the front door of the hotel. I'm standing everybody's outside the hill. Like we're running an event that day. And I'm standing in the front door of the hotel. And this van Volkswagen van pulls up that says FIS snowboard. velt Meister championships all over

Michael Ranquet: 35:52

Yeah.

Ted Martin: 35:53

Right like a billboard. So I throw my bags in close the door, lay down on the floor and tell the driver go go go go go. So he drives me over to the end. The next day I saw that night I send a letter that I'm quitting the ISF and then Holy hell breaks loose breaks loose right out on the venue the next day. And I'll never forget it Martin Friday animates Dieter hop in a whole bunch of the ISF riders were over there because they had a day off the Alpine scoring and

Michael Ranquet: 36:26

we're gonna kill you like this with brooch and Ranquet

Ted Martin: 36:31

I got the answer that I got this anyhow pointing fingers at me you're a dead man. We're gonna kill you. When you fucker and all the rest of this shit. So I had to have I had a police escort. They get gendarmes over there and I had a police escort the whole rest of the time. I was there that rules. Super funny story. Next story is so I'm out there. And on the GSD FIS World Championships in my soft boots. Right. They watered the hill because they only knew how to do Alpine stuff. Right. So they wanted to make the snow hard. So they watered the hell I said Honnold. Should I have a radio No, just go out there and do some raking and we'll you know we'll get one. I'm still standing on this part of the course. It's like, like slicker than snot, in my mind, snowboard Bucha. And I've started to raise liquored pigs or liquid pigs snowboard boots, I have no idea what time the event starts. And I fall down and start sliding in I slid underneath this tall pole and the stubby and the gate panel. I'm going underneath there. And I think I'm smart enough to turn the rake sideways to hook on to the pedal. So I'm lying down on the slope. That's live TV going, I'm going shit on. Here, I probably lose my job. The foreigner goes by my feet. And it's on live TV. Getting a notice no, get up, get out of the way. And it was like Okay, I better have a radio home. So yeah.

Michael Ranquet: 38:09

And then so so iPad or FiOS went on to do the Olympics in Japan. Yep. Right.

Ted Martin: 38:17

I was the race director there with my nightmare

Michael Ranquet: 38:20

My girl then girlfriend you there you know but my then girlfriend Yanni whare. She was on the Swedish Yeah. So she I know Yanni. She's great. Yeah, she was like, I remember she like won the contest before the Olympics got second and another one, like had a good build. And then she got that Hong Kong flu virus and was sick as a dog. I remember just like, Oh my God. Yeah, it was she she qualified third or some shit and got I think eighth or ninth. You know, in the back of the he felt like she had a good run. Yeah, but at the same time, she's dating me at the same time. I'm like, the anti Olympic guy. My girlfriend's and they love it. So it's like I just had How did that feel? What was that? Like? I just went with it. Like at a certain point. I remember arguing with her not arguing with like going, she was like, Yeah, I did it first. I didn't do I'm like, it's not a frontside end. It's just a front side air. India's only back squat, you know, like, I started going off and she's like, I go. I said something. She goes I don't care. You know? Yeah, I just remember going Good answer. Good answer. Like you don't care. Oh, shut up. Yeah, well, as a matter of a certain point, you don't even like it does to a certain point on Facebook. Then you get like people getting so weird about it like, like trick names and whatever is so silly, but like she was the one that really put it in perspective is like what does it matter? I snowboard and I do a trick and I grab here and I call it something close to what you call it right and I'm like, Okay, fair enough snowboarder and I also she also rollerbladed but I made her call them for several times. Like I'm going to go fruit mooting fruit. Yeah. Like I never let so Okay, so here we are in an IDC What do you call it the FIS goes into the Olympics right ass rebel got it. That was amazing. You want to I hear like the side story I have

Ted Martin: 40:06

a story because I had to live that

Michael Ranquet: 40:08

exact joy of the chairlift with that guy like in. I mean, you had to be 9293 Well before the Olympics years, and it was duck boy and I were smoking a joint and I think brushy we're all sitting there. We're going to Craig's camp, you know, like smoking this joint. We had to Ross Ross is like he just says, I rather suck dick than smoke. And nowadays No, then he gets an I really believe his story that like because he wasn't a big cylinder back then. I think he just became what that is because maybe I didn't know him say 92. I didn't know him after that up to be

Ted Martin: 40:49

naive. So little naive.

