Ask Me Anything: I'm Jason Levinthal

[El Chupacabra]

Jason...

Any theory on why El Chupacabra asks so many questions?

I have a thirst for knowledge.

Or goat blood. I get them confused.

[Odin]

Jason,

Have you ever had that feeling of a slow fart?

Especially as you slip underneath the bedcovers and you think to yourself.... "Damn, self, I think I could probably just fart that slow fart."
Then eventually that pressure builds and you realize before the first wisp of breathy gas is expelled from your starfish that this is a mistake, a big fucking mistake. Quickly the pressure release override reaches down from your colon and switches off your ability to prevent the gaseous clouds from expelling out from between your cheeks.

SUDDENLY! There's a pop, a run, a poop and you know, you just know.....that you are going to have to take a long fucking shower to clean up from this clandestine slow fart.

I mean, it seemed like a good idea at the time, to lessen your pain in the stomach and to get rid of the cloud of goat curry smoke that accumulated in your lower intestine but honestly, everyone knows not to push. I mean you thought to yourself five minutes before you gave 'er "probably not a great idea right now" but you know what? A slow fart is a tricky thing. It is the siren call of the 10:00 hour when you settle into clean sheets and think, "sweet fancy moses, this is soothing".

Liquefied, unctuous goo filling the void of your boxers and covering the mattress and the screaming, the screaming.... it's someone voice yelling "OH GOD, WE WILL NEVER GET THE STAIN OUT" and suddenly you are thinking of burning your fucking bedroom to the ground as you run with uncontrollable spurts of goat curry towards the shower.

So yeah,

Have you ever had that feeling of a slow fart?

[JLev]

MOE's

Best burrito in Burlington?

common… cortijo fo sure! no bad locally owned restaurants in this town. Even McDonalds & Taco Bell went out of business haha

[El Chupacabra]

^^^^ /end thread.

[JLev]

Is the Hoff bringing back Tobagan boarding?

Tobaganboarding & skiboarding will never die!

[JLev]

Jason,

Have you ever had that feeling of a slow fart?

Especially as you slip underneath the bedcovers and you think to yourself.... "Damn, self, I think I could probably just fart that slow fart."
Then eventually that pressure builds and you realize before the first wisp of breathy gas is expelled from your starfish that this is a mistake, a big fucking mistake. Quickly the pressure release override reaches down from your colon and switches off your ability to prevent the gaseous clouds from expelling out from between your cheeks.

SUDDENLY! There's a pop, a run, a poop and you know, you just know.....that you are going to have to take a long fucking shower to clean up from this clandestine slow fart.

I mean, it seemed like a good idea at the time, to lessen your pain in the stomach and to get rid of the cloud of goat curry smoke that accumulated in your lower intestine but honestly, everyone knows not to push. I mean you thought to yourself five minutes before you gave 'er "probably not a great idea right now" but you know what? A slow fart is a tricky thing. It is the siren call of the 10:00 hour when you settle into clean sheets and think, "sweet fancy moses, this is soothing".

Liquefied, unctuous goo filling the void of your boxers and covering the mattress and the screaming, the screaming.... it's someone voice yelling "OH GOD, WE WILL NEVER GET THE STAIN OUT" and suddenly you are thinking of burning your fucking bedroom to the ground as you run with uncontrollable spurts of goat curry towards the shower.

So yeah,

Have you ever had that feeling of a slow fart?

Not old enough yet, hopefully adult diaper auto-disintegrate poop technology will be perfected by the time I need it!

[JLev]

What are your favorite resorts to ski in the lower 48? East coast and west.

Squaw, Stratton, Baker, Bolton Valley, Summer time Hood, I haven't been too as many as you'd think and the random days I do not always epic conditions so probably would like more if I was a ski bum with more time to ride instead of staring at my screen hahaa

[JLev]

What was your High School Prom like?

pretty laime to me, but maybe I just wasn't into dressing up in a tuxedo and dancing iback then. Now I do that shit every weekend and love it!

[adrenalated]

How do I get protein stains out of cashmere?

What about blood?

Hypothetically, of course.

[jamesd32]

What material do you usually print graphics onto and with what technique? Or just straight onto the back of the top sheet? One thing that stumps me about ski construction is how the ink is applied in a way that doesn't diminish the integrity of the lamination. No worries if you don't want to spill the beans, though.

[JLev]

What really happened in Roswell in 1947?

[JLev]

What material do you usually print graphics onto and with what technique? Or just straight onto the back of the top sheet? One thing that stumps me about ski construction is how the ink is applied in a way that doesn't diminish the integrity of the lamination. No worries if you don't want to spill the beans, though.

Need to use epoxy ink so it sticks as well as the epoxy itself. Most companies silkscreen like tee-shirts do with each color applied 1 layer at a time and drying in between and lots of dots. I use a digital printer directly prints to the plastic with same ink and then roller back coat it with white from behind. Or I use sublimation inks and digi print, both these methods give you photo-real high res graphics and you can produce small qtys with no extra tooling or extra time drying each color. Basically print like you do on your inkjet at home but it's a $170k machine I'm lucky to have access to.

[JLev]

Wow - three pages worth of crap and not a single Wu-Tang question?

Does Masta Killa ski?

Did he have any input into the design of the ski?

