This blog was originally posted on November 11th, 2007. Some links may be dead and this post may have been edited.

The "Style issue" of Future Snowboarding Magazine is on newsstands right now and I have a little quote and a couple shots in it. I actually wrote a much longer quote that was truncated because of space issues, so I thought I'd put it out here in full. Enjoy.

Dano Pendygrasse

"Snowboarding is one of those lucky sports where the scoreboard at the end of the game isn’t the thing that defines greatness. Very few of our sport’s iconic riders are remembered for their contest results. Even great contest riders tend to fade into the background if they are perceived to have “wack style”. Style is king in snowboarding. A long time ago I was asked “What is style?” for an article in Snowboarder magazine and I answered something about it being “the art of making whatever it is you’re doing, look like it’s worth doing.” I’d stand by that today because when you see someone with amazing style riding they just seem so comfortable in their skin, so fluid and in their element, that you can’t help but appreciate that you are watching them do what they were meant to do. Craig Kelly was always held out as an example of great style, and even though his style came to represent the old school eventually, he was so often imitated that it is impossible not to recognize his status.

I have a memory that will always define Craig’s style for me, even though it had nothing to do with giant airs or steep descents. We were riding at Mt. Baker one day and had to ride from the top of Chair Two down to the mid-station of Chair One. It’s not far and it’s relatively flat, I buckled in for the short ride and when I looked up watched Craig throw his board down and jump on without strapping in. He rode down the flat cattrack for a short distance and then dropped off the side and into a couple feet of fresh snow. He rode down the short pitch making his signature turns, and then when he reached the lower cattrack proceeded to hit the small wall hits, playing around, grabbing his board, kicking out a foot here and there, all the while with nothing but gravity and his balance holding him to the board. It was effortless for him and I rode behind him in awe.

Not long after, Jamie Lynn changed style forever in snowboarding but Craig had cemented his legendary status by then. I feel lucky to be a part of something that rewards people for looking like they are having fun. That’s why style is so important to us, it is always present no matter what kind of riding you’re doing, no matter what level you are at, and if you are a lucky, someday somebody will ride up to you and say; “nice style”."