Michael Ranquet: 40:51

I know, like, but I always like to picture him going as she was at a party, like she did. And then everybody made so much fun of it that he just went with it, you know, to him because I just didn't see him as a stoner. You know what I do now? Yeah, he's embedded that into pop culture. Yeah, making millions with it, too. Yeah, that's amazing.

Ted Martin: 41:10

Story is pretty amazing. was like a nightmare for me. first Olympics.

Michael Ranquet: 41:15

Yeah, totally. So I was like, if it wasn't regular roach in Japan, then like it was what kills me which I always thought was funny was here all these racers. They were the ones going. We want in the Olympics. Oh, presos like now it doesn't matter. You know, whatever the argument was, doesn't matter. But like point being when the racers finally got in there, Star guy that won the fucking gold fucking got caught smoking

Ted Martin: 41:36

pot, of course. But you know, there was three other positive tests for marijuana that same day. Yeah. Who else? I don't know the names.

Michael Ranquet: 41:47

Would countries. I

Ted Martin: 41:49

don't know the country's I know the lady's Super G was that day. And I don't know what I think it was a hockey game.

Michael Ranquet: 41:58

Okay, you're saying like other sport? Yeah. Other sport. Okay. Okay. Just no, no snowboarding was and it probably did barely came up in the hockey, right?

Ted Martin: 42:06

No, no, it was. Well,

Michael Ranquet: 42:10

the slow news

Ted Martin: 42:12

is an interesting one. Yes. I'm standing in the bottom of the halfpipe watching craft by training. And I get my cell phone rang since John Franco Ted just had a positive

Michael Ranquet: 42:22

Dawn spring. So Don said that we have a positive on Rob. We gotta Yeah,

Ted Martin: 42:28

yeah, we're probably gonna have some media in your face. You're gonna be the spokesperson for this. One. I turned around. There's four or five. All right. Cameras. Yes. CBS. Everybody. I think you'll see yes, at that time

Michael Ranquet: 42:40

just played into itself didn't exactly.

Ted Martin: 42:43

Tell us what's going on. I don't have any information yet. So the information that I get was that Ross tested positive the story is the actual story is Ross tested positive. He had the minimal amount you can have in your blood. Yeah. Which I believe at the time, according to fiscales was 15 nanograms of THC per milliliter of blood was written clear on the rules. So he tests pa 1515, which is like, which is really just walking through a room where

Michael Ranquet: 43:15

it's probably at 45. Right now problem.

Ted Martin: 43:19

So then Ross appeals to Cass, the Court of sport arbitration where it was cast. It's seen as a court of sport arbitration notice.

Michael Ranquet: 43:29

Yeah.

Ted Martin: 43:31

Yeah. So so he appealed, which you would anybody would do normally. Right. And it's the highest governing body in the world that He hears appeals for sports. All right.

Michael Ranquet: 43:42

I wish I knew about them in 1990. Okay, so Ross appeals. Yeah.

Ted Martin: 43:50

And they overturn the, the verdict. The positive test, because the other Federation's at that time in the 98 Olympics, all had different amounts of THC, you could have in your blood. So so like figure skating maybe was 30 nanograms

Michael Ranquet: 44:11

or something else was maybe too, right. Exactly. Yeah.

Ted Martin: 44:14

So they go, you can't have a double standard here. Olympic people. Everybody has to have the same standard. Yeah. And that then, April, after the Olympics, which are in February, every year, all federations get together at the annual convention, and they made a rule now that everybody has the same amount. So that's, yeah, that's what happened with rice. And there were other positive tests. But for some reason, snowboard, snowboarding of course got singled out because yeah, everybody expected it, anyhow. Yeah.

