Hi Arthur, how was your summer? You were out in the US, right?
Yeh, with the CAPiTA Team at High Cascade [snowboard camp, in Mount Hood, Oregon]. It was great, because I saw friends that I hadn’t seen for a long time, because of the pandemic. People like Mike Rav. It was really good to catch up.

They used to run summer camps where you learned to ride in Les Deux Alpes, did you spend a lot of time riding those?
Yeh, but it was a different time. There were fewer rules, there wasn’t the private snow park for people on the camp, like you have in the states. My parents were kind of just happy to send me alone up to the glacier, trusting me. I was with a bunch of older snowboarders, sure, but it wasn’t an organised thing.

Do you tend to take most of the summer off these days?
Yeh, the last three or four years I’ve taken time off [from snowboarding]. Four years ago was maybe my first summer—almost ever—of not travelling for too long, and not living like a student the whole time. [laughs] I love to travel still, but I’m a bit more picky. I was talking about New Zealand recently, because I was thinking of maybe going to Jossi Wells’ event, but I don’t think I would go there for just one week now.

“I feel like there has to be a big change now in the minds of people. We kept saying “oh, it’s going to be so sketchy for future generations” but now we realise we’re really living in it. There’s already victims of it. It’s sketchy for us, for our generation, now”

Maybe that’s because I had the opportunity to go there many times already, but also, you know, because the world has changed, and maybe we shouldn’t fly across the world just for one week without thinking, you know?

Am I right in thinking you’ve been living in Berlin for a while now?
Yeh, well, I have been, for the past seven years. But I’m actually making a move—I’m going to live in Chamonix.

What did you appreciate about city life, and what did you miss about the mountains that’s pulling you back?
Before Berlin I never lived in a big city before. The opportunity to have access to culture, to go to concerts, or go to see some art, or even just go to a nice bookstore, that was really cool. Aside from the few stops I did in cities while I was snowboarding, I never really had a chance to check a cool bookstore. Suddenly there’s one in every street, you know?

“Cham is a place I discovered very late—maybe five years ago. But I love it, it’s become my favourite place for snowboarding”

I grew up in a bubble, knowing everybody, and having families that are more or less on the same level, not seeing poverty, or difficulties. And that’s what I liked about being in the city too—I didn’t want to stay like that village boy that doesn’t know what it’s like for some people. But I think what I’ve been missing is the environment, and just being able to get some perspective on things. Even just hiking 100 metres, you can look down the town [whereas] Berlin is only flat. So maybe a little bit of a slope, that’s what I was missing. [laughs]

Why Chamonix?
Cham is a place I discovered very late—maybe five years ago. But I love it, it’s become my favourite place for snowboarding. It’s also a bit of a centre, you know, for my family, more south in the Alps, and then for Italy and Switzerland, and Geneva is right there. It’s very central.

Do you think the move will affect your riding? Are we going to see some crazy big mountain stuff from you?
I don’t think so [laughs]. Some people do that really well already, and it’s not really my thing. It’s a little bit random to say this, but it’s true: I don’t feel good above 2,500m. [laughs] Not that I don’t feel good, but I feel like the style isn’t always there? When you go to variable snow, in a couloir, it’s a challenge, but I feel like it’s not always very enjoyable, and it’s not what I want to show with my snowboarding. I think my comfort zone is around the treeline— that’s where I feel best, and I ride best. It’s more fun terrain, and that’s kind of my environment.

And there’s enough of that in Chamonix?
Yeh, it’s not famous for that, you’re right. But I think people can get the wrong idea of what Cham is, and that’s exactly why I didn’t go to Cham for so long as well. But there’s a lot of nice terrain like that.

Around that time, Shaun White, who’d just announced he would retire from competition after the Olympics, posted a video of you and wrote: “Doing technical tricks in the park is cool and all, but this is what I think of when I think of snowboarding.” What did you think of that? Was it a surprise?
Yeh for sure! I don’t really know him, and it’s obviously not every day that Shaun White is posting something of you. He never seemed to care that much about other kinds of snowboarding, or to talk about other riders. It’s not like he isolated himself from snowboarding but he didn’t really take part in the culture and I’d never seen him give props to another snowboarder like that, so that was cool. We were kidding like “oh, he’s gonna come and film with us now”

 

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What would you do if he phoned you up and asked to come film with you?
I would say “yeh for sure”. Of course. Like at least try it? It might be good [for him] to film with a different crew.

