SLOB AIR? Maybe. A crail, roast beef or tai pan? Only these in tune with the culture of
snowboarders know for sure the name of the trick Paul Culling performs on his snowboard. Culling
says much of the lingo for tricks revolves around food.

Terror of
the camera crews

Snowboarder
Pauli Culling
sliding to the top
..and into TV

PAUL CULLING is start-
ing off his careers — both
of them — with a bang.

By Elizabeth Collings
News Reporter

Or rather a crash, in terms of
his snowboarding career,

The good natured 20-year-old
laughs as he recounts a tale where
he mowed down a hapless Japa-
nese photography crew who were
shooting Culling at Blackcomb for
a snowboarding commercial.

“I’ve personally destroyed
$10,000 of camera equipment,”
says Cullins proudly.

“7 took him out at the knees.
They still took us out for dinner
that night, though,’’ he says. **So
I’m known in Japan as the camera
breaker.”’

In Canada, the Handsworth
grad is better known for his feats
while staying on the snowboard.

Last February, he placed third
at the National Half-Pipe Cham-
pionships in Ottawa. At the Ca-
nadian Championships at Cypress
last April, he placed second
overall in the men’s amateur cate-
gory.

In fact, Culling produced con-
sistently high results last season. —
or seasons, for the snowboarding
circuit, includes a winter and a
summer season with only a short
breather between the two.

On the snowboarding agenda
for Culling this winter is the B.C.

SNOWBOARDER Paul Culling
--. ‘‘personaily destroyed

$10,000 of camera equip-
ment.””

Snowboard Association race
series, the U.S. National Amateur
Championships in April at Mount
Hood, and, if he qualifies, the
U.S. Open, “the big bad ass con-
test’’ at Stratton, Vermont.

“Pm just thinking
snowboarding always now. |
dream about snowboarding,”" says
Culling, then adds, ‘It gets to be
too much sometimes, but [ have a
life other than snowboarding
too."’

This season, he maintains, will
be his last before he turns pro.

“! could have turned pro this
year but I decided I wanted to be
a really eood amateur rather than
a mediocre pro.”’

Nonetheless, Culling is probably
as professional an amateur as you
can get.

about

To promote himself 10 spon-
sors, he’s coaliected every picture
of him or reference to him that
has appeared in newspapers and
magazines over the years and put
them in a binder complete with his
snowboard resume and official
ranking (Canadian Open Champi-
on).

This is
snowboarder.

When he’s not riding his board
or plugging bimself to sponsors to
enable him to ride the board,
Culling’s feet are firmly at fixed to
terra firma where he is busy ped-
dling snowboard accesseries he's
designed to shops he jas got to
know while promoting his spon-
sors.

His business is
Name Snowboard
sponsor WestBeach Snowboard
who ke helps with designing
clothes.: Other spansors are Nitro
Snowboards and Elfgen Bindings
with a possible goggle sponsor yet
to be firmed up.

Culling is also. setting up
snowboarding camps al Seymour
this winter. The first camp on
Dec. 14-16 will be taught by Ca-
nadian pro Alex Warburton and
American pro Kris Jamieson.

After that the other camps will
be taught by “rising pros,’ Cull-
ing says, adding that he would
rather not teach himself.

“HE T have to instruct [will
because 1] know [ can, but TP want
to be more of a camp director.”
he says.

Culling is also hoping to have
time to syueeze in some more
night-time business courses at
Capilano College this winter."*

“fh like to think of myself as
having a business mind but we'll
see,”’ shrugs the snowboarder-
See Snowboarder page 19

one organized

called New
Products, his

Wednesuzy, Decemner 5. 1990 - North Shore News - 17

“SANTA SAYS
TURN ON THE

“ MODELS’ ”
fame SKATES
_ MEN’S
an Reg 329.99

SALE

BOYS’
Reg. 229.99

PN TSR ES

rh
pi
oO

MEN'S 099 SAL 5499
BOYS’ wo are 899%

oh
* ha S:

Ye eto,