Michael Ranquet: 44:49

It happened. So then, okay, so here's my side of like the early 80s, late 80s 90s You know, like so, like, I was snowboarding I live with Craig Kelly. I did not ride for Burton Burton one nothing to do with me. They would probably give me boards but they were just like that Craig and then they had duck boy they had their dudes Yeah, they fit their bill I did you know so. But like from the off from the very beginning I was always opposite to Craig Craig kicked out his tail on things have started doing those bones Craig raced, I started riding backwards, you know, like, the same time living with him. I was developing this whole other kind of style where I'm more progressive. Yeah. But like he always was like, like, very What do you call it receptive of it. Like, what are you up to? Like, you've watched me ride like, why are you riding backwards so much? Well, in skateboarding, everyone's starting to do everything switch, huh? Yeah, he think about it, but like, so like, to me, it was like, it was it was kind of like, yeah, the, almost the total classic ADSB movie, you know, like the jocks versus a nerds or like, you know, just something like that. Whereas, Zillow Yeah, totally. Well, we were like, because Roche and I were, we were, you know, the kind of snowboarders who were out there. They got us the ones that skated but the ones that didn't, we're like, what's the big deal? What's the difference type thing, you know what I mean? But then eventually, people started seeing that and writing like that, but like, in the interim, it like, you know, I was on sponsored, I got kicked off team got kicked out Japan got kicked off the World Cup, all the sudden, but even getting kicked out of Japan was the reason we started filming so heavy, because I couldn't compete on the World Cup. And the other thing I said it today to my girlfriend, it was like, even if I had continued competing, I'm okay with that was not my gig, I would have burned out and another year, and that would have been competition. Yeah, totally. So. So it's like, because everything happened, though it happened, you know, this hat. This other thing? half right. You know what I mean?

Ted Martin: 46:50

And so, like a pioneer in video two, right? Yeah. So we start

Michael Ranquet: 46:56

filming, because like, all of a sudden, we're like, we don't have we had this budget to go to contests. Yeah. All of a sudden, we're like, well, we can go to France, because I've ever explained to people like, you know, look this way. I could go to France and do one contest for a week and be in and out and get eight. Or I could go there for two weeks and film and have a three minute video that people can rewind and watch it over and over again. And it wasn't just my idea of is this watching skateboarding. It's time. That's what that's why it is a skateboarder. We random videos when we just watch them over and over and over. And so like, but same time, you know, that first year when we were filming, I remember it wasn't like we are filming now. It's like we just had to you know, like all other riders were jealous of that.

Ted Martin: 47:37

You know what I mean? course because you're having fun. Hold on, there's no pressure.

Unknown: 47:40

And that's where progress already said. Yeah. Yeah. And that's where the progress are at 10 o'clock.

Michael Ranquet: 47:46

And to me the progress didn't come in competing, like people going okay, I got beat this guy this week, because you get your rundown every week. And maybe you add to it at the end of the year and it goes into Corporation the next year, right was filming all the time. We were just trying stuff you know what I mean? Just and filming that stuff like say buttering that you did between the halfpipe, and the chairlift just little things for like, that just sparked other revolutions in the sport and then, but like looking back at the 80s it was I was like, I always think people forget completely that there was a total split in the sport for a long time. Like ski is does it gonna follow skiing? Kind of? Or is it gonna follow skateboarding? You know, and like, all roads said skiing, because it was organized it was to get, you know, and skiing was welcoming of snowboarding. Not on the chairlift per se but like, as far as another sport to have in their pocket when they want to make money. IOC Yeah, totally. Whereas skateboarding wanted nothing to do with snowboarding. They're like, No, dude, you're gonna make us look bad. Go back to the mountains because

Ted Martin: 48:52

you did not have snowboarder and the problem was that surfers and and, and skateboarders had no idea what was like riding on a mountain or chairlift or going out on a trail and not sitting down in the front of this the trail, exit ramp, trail or anything else, right. So that's why everybody but

Michael Ranquet: 49:11

to me, like the defining moment for snowboarding, just me personally was like, getting out of the helicopter in Alaska the first time, and I was with Tom Berg, looking down this run for 1000s of fields with Craig Kelly, Tom Burt. I just remember going this snowboard like it was like us. 91 I think, Oh, 91 Yeah, it was like we were immediately up there. You know? And like, like, I just thought, Okay, we could pretend to be skateboarding. Maybe we skiing but this is snowboarding now. Yeah. Because like we're up there with like, Schmidt Scott Schmidt. I watched him do this whole shoot 60 turns, you know, and I did it in three. You know what I mean? Like, and you just change to me just personally, like all of a sudden, I was no longer embarrassed to tell a skateboarder Yama snowboard. Up to that point it was Like gesture hats and small one, but you know what I mean? Sure, crazy, you know like, and people would be like what do you what do you even do that shit you know, but then with Alaska it just defined it for me and then the other thing I noticed quickly in Alaska the people that excelled were the ones with race no check mark faucet. JEREMY JONES even right crazy. Oh, yeah, he's good. Find the lines, you know, look ahead. So it's like to me that's where everything got blended. You blend it in the race element you believe in the free stallion and it just came to a new noose thing.

