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Nicolas Müller, changing up board sponsors from Burton to GNU in the midst of his two-year film project, Fruition. Adam Moran/Burton photo.
As the snow falls and the crow flies, year’s end brings new beginnings and it would seem our favorite Swiss stylemaster, Nicolas Müller, has flown the Burton coop and will be strapping into GNU for 2015. As Nico said in a GNU press release this week, "Life never stands still and we’re here to make the most of it. Riding for Gnu is a fun adventure I cannot miss. The decision came naturally when I found Mt.Weird. I am very excited to climb it and ride it every day."
After over 15 years of snowboard superstardom, Nicolas Muller’s boundless energy and passion for snowboarding cease to be diminishing. In fact, he’s ratcheting it up. Going into the 2nd year of production on his shred magnus opus, Fruition with Absinthe Films, Nico’s eyes are clearly on the prize as his smooth style, cat-like reflexes, 'skateboarding down the hill while surfing frozen waves' approach to riding sideways will continue to burn bright. Shred on. Shred on, brother.
There has been some rather unflattering articles about snowboarding and doomsday predictions for our beautiful sport. But who cares, It’s a bunch of bullshit.
Right? I get wrapped up in it as well. Then I just step outside and realize I just need to go ride, and that none of that all matters.
We need more Nicolas Müllers. We need more Mike Basichs. Speaking of which, you building a Swiss Chalet deep in the mountains by hand soon?
Nico with an absolute signature method, replete with a full back crack, in the Swiss woods while filming for the Nike video. Nike photo.
Wow, what an honor to use me in sentence with Mikey like that! Monster Backside Magazine has a huge spread on him. On the first double spread he is building his own house, then the next double spread he is building his own camper van, on the next double spread he builds his own lift. He is so amazing! I guess I am just too busy being Swiss.
What are some Swiss habits you wish the rest of the world would subscribe to?
I thought you were about to say things the rest of the world won’t subscribe to, so whenever I get too long here, when things start to piss me off, you have got to remember the good side, you know? So, let’s see. The good things: we are a small country, we really have to take care of stuff, we try to make quality things. Recycling a lot because there is no place to put all the shit. In certain things, we are definitely good at function and quality.
You guys are also very rich.
Yeah, right? That one comes with the other, and that’s very true. That’s probably why I could never build my own stuff here, because there will always be a guy from town telling you that you need a permit for this and that. Fuck, you guys build it then!
What’s your definition of success?
Well, let’s just start with you can’t eat money. So, we have that out of the way. It’s also something you need in certain parts of the world, like Switzerland. Mostly I believe the definition of success is to be able to go your own way and bring something to fruition with that. We are also calling my new film project Fruition. I was really stoked on the word 'fruition,' because that’s a good word to sum up the story I want to tell through my career. Exactly that. I didn’t go the safe route–I went towards the unknown. My way.
Last winter you went the Himalayas.
The India trip was a real interesting one. It’s not like going to Mammoth, or even the Swiss Alps. It was a mission to get there. The mountains were so rad, probably some of the best terrain ever. Obviously, one of the biggest mountain ranges in the world, too. Tree runs, pillows, boulders, gaps. Big mountains we didn’t even get into. We’re planning to go back there since we were only there for 10 days. I want to go there as a travel part and a highlight part for my film.
Do you have a snowboard bucket list?
Not really, yet there is so much. I am starting to write some stuff down. I really should start to make a bucket list. I am just blessed I can be this guy and just ride wherever. Right around here, there are some mountains that I haven’t been to. I am 32, and I have lived my whole life here. I have been to Alaska 10 times, but not even ridden the mountains across the valley. Again, the future is gonna be bright and I am excited. It’s a trip, such a privilege to be that guy that now rides powder and just does butters and then says a bunch of philosophical crazy shit . I am sometimes just like, “What did I just say?”
What’s the key to tweaking the world’s greatest method? Is it hearing your back crack?
Now that he's on GNU, the bases on those methods will be looking a little bit different than usual. Gaudenz Danuser photo via GNU.