Any of the other Wu Tang members coming out with their own designs?

If you get an invited to do a cameo on the next Wu Tang album, what would be your rap moniker?

- He does not ski, but is down with it, kind a like I don’t rap but like listening to it.
- He had 100% input on the graphic. He had the idea of a hand illustrated graphic inspired by Wu's song"Da Mystery of Chess Boxin" from their debut album “Enter Wu-Tang 36 Chambers”. We went back and forth over the course of a month till we were both stoked. I had a few ideas for different quotes for the base and he choose this one.
- I’d be stoked to try to do a ski to pay homage to ODB ski next year. RIP
- I actually already have a Wu name: Snowninja

[muted]

If someone wrote an expose-all letter about Line, like the recent Burton letter, what would it say?

[t-the-east]

Do you make or have any plans to make a ski with metal in it? I ski at whiteface a lot and need a super stiff twin. If so, can I have a pair? Thanks

[DBdude]

where is your favorite spot for a beer in BTV?

[babybear]

snowninja should be your tgr name from here on out
having a wu tang name is legit

[JLev]

Question for Jason: are you a corporate spancer of the 2016 Bobby Baker Invitational at Alpental ? Free Line skis to the winner of the ski-off between digitaldeath and 4ply ?

winner gets an autographed bottle of jack

[JLev]

I don't even have a question....just this:

Thank you for rescuing the flexon. Sweet baby Jesus knows there's no other boot that works right when you're used to the flexon. Thank you so much for rescuing the flexon.

thank you.

word

[jamesd32]

Need to use epoxy ink so it sticks as well as the epoxy itself. Most companies silkscreen like tee-shirts do with each color applied 1 layer at a time and drying in between and lots of dots. I use a digital printer directly prints to the plastic with same ink and then roller back coat it with white from behind. Or I use sublimation inks and digi print, both these methods give you photo-real high res graphics and you can produce small qtys with no extra tooling or extra time drying each color. Basically print like you do on your inkjet at home but it's a $170k machine I'm lucky to have access to.

Thanks, man. Epoxy ink definitely makes sense.

One more question. How do you feel about "boat hull" tips/tails? Companies seem to like to tout them as some awesome technology, but to me it seems they would just decrease flotation and add unnecessary cost/swing weight.

[JLev]

Can you describe your relationship with Worth skis?

First date, was ok, typical dinner and a movie. 2nd night out got to 2nd base. 3rd date they told me they want to have kids & stuff so I was like, I think we should just be friends.

[JLev]

Why don't more companies use quadraxial glass? Cost?

When did you first start using rubber in your layups and what inspired it?

Every ski company uses what's refered to as "rubber foil" over their edges to increase adhesion between the steel edge and fiber above it. I just happen to call it out. Plus I use more of it by running full width in the tip and tail to reduce delam when a ski is slapped down on a landing the tips actually completely unfolds flat and each time that creates sheer forces that try to delam the layers of materials. Think of a ski’s construction like a magazine or phone book, each page = layers of material in the ski. Then bend your magazine you’ll see every page slide against each other, this is “shear”. This shear force trys to separate, thus delaminate all the layers in your ski every time it’s flexed or the tips are slapped down on a jump landing. The rubber acts as an insulator so that the edge and other materials can slide against each other when flexing without delaminating. This dramatically improves durability & reduces vibration. I also don't run edge around the perimeter of the tips for same reason. The more different materials with different flex characteristics in the tips, the more they try to work against each other during sheer forces and delam. You don't carve on your tips so less metal = less delam = less weight = more better.

[JLev]

Why don't more companies use quadraxial glass? Cost?

When did you first start using rubber in your layups and what inspired it?

4 directions of fiberglass is obviously better but also more costly which is why most ski companies don't use. I use it because I sell my skis direct I cut out the middle man so have more money to work with to invest into more and better materials.
Fiberglass works like a guitar string, when it is flexed it wants to spring back, that’s the energy or pop you feel in a ski. However this energy can only be applied in the direction the actual fiberglass is run. This means the more directions of fiberglass, the more energy, pop & responsiveness. Industry standard “Triaxial” fiberglass runs in only three directions, we use a Quasi Isotropic fiberglass configuration, same as the aerospace industry to maximize energy & strength in as many directions as possible, 4 different axis 0, 90, +45, -45. It costs more, but it’s worth the performance, if you can afford to put it in your skis.

[irul&ublo]

Can The Metal be ordered with a plain black base?

[JLev]

Eric Pollard seems super creative but also passionate about his designs and vision for skiing. Did you guys ever butt heads on ski design/shaping?

Also, when you were at Line, besides Pollard what athlete was the most influential in ski design?

Such a sick unexpected question. Pollard and I didn't actually butt heads. He's got a really grounded perspective and he's worked with other brands that don't give a shit and appreciated my willingness to not only listen but make his ideas a reality & I never had the skills or vision for skiing he does so both of us had huge respect for each other's strengths and mutual respect so we were always on the same page, both influencing each other equally.
No other athlete had the vision for product design like Eric, he's one of the few with a vision for both skiing & product's future. Kris Ostness & Skogen Sprang were also influential back in the day in terms of them coming to me explaining what they were trying to do on skis and then I would take more control over the product to ideas to support their needs.