Ted Martin: 50:36

Right. You took you took what you knew from skateboarding. But you took it into nature? Yeah, sure. Thing was Yeah, boarding right. It's you're not in a concrete toy ramp. Some Yeah. You didn't build it. Right. You're out there in nature. Yeah, that's, that's still today. As of today, the cool thing about the sport toy,

Michael Ranquet: 50:56

you know, that's when my kids are growing up in Hawaii, because I want them to like, be around waves and nature and you know, feel the pulse of the earth and all that stuff and respected. Yeah, totally. Well, that's up to them. Absolutely. You know, no, it's,

Ted Martin: 51:11

it's really I didn't say respect you. Yeah, no, no.

Michael Ranquet: 51:15

No, it's really cool, though. Like, because, you know, just over all over all those years, I remember set you in France, one time in team, it was probably nine to get access with the Yeti, as before the Olympics, and we saw each other like really quick. I was like, Ted Martin, you're like, why? And you said something like, we owe each other appear at this point, you know, yeah. And so it's like, that's, I think the last time we saw you, like, in the you know, so that was pretty funny. And I was hung on to that was like Ted's rad like after that,

Ted Martin: 51:44

like, you know, when when someone had to be a snow cop, and otherwise, there would have been no more competition. And yeah, but for me, as soon as something happened, like the incident, yeah. The next day, I was over it right, or the next hour or whatever it's done. Probably because there's probably something else going on. But that was just the nature of the sport. Now. It's completely different. Yeah. Completely different. I don't know if that's a good thing or not. But

Michael Ranquet: 52:17

anyway, like, I've seen some contests in the last year where you you like, I don't know if their World Cup but big contests where you can't spin over 540 You know, like, I think installing that like into runs like okay, get three runs,

Ted Martin: 52:30

don't let just spin over a 549 anything that I've

Michael Ranquet: 52:34

ever worked. Okay, so this was this. This was this year, it was a week before Super Park, because this kid this like 15 year old kid from Southern California, I forgot his name like the new you know, I gotta say, baby Jesus, the new baby Jesus. But this can rips. But he does all these Corky spins, but he won this contest where you can spend over 540 I

Ted Martin: 52:55

haven't been like I was at a USA.

Michael Ranquet: 52:58

I'm not sure on TV. I've no clue but but point being like, it would be cool to see that somehow incorporate it into bigger contests where it's like, Okay, three runs one, one run, you can't spin over 720 The other two you go to fuck off. But just because to me, you you get a different skill wise,

Ted Martin: 53:15

that's kind of happening. Yeah, from the standpoint of two out of three runs, but you can't have the same run every time. Okay, to this, you have to do something different. Yeah, two out of the three runs have to be different. There's all kinds of judging formats and techniques that between the TTR and FIS and USASF.

Michael Ranquet: 53:34

What's the TTR? Is out the

Ted Martin: 53:36

Ticket to Ride. Yeah, yes. It's the evolution of what what it kind of evolved a little bit out of the ashes of the ISA. Yeah, some of those people are still involved.

Michael Ranquet: 53:47

I remember when they first started doing the Arctic challenge, because I was judging those contests and like, it was always okay, we want to do this at the end of the year into judging I know I want to again, yeah, I kind of dropped out when my hip was bad. I was just kind of out of it. But like that was years ago, and now you know,

Ted Martin: 54:03

Majan getting paid everything to go to a contest and just

Michael Ranquet: 54:06

No, I did that for like five years. I did X Games. I did Arctic challenge. I did. I did. I did a lot of big contests like all the did anything from like the Verbier, a freeride contest to the Arctic challenge. HalfLife you know what I mean? And they were fun weekends because, you know, a one out and I remember one time Peter line was like, you know, how, you know, snotty you know, like, how you can judge like, you know, do you know what, blah, blah, blah. It's called, I was like, No, but I know it looks good. And he was like, just because he was like, I stand corrected. I don't walk dog like, we know, judging was actually fun. I always said like, I'm not a judge. I'm a critic. Judges handle sentences. I'm here to critique your snowboard. You know, that's great. That's class. Yeah. But like I actually enjoyed doing that stuff. But,

Ted Martin: 54:55

but like me, I never disqualified anybody. That's not what Keith Wilson says. Hey, He disqualified themselves. Yeah, they

Michael Ranquet: 55:01

did fuck. fuck you. Yes. Okay, so I have a list in 1991, December 14. By Ted Martin,

Unknown: 55:13

do you remember that?

