“It’s too long to be in the air without a parachute.” That was Kody William’s answer when I asked him why he doesn’t like to hit big jumps. When it comes to fast food, Kody goes for a double burger, ‘animal style’ at In’N’Out, or he’ll spring for some Popeyes fried chicken because “Canada fucked up KFC.” He’s 19-years-old and spends his winters at Bear Mountain in California, but calls London, ON home. He rides for Alone Collective, Sandbox, Analog, Gnarly Clothes, and The Boardshop. When I asked him how long he’s going to snowboard for, he replied with, “I’ll snowboard ‘till I can’t snowboard anymore. Snowboarding is fun.” Ladies and gentlemen, we have a winner.
How many palm bays did you drink on New Years Eve?
I don’t know I blacked out before New Years. Probably none.
Oh, I thought the only people that blacked out before midnight on New Years drank Palm Bays.
I might have had a couple [laughs].
Well if you don’t remember the Palm Bays, what did you drink on New Years?
I started out with some Forty Creek, but ended up drinking whatever was handed to me.
Did you get 2x?
Oh yeah. 2x for sure.
What is 2x?
A crew my homies and I started in Collingwood. Basically we just snowboard and get fucked up every day.
Who’s in it?
Me, Jordin Gilles, Pat Hrivnak, Dave DeBono…a bunch of Collingwood homies.
Are you guys cliquey, or do you accept other dudes that want to get 2x?
I guess we accept others, but they don’t know what the 2x is about [laughs].
How’d you feel about getting on the harsh zeach to scorp blog?
I was stoked. At least I got some recognition for eating shit, Transworld linked me a Monday mallet.
Is it true your dad was a pro-baseball player?
Yeah, he started off by getting drafted for Taiwan, and then he played for Detroit for 3 years. Then he had to get surgery on his elbow.
Word, what’s he do now?
He's a roofer and he’s a real nigga [laughs].
Is it true that he drives a Ferrari?
Nah, well if he has, I haven’t seen it.
Tell me about how you almost got banned from your home resort?
I can’t afford the lift tickets there, so one day, one of the head guys asked me if I had a seasons pass. I said, “Yes I do.” he checked the computer and I didn’t. They weren’t too stoked on that.
Did you get kicked out?
Yeah, they actually called my house and told me to stop poaching or else the cops would be involved the next time.
I heard you called him a bitch.
Yeah. I won’t say his name, but fuck him.
What about the girl manager? Didn’t you call her a bitch too?
She was a bitch! I was hiking the hill and she was trying to make me buy a pass.
Are you going to rep an Afro again this year?
Oh yeah. I’m trying to work on some baby dreads.
Why should you be sponsored?
I don’t know man. A lot of kids deserve to be sponsored that aren’t. I just got lucky I guess.
Do you think you get an advantage in the snowboard world because you’re black?
I definitely think I get an advantage. I think there’s a lot more hype around black snowboarders. People get stoked when they see a black guy on some cold-ass shit [laughs].
What’s your favourite thing about snowboarding?
Chillin’ with the homies.
What do you hate about snowboarding?
Kids in the park that shouldn’t be in the park—they’ll take you out!
Who’s the worst snowboarder in Ontario?
Are you trying to get me in trouble [laughs]?
What’s your house like in Cali?
It’s pretty sick. I’m living with five of my homies from Ontario.
Out of them, who’s the worst?
Johnny Sterling. Kid’s an idiot.
Why is riding in Cali so much better than Ontario?
Sun every day, no ice, and the scene is way chiller.
Do you think that smoking weed makes people snowboard better?
I would say a lot of snowboarders think it makes them better, but it’s probably just cause they’ve been smokin’ their whole life.
What’s the worst bail you’ve seen in a contest?
This Cole Cummings kid broke his back at Horseshoe Open a couple years ago in Barrie testing the big air jump.
Did you hit the jump after that?
Nah, I don’t hit big jumps.
Why not?
It’s too long to be in the air without a parachute.
Do you use Tinder?
I used to use it, but then I deleted it.
Why?
I felt like it was too much of an online dating site.
Well it is an online dating site—to get laid.
I like that, but fuck, I feel like a 40-year-old man on a dating site.
What about girls that take tinder seriously?
They’re all sluts. I see girls on there I know and they’re age reads that they’re 21, fuckin’ girls are younger than I am, like 17.
Ever get a tinder kill?
I have not. I know a couple people with tinder kills.
Your cali homies like tinder, eh?
Yeah, they were here and they called themselves swipe right crew or some shit. The one day my homie got my cousin. I was pissed.
Did he get the tinder kill?
Nah, he didn’t. I made him swipe left. Don’t touch my cousin [laughs].
How long do you think you’ll snowboard for?
I think I’ll snowboard till I can’t snowboard anymore. I just like to have fun. Snowboarding is fun.
How did you end up drinking your brother’s piss?
My grandma used to buy me orange juice and my brother apple juice. I finished all my orange juice before his apple juice was gone. He told me not to drink his apple juice. The next day I went and grabbed the last bottle of my brother’s apple juice, except it wasn’t apple juice, it was his piss. I threw up right after.
What life lesson did you learn from that?
Don’t touch my brother’s stuff.
Did he ever do any other nasty shit to you?
Well it’s not nasty, but he knocked me out with a slap, though. He actually legit knocked me out cold.
Did he bitch slap you?
Nah...well...I guess it was. Just an open hand—boom. I was just out cold.
What did you do?
I dunno—pissed him off. Must have done something.
Didn’t he throw you down the stairs one time or something?
Yeah! I was wearing his Jordan’s and he got pissed cause I scuffed em or something. I threw a knife at him. He got pissed and threw me down the stairs.
Did that fuck you up at all?
Nah. One time he pranked me in the shower though. I slipped and I broke my finger. I was in the shower, he came in and poured cold water over the top, I freaked out, slipped, and broke my finger.
What’s your advice to kids that have a shit attitude toward snowboarding?
There are a lot of kids with shitty attitudes these days. I feel like a lot of kids don’t snowboard because they like to snowboard anymore, they just snowboard cause everyone wants to be sponsored. They don’t care about snowboarding. You’ve gotta do it for the fun of it.