No, better not, that would be bad, even though it almost happened a couple times when you kick it out when you're so excited and you’re almost like, “Holy shit!” Kind of ruins my day there if I don’t warm up. Warm up, everybody! Kids, don’t forget it. You’re young now, but warm up. The key for a method is you just kind of got to let the board go off and with your head you got to go against that, so you don’t flip and you just arch. Like anything you want to get good at, you got to put time in. If you want to get good at something you’ve got to put time in. I had good teachers. Terje and Ingmar Bergman’s methods were my idols. Now, it’s funny to hear people say my method’s are the greatest because I just copied those guys.
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How does age and time change your perceptions and expectations of snowboarding? Do you approach the mountains differently?
Nico blasts through the woods in his Never Not segment. Nike photo.
For sure. I made sure I changed and adapted to also what gave me joy. I used to compete a lot and I wanted to go to Air & Style and show my best. I wanted to win a little bit, but more than anything I wanted to be in the final and show my best style. Even if I got 3rd place, I didn’t really care. I knew I showed my style and that the people I knew who would recognize would recognize. That was more important for me–the street cred. Then I went into more freeriding and just filming, and stepped away from the contests.
As you get older, you ideally get wiser. There is always the little kid in you who doesn’t want to give something up. Like, you go to the contest and you realize you shouldn’t go anymore. Let the next generation go. You can get good at the next thing, like riding mountains effortlessly. I don’t remember a moment where I was like, “Oh that was stupid! I could hurt myself!” I just got better and smarter at using my body riding so I can ride for the rest of my life. I think for everybody, the crown is freeriding. That’s where I am at with my age.
How did you get around Switzerland’s mandatory military policy?
I went to a psychiatrist that was also against the army and he wrote a note. When you turn 18, every male has to go to a thing you call checkout day. You do all the tests and stuff. You get put into your divisions. When you are 20 you have to go. On that check out day, I had a letter from that psychiatrist basically saying that I had a huge problem with authority–never had friends at school, kind of like made up all these things.
I went to a psychiatrist that was also against the army and he wrote a note... I had a letter from that psychiatrist basically saying that I had a huge problem with authority–never had friends at school, kind of like made up all these things.
They put that together with a real story, like my parents split up, he mixed that in, came up with a little something like that, and back in the day if you weren’t able to do the army, you were kinda fucked. Like, let’s say during my parents time. You kinda were labeled a fuck-up in society, so you would never get a job. It was really important. You had to serve in the military, and if you served and were good in the military, you were a good citizen. If not, they thought you were a problem. Now, it’s not that bad anymore. They want people to not go, because if you don’t go you have to pay. I have to pay 3% of my income tax to the army.
What are your thoughts on the cultural phenomenon of strapping a camera to your head before going riding?
Nico overlooks his Swiss domain of Laax, sans GoPro. Adam Moran/Burton photo.
That is a cultural phenomenon. Let me think about it. I mean, sure, everybody likes to have their selfies. I mean, I have my own right here on my table, too. The new ones are really good quality. Opening day you see people flying down the hill and they don’t even notice there is no base. Their shit just comes tumbling. Maybe they see their post and think their board was pointed the wrong way. It’s definitely interesting. From what I have heard, it’s gotten some people in real hairy situations where they actually forgot they were in a real life situation just because they were on camera. I think it looks a little bit stupid, to be honest, if the thing is just sticking out of your helmet.
You started filming your own film project this winter. Can you tell us a little bit about this, how it’s going, where you’ve been and what we can expect?
Never Not 2 was where I would like to continue from and where I left off. I want to give back a little something, and it's hard to describe what that is. For example, Subjekt Haakonsen got me hooked. Literally that film. I wanted to snowboard after that. That’s all I wanted to do. So, I want to create a little more substantial film like that where in 20 years from now, I see somebody and they are like, “Dude! Your film! I am going to snowboard for the rest of my life after watching that.”
I think that some things come out every year that are great films, but mostly it’s not that substantial, and that’s why I would like do that. I am talking a mouth full right now and maybe it’s good to have a little pressure. I guess we will see in one year from now.