Ted Martin: 55:15

You described just caught you?

Michael Ranquet: 55:18

Yeah. It's funny.

Ted Martin: 55:21

I can't say I don't make the rules because I did write the rules.

Michael Ranquet: 55:25

I can't enforce them because I do. Everybody agreed on Yeah. Because there's no one else in the room. There's no anything. No, so I, I, you know, it was this whole, like skating versus skiing and 80s You know what I mean? And, and some people saw it. I did. And Craig bid and other, but, but I just knew that like, I don't know, like, I was a skate, hardcore skateboarder. And I was like, You know what this sport deserves to be more free flowing and open than this regimented golf type of skiing. You know what I mean? Right? And it's like, and even with the history of the sport, where people kind of ignored it forever. Everything's coming back into play now where it's like you can you can compete and still have roots in the sport. You can you know what I mean? You can?

Ted Martin: 56:14

So I have a question for what? Because you were involved with skateboarding for a long time. Did you do skateboard contests? When I was younger? Yeah. So there was a regime regiment there. Rules or regime there's whatever. So you had to be at a certain place certain time. What what was going through your head and other writers heads at the time when they were being destructive?

Michael Ranquet: 56:41

Who was like say,

Ted Martin: 56:43

like, say breaking things in hotel rooms? Okay, smashing things.

Michael Ranquet: 56:47

So like Japan, Sudan incident. All that.

Unknown: 56:51

I always, I always showed what went

Ted Martin: 56:53

through your head. Well, no, I knew that it was wrong. You have great teen fingers. I am I suppose

Unknown: 57:00

a couple of things I looked at I have no choice. No, absolutely not. No. Kill me.

Michael Ranquet: 57:07

So like, what was it? So with the okay, you're saying about the contest? get in trouble. I always say about this in Japan. If anybody from that hotel Jeff spoke English and just came out and said, Hey, guys, what the fuck you doing? Stop doing this anytime everyone would have started don't have those. Big like, they know that always go to smoking the Deutsch. Just throw them off. And then like, so you can't get instructions. So yeah. What was going through my head? It was kind of like I

Ted Martin: 57:39

know, you know, but then not two o'clock in the morning, Mr. Martin, Mr. Martin, because I'm the guy that speaks the English. Yeah,

Michael Ranquet: 57:46

you guys you'd already find me and wrote like, you'd already find Santa Cruz like 400 500 bucks or something. Some bullshit to just try to get us out. But like, even if we like that last night, like we did just pretty much happened to be there. Palmer walked up wrote today saying oh, you know, hits this fucking thing. Right? The beer goes up and

Ted Martin: 58:07

we're drawing them all you remember. It was Wakka moly. Yeah. But we're drunk.

Unknown: 58:11

We're just staying

Michael Ranquet: 58:14

calm. We're just fucking moon walks away from that thing and just wrote and I standing there. And just like anything we did that whole weekend was like, who did it? I'm not quite sure. But I know one of them had blue hair. You know, and then I always looked at like, there was a lot on the line there then because you were doing the first big World Cup in Japan. There's big sponsors on the fucking line feel like we live TV. And here's these two Yahoo's fucking Yeah, one stayed, but it was Yeah. It could have been Craig was just as bad as anyone that

Ted Martin: 58:49

I'm sure he was.

Michael Ranquet: 58:52

But I don't know. Like I understand crafty. But, ya know, he was like, like, I always understood, like not always took me a couple years to step back and go like, Dude, there's big shit on the line for him. They didn't want to deal with this problem. Because they did the night before. They said, You know, we're gonna find you that didn't work, you know? And it's like, you had to like, eliminate the problem. They go on with the contest. Like I literally years later, look at that, like, okay, I get that there's millions of dollars on the line and we're drunk at midnight. Like, what the fuck?

