Erich Kunz
Team Rider
At evo since
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Hey Erich, Whatcha up to?
Nothing too exciting, I’m right in the middle of summer quarter at WWU; it’s not anything to stress about but it’s the most prominent thing going in my life right now. I’ve also been playing a lot of soccer recently, I guess I’m trying to make up for Germany’s loss at Euro.
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How did school go for you this year?
School went really well this past year, despite the fact I didn’t get to ski as much as the old days. The design program at WWU is intense, so between going to class and the work that went along with it I was on hermit status more often than not the past nine months. All in all it feels good to be back in the mix doing something constructive and hopefully somewhat fruitful.
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I know you missed quite a bit of shredding this year for school but I want you to know we got you back. We totally support having a balance lifestyle and spending some extra time hitting the books will pay off in the long run. You did manage to sneak away early in the season to Alaska with Zach Davison. How was that?
Zach grew up in Anchorage and his parents still live there, so trips to Alaska are affordable considering we have free lodging and easy access to transportation. There is snow on the ground a good amount of the year up there so there is all sorts of stuff to do around Anchorage in terms of rails and what not. Of course when the snow is good we rally forty minutes to Girdwood to ride at Alyeska, which is a wonderland of natural terrain features for contorting maneuvers off of. Zach also has a cabin a few paces from the base, which is sweet because you can ski all day, come back for dinner (and maybe a few malt beverages) and then go back out for night riding. We always talk about bringing sleds up there, but considering how short our breaks are time spent on the Alcan would take up the majority of our holiday.
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You guys are like two peas in a pod. How long have you lived with him?
I think it’s been about four years, but I might be a little off.
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Any funny stories as of recent?
This is definitely one of those “you had to be there” situations, but yesterday we were up at this beach on Lake Whatcom playing beach volleyball (don’t hate!) and out of nowhere this French Bulldog with one of those doggie life preservers on darts onto the court at mach ten and straight jacks the ball. It was too small to bite the volleyball, but it kept trying and in doing so it kept kicking the ball and would continue to chase it just as fast as when it bolted onto the scene. There were half a dozen people chasing it, dodging through a crowded beach and nobody could catch the dog for a good twenty seconds. Finally someone got a hold of the ball, but the little guy kept jumping up and down trying to get the ball. It got it a few more times before the owner bounced with the dog.
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I asked Brett this too but is Baker really all it’s hyped up to be?
It’s definitely an awesome place to ride, but hype is hype. Sure there is amazing terrain around these parts and we get a lot of snow, but the magazines and movies don’t show you the two weeks straight of rain, or month straight of no precipitation. But all in all shit’s legit.
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You pulled up the other day, it’s the middle of June and your sled was still in the bed of your truck, what gives?
At that point in time there was still an 80 inch base at the zones in the Mt. Baker vicinity, so sled season was still go for launch. As for why it was in my truck when I was at evo: I have a super steep driveway so it’s a pain in the ass to load and unload every time I want to use it, so I just leave it in the truck all season. It’s hardly an issue living in Bellingham and gas mileage is hardly affected (surprisingly), the only time I run into trouble is when I roll down to Seattle and have to deal with parking. I usually have to lap the blocks around evo two or three times before I can find something to squeeze into.
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You removed all the decals, pretty inconspicuous, what kind of sled is it?
It’s a 2007 Summit Adrenaline, the best thing to come out of Canada since Neil Young. I took the decals off, because a) I thought they were hideous and b) I have this thing about advertising for a product I just spent $!@,#%& on. I do it with cars, too: first thing I do is debadge everything and get rid of the dealers tacky license plate frame. Maybe if the company cut me a deal to have their logos blown out all over the place things would be different, but that’s not how the game works…so that’s how I work!
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So besides the sled what other gear are you using to ensure a good time on the snow.
4FRNT, Dragon, Dakine, Saga, Bern and...uh...evo!
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You have been an evo athlete since day one. If Bryce Phillips is the Godfather(I hope he doesn’t read this) what would that make you?
Michael Corleone? No, that would make him my dad…next question!
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One of my first memories of you was here at evo, the Halloween you dressed up as Steve Zissou. What is your first memory of evo?
I guess a good one would be when Talib Kweli made a “surprise” appearance at some preseason party. I was so close to him I could have ripped the mic out of his hands at a private show in a ski store! I knew then more than ever that this place was on point.
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