Wildcats Never Die | History of the influential Whistler snowboard party legends
It wouldn’t be a stretch to call ‘The Wildcats‘ the most influential crew in snowboard history. They among the first and embody everything the snowboarding lifestyle should be: good friends, good times, solid work ethic, good style, etc.
Their is a superbly written piece on the history, legacy, and inspiration of The Wildcats on TWSnow. It covers their heyday of snowboarding when they put Whistler on the map, bonded over shitty beer and shittier techno music, and also dives into their influence on the shred lifestyle and bringing up of the next generation of ‘Cats like Mikey Rencz and Eero Niemela.
“The late ’90s and early 2000s were a formative time for snowboarding, as it became increasingly exposed to and sought after by the corporate world. The Wildcats didn’t pander to that. They cut the sleeves off their T-shirts and wore them on their heads. They dug snow caves and drank whiskey inside, rode GT snow racers off large jumps, smoked weed, listened to DMX, and went home with many women. It was a time when cash was flush in the industry, and the mainstream spotlight was beginning to shine light on the underground. Kale Stephens, Chris Brown, Chris Dufficy, and JF Pelchat blew up, and brands fought over the rights to endorse them. They were young and without formal representation or management, but they signed six-figure deals and were shown the money. They were global superstars.”
There are no passed out Sharpie’d face stories, but here’s a good one that sums up their lifestyle.
“Pete Andersen recalls one night after Devun Walsh purchased a townhome that became more of a flophouse for other Wildcats. “Dev was taking a six a.m. flight to Chile, so we decided to stay up all night with him, but he passed out around three.” They repacked Walsh’s luggage, and he landed in Chile with a board bag full of herbs and spices, random items from his kitchen, a Danzig CD, and no clothes.”
Click over to TWSnow to read the feature Wildcats Never Die: The Whistler legends live on
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