Ted Martin: 59:23

I think it was two or three in the morning. Yeah,

Michael Ranquet: 59:25

I mean, starting at midnight. Yeah, that's a middle point and probably start at 6pm and 6am. But like, but like there's a certain understanding of it. But then there's a certain like, just it's so great. It happened because it just kind of fractured the sport away because you're still doing contests and doing that. Like, you travel around the world. So and do all this stuff. And you went through all these changes. And I think that's like anybody that can etch out anything to do you know, in life is amazing. We're like, this is rad. You follow? You just kept following my journey. Yeah. Yeah, totally. And I still Yeah, totally. And that's where I'm at, you know, like I just kind of rethought started following my dream couple years ago after my injury and like, it's like, yeah. And it's like, it's really fun shit. You know, and, and it's like when you're older, you just haven't. You may not like the way some things were dealt with this point, but you understand it in a different aspect or appreciate it and it

Ted Martin: 1:00:23

gives you a broader base to figure out things. Yeah, yeah. And you know, now you have a team. You guys have a team you and Chris and we've had

Michael Ranquet: 1:00:33

them in trouble dealing weed out of our team house and mammoth we had to come down. Yeah, I was I clicked in what happened? Like Nico called me. He's like, blah, blah, blah. So I think he's stealing. So what do you mean you think he was like, well, he's got scale in this room? He's stealing weed. Yeah, totally. Just have you come in that one piece?

Ted Martin: 1:00:55

I think I still have it in my garage.

Michael Ranquet: 1:00:56

Did you gotta have that thing and the other thing was like your Did you ever rock and

Ted Martin: 1:01:01

I had a mustache? Yeah. Look like you're

Michael Ranquet: 1:01:03

just begging to grow. I like that one photo you sent me one piece it was like looks like sprouted out

Ted Martin: 1:01:11

people who accuse me of being Chuck Norris.

Michael Ranquet: 1:01:13

Yeah, I can see that. Maybe not accuse you say you might

Ted Martin: 1:01:19

always you're Chuck Norris. Not not somebody chase me on an elevator once we were

Michael Ranquet: 1:01:25

Chris and I wrote for Santa Cruz Sal warts which we thought was ran out of Santa Cruz, California where NHS is independent trucks and all you see are hardcore skate companies. Literally, we know that Santa Cruz was just licensed to some Swiss dudes. So when we came back to Japan, I thought like I was going to joke and be like, yeah, those guys are fucking assholes. We ran into some of the team guys and those guys are doing steer like oh, and that's when it was really explained. Like like, no, no, because actually this we have nothing new that actually I'm just hired by the Swiss guys. And, and that's when I knew my my what he called my future Santa Cruz done. Because I traveled enough I knew what Swiss for like and they weren't like me. Pretty in Where's Chris was like, hadn't traveled as much as me at the time. And he didn't quite grasp. We know that Santa Cruz. I'm like, No, it's not. It's different. And that's why I went to Lamar and kind of flourish in a way and then Chris. The thing about Chris like, he just ended up having a family early and just said, You know what, I'm a family man. And at the time I was like, that's crazy. Now I'm like, Oh, that's amazing. So he did that. You know what I mean?

Ted Martin: 1:02:38

Did did Danville right for Bertrand Dinnerbone Yeah.

Michael Ranquet: 1:02:44

To me he was like, you know rocky for the Russian guy. Yeah, like he was like the Russian guy to me just come come. He's like I can do that trick that was but I just saw the what we were up against Chris and I was like, Dude, you know, we're not dealing with independent trucks here. We're dealing with like, you know, dudes with Switzerland right right. You sit and do other shit than what we do that way they're not going to be empathetic to our situation in Japan you know? No, that was pretty funny. So what was it Yeah, what happened in Japan? What was your What did you like?

Ted Martin: 1:03:27

Well, it's just started I think way before the Wakka moly incident yeah thing because I went on off was the same year maybe it was the year before the year after it was the year before the brushy and a Gucci incident. That one

Michael Ranquet: 1:03:44

was that brushing and Paul were they swip swap No,

Ted Martin: 1:03:47

it was a Gucci they they after the first run they went in and switched everything

Michael Ranquet: 1:03:56

so no hard to do in color and brush No I'm pretty sure it was it was poor it was in Japan yeah here before

Ted Martin: 1:04:03

No because I had to go to I had to go to

Michael Ranquet: 1:04:08

think you might have been tricked by all these guys So Polymer didn't get in trouble I

Ted Martin: 1:04:14

still have the video I made but I had to go So anyhow, they switched clothes right everything boards close it and they take some runs see