You’ve filmed with the same crew for a long time—you’ve been friends with Olivier Gittler since your days in Deux Alpes. Are you guys planning something this winter?
Yeh, we’re talking about doing a movie, but also we haven’t done a SHE together for a long time, and it’s something we want to do at least one more time. So we’re talking about that.

Sick! The internet will be very happy to hear that news. The internet wants another Side Hits Euphoria, I’m sure of it.
Yeh, a lot of people were asking, and we still enjoy doing it. Hopefully we’ll find a way to make it a little different, but really, it is what it is, it’s just side hit and resort riding.

“Now, I’m 34 and I feel like maybe the last few years have been the years where I’ve enjoyed being on my snowboard the most.”

What I do like about it though is that it maybe shows a bit more flow to snowboarding. I’m from the generation where a lot of video parts were a guy doing a trick on one feature, then cut to the next trick on the next feature, without too much snowboarding in between. And for me, I would really like to show more snowboarding in between tricks in an exciting way.

Do you have a project that’s dropping this year?
There’s a Volcom movie coming out. It’s stuff we filmed in Canada after Natural Selection. I can’t pronounce the name of the movie. It’s a very Volcom name. Something cosmic, some word I didn’t really know [laughs] [It’s called Creedlecosm – ed.]

Was Volcom a brand you always loved growing up?
Yeh, I didn’t necessarily watch all the movies, but the team was amazing. Terje and Jamie and all those guys. And it felt like they always put the culture of board sports up front. There’s people on the team with me now, like Ozzie Wright [the surfer] on the team, and Mike Rav [Arthur’s snowboarding buddy] and [skateboarder] Dustin Dollin. All these guys I’m a big fan of, ’cos I think they’re so real and they’re really inspiring.

How much input did you have on your new outerwear collection? You paint, so did they used your artwork at all?
We tried to as much as possible. Outerwear is not the best place to put artwork, but at the same time I was participating in it as much as possible. I love design in general, and I love to see the team working on something like this. We work between two and three years before it’s going to be in stores and I love to be able to see the whole process.

I loved the 90s-style Volcom logos you brought back
Yeh, that was the inspiration for this collection—to have something a bit baggy, so bringing back the 90s, but bringing in some original style at the same time.

Last time you spoke to Whitelines you said you couldn’t imagine being a pro at 30. Now, can you see an upper limit? Will you still be a pro at 40?
Well, you never know what is going to happen in life—I’m definitely grateful that I’m still doing it. I’m thankful for the people who give me the opportunity to still do it, but also happy that I still enjoy it. Back then, I was young and arrogant, and thought: “snowboarding when you’re 30? Don’t you have anything better to do?” Now, I’m 34 and I feel like maybe the last few years have been the years where I’ve enjoyed being on my snowboard the most.

Well, you still look like you’re having a lot of fun, anyway.
I am, I am. I still feel like a little kid when I strap into my snowboard. It’s so much fun, for sure.

Arthur’s signature Volcom outerwear range is available to buy on Volcom.com now. You can keep up with his antics—and find out about his latest film projects—by following him on Instagram @arthur_longo

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Get The Gear

Volcom Longo Pullover Jacket and Arthur Pants 2022-2023

Price: £210 / €230 / $220

With his effortless style, precise board control, and ability to tackle side hits, Arthur Longo has made resort riding look more fun than we could have ever imagined. Whilst we may not possess the gracefulness that Arthur does when it comes to manoeuvring the slopes, thanks to Volcom we’ve got the chance to match his look and hope that might just up our style points on the slopes.

Who Is It For?

The subtle retro look is just enough for you to get compliments on your look, yet not too much to brighten up the whole resort. The Volcom Longo Pullover Jacket and Arthur Pants are perfect for the mellow resort cruiser who just wants to feel comfortable and have a good time without having to worry about their outerwear giving up on them when the conditions take a turn for the worse.

Selected for The Whitelines 100 – take a closer look at the 2022-2023 Volcom Longo Pullover Jacket and Arthur Pants

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