Michael Ranquet: 1:04:22

cute and brush red for the same company. Then they went to swap that much. It was Palmer and brushy and like I remember there was this controversy of like, like no one really got in trouble for it like they kind of swapped it around they get in trouble like even Palmer had it on his board graphic Palmer had like him and him and brushes yellow artist's rendition. But yeah, it was him and yeah, anyway, so I gotta look for that video. Okay,

Ted Martin: 1:04:48

how to guys switched everything right. And when they finish their run, I was watching I was gone. That's not That's not a Gucci or that's not Russia or whoever was playing But that's not the way they ride. Right? And they didn't stop in the finish line area, they just kept going right to the hotel. So I thought something's up here is isn't right. The judges didn't say when the judges stand, they didn't say anything. Either they knew, which I don't think they did. Or they just gave them scores. Yeah. So the next day, I went to Tokyo, to the to the NHK studios, and watch the replays, because I wasn't watching the TV at the time, I was sitting at the venue, so I can't see what's going on TV. And it was the big screen there. So I watched the videos. And the TV had zoomed in on the writers that were in the start and done a head and headshot with the name underneath. And you could see who it was. Yeah, it wasn't who it was supposed to be. Yeah. So they both got disqualified. And they both got fined like $1,500 or 2000. Yeah. And then, and then Palmer got kicked out in Japan because of the because he was in the Japanese baths and you've been in those right? You gotta wash yourself before you go in and take a bath. Yeah, right. That's unheard of in the US. You just jump in the bathtub. So anyhow, you wash yourself clean everything off and then you can go in the bath. Well, he he went in and started throwing all the stools in the buckets that people wash themselves when they sit down the Japanese bath. Yeah. And then some of the pool furniture. Yeah. And so that was like sacrilegious. Yeah, Konya Japanese. So they said we have to you have to kick them out and and the distributor was even there. I forget who it was for it was like yep, take them out. Yeah, get get you got to get rid of them. That's bad. So yeah, that was that was

Michael Ranquet: 1:06:47

you know what I figured out about like you know, you know how like if you go to like Tokyo on a Sunday they'll have like, parts of a park where all these Elvis dudes go and they have these other parts of the park where all these like, punk rocker guys go, right? They just love their rebel. They love rebellion because they they really as a society a will ever rebel. No, wait in line over there. Okay, so it's like they like yeah, because I started going back to Japan. Like what was it by? Yeah, the next year? I was roaches never

Ted Martin: 1:07:20

overfill anytime you scare him that?

Michael Ranquet: 1:07:23

No, no, I'm going back over. Yeah, totally love the place for like, I remember going back and just thinking, man, you know, there's probably gonna be side of the art can be happy with me. It was ops everyone's like, because of that, because I got kicked out. They'll never get kicked out of the country ever. Yeah. At all. They might get thrown in jail, but not

Ted Martin: 1:07:42

because you can't be a national hero. Yeah.

Michael Ranquet: 1:07:46

I've got two customers you have you got pulled in for secondary and asked for autographs? Yeah.

Ted Martin: 1:07:52

picture on the side of buses.

Michael Ranquet: 1:07:53

Yeah. But, but that whole thing was like kind of a mindfuck. In that like, was like how is this working out? You know. And then the next year, we came out with like rpm and roadkill. And those movies. Those were like, basically a bunch of butter tricks that I've been doing for years already. But like, it's stuff that everybody can do. You didn't need to be in Alaska, you didn't need to have some big and jump. You just need to slow for that. Like that. And low speed and not much risk. Get into your butter trigger. Yeah, you know, so it was like that. Yeah, that spoke volumes to that he's there because all of a sudden it was a bore because they all loved surfing and they all love skateboarding. But those two are a little bit harder to learn, you know, but

Ted Martin: 1:08:33

what's happening now with like your kids, okay, because you were one of the original pioneers of snowboard competitions and free riding. Right. And now you're and what happened? I think there for a while is people, people's parents like my not my parents, but probably your parents. And other parents started snowboarding and snowboarding stop being so cool, because there's too many older people doing it. Yeah. Now it's coming around full circle again. In the end, it got flat. The industry got flat and and companies went out of business and now it's come full circle again. And now the new generation of the four 512 year olds 15 year olds are starting to come around. Yeah. What what's what's that like? For you to see? What's that? How To me it's kind of influenced you hope you have

Michael Ranquet: 1:09:27

on though that was really cool. Like say like I was up at? I was in Norway. We're here. Like up at this thing in March Johnson put on this big event like it was called the legend session for method magazine. But it was like, yeah, just meeting like McHale bang you know, he's like 25 and and we also have other teamers like Lucas Magoun but they're all like they do their fucking home or they go back and watch old videos and like, they're they like, they'll point out a trick I did 22 years ago. Oh, that was sick and botched Lamar bottom like Are you kidding? I forgot that video existed, I hoped nobody would ever read. But there's two, there's two or three shots in there that like, I do pretty technical shit that like they're still doing or even to some degree figuring out, you know what I mean? So it's like they look like it, but I knew back then doing some of those tricks. It was like, I felt like this people wanting to get this yet. I really did feel like that, you know, and, but cool with it, but at the same time, I never thought it would come around to the point that it would be you know, I always thought like, it was 100 the monkey type thing. I may have come up with something that you want. Everyone started doing it once. So that degree that it would never be like, kind of like narrowed back down. You know, like, how do you serve that? You know, how do you find the beginning of this? You know,

Ted Martin: 1:10:44

what you guys had to deal with to is you didn't have perfectly groomed super pipes right now. Pretty gnarly shit.

Michael Ranquet: 1:10:53

Yeah, like in the 80s. It was always like kings jumps. Yeah, like everything. Everything. Even in Norway. Whenever we're all riding the small King cellos like myself, Terry a DCP. Peter line like Johan Olsen like an avenue. Yeah, no one liked this. Like last week? No, like, yeah, no one likes to take off because there's a little kink in it. And guess what I love Ryan's like just blasting back through us over it. And like, even Peter line was like, Oh, dude, you can actually hit that gently. I'm like, to me, I'm like, it's like an old school Baker Jump. It's got a kink in the bottom. It's not perfect. When I see a perfect jump. Like it's super far. I went there. I wrote up some of these quarter pipes. I'm like, I'm way better off on it on the Mega landscape. On a 22 foot skateboard wall with my pads on. I feel way safer. Yeah, I could pop an eight foot on my skateboard, kick my skateboard away and go to my knees and have a 20 foot knee slide all the way down. snowboarding pop out. What if I pop out this will pop out. You know, like, it was it was gnarly, you know, but like, but like, say the kids 10 years ago, if I was just want to some event like it did last week in Norway. It would have been like, Oh, hey, what's up, man? Yeah, anyway, but the kids now like, it was almost we're too close and age. Now. It's skipped a whole generation that kids now really are looking back, like, with wonderment. Oh, that's fun. Cool. You know, like, you guys actually pioneered shit and was like, the generation right after us was like, yeah, anyways, you know, yeah, we're better. You know, that that type of to cool thing

Ted Martin: 1:12:29

is oh, I'm not writing in the pipe today. Yeah.

Michael Ranquet: 1:12:31

So it's like, it's coming, coming all the way around. But then, you know, there's that whole competitive side that like, like I was saying, like D Day we have this one writer that we got to where we're looking at and we'd like to get our team that's he'll probably be in the Olympics and and that's a whole different beast talking to his mom and talking to him and, and it's a whole you know, different things like they're, you know, there are it's not my gig but like, I respect it. I respect the dedication it takes. And you know, as Terry said, if you're not writing to superpipe or Alaska, it's all rollerblading to me.

Ted Martin: 1:13:08

But that's, that's that's what's been the fun part about this whole evolution for me is I've I've been a part of it. I've get I've been able to talk to writers and just into coaches and parents and it still makes it interesting. Yeah. And it's fun it's fun I just love going to work every day. Yeah, it's not a job. Like

Michael Ranquet: 1:13:29

I didn't for a while only because that felt like you know my early 30s getting pressured out by these but now all that pressure is off it's all gone and now it's like going riding I can just be a dork again if I want to go off that jump and just like just you know, just do a backflip three and put my arms in there like that. Nobody cares the last 10 years ago would have been judged you see Mike do the OSU stupid losing it. You know now it's like you have it that session Norway was like myself, Terry Washington, Terry and Peter line not be graceful was amazing. It was really cool. Like watching Terry fall over and over again. Is he was snow skating. Okay, I'll give him that. He wasn't. But so he was trying things. But you know what I told him I go watching you on a snowscape. It's like watching Michael Jordan play baseball. Congratulations. You can do it in all. But anyways, get back to snowboarding.