When BMO Throws Curveballs

Some winters reward control. Others throw CURVEBALLs.

686's newest snowboard video grew out of one of those unpredictable seasons; chasing snow as it appeared, and riding for the simple reason that it feels right. Snowboarder Blake Moller sits at the center of that process and the end of that video. His riding, mindset, and approach to being on snow shape the project just as much as the lines themselves.

I’ve known BMO long enough to know that snowboarding has always been about more than clips or results for him. It’s about progression, homies, and staying connected to the feeling that got him hooked in the first place. I'm hyped I got the chance sit down with him to talk about CURVEBALL, how he found his way into snowboarding, the riders and videos that inspired him early on, and what keeps him motivated as things continue to evolve.

The Barrel Seeker:

Yo whats up? Yea man ya know I’m just trying to push my riding the furthest I can and have a damn good time doing it. That’s the biggest motivator for me is just to push myself and try to keep progressing and doing the things that feel good to me.

When 686 brought this idea to us we all thought Hupp was the perfect fit for the job. We just wanted to make a snowboard video that would make people stoked to ride powder.

Curveball to me is kind of just unpredictable. That’s how the winter went, the snow was hard to chase and kind of felt like we just kept getting skunked a bit. Obviously it all worked out in the end but it just felt like we were on the road all winter long and it was always unpredictable. Whether that was people’s plans changing at the last minute, contests coming up, sleds were breaking on sunny days that we waited weeks for or just getting smoked on a hit and having to sit out for a bit. It’s all part of the game and part of the fun that we are all just chasing snow when it falls.

Dude thank you. Yea I mean I just want to keep riding and doing things that make me stoked, and that’s always gonna be the main driving factor. I guess it feels pretty normal and it always has because all I want to do in the winter is snowboard and ride pow.

No it didn’t feel like pressure from the outside it was only the pressure I would put on myself to try and get clips when we were all together.

I think that all comes from us riding together throughout our childhood and mainly from my dad and older brother just because that is who Tanner and I have been chasing down the mountain from a young age.

I mean when The Art of Flight came out that changed the whole way we saw the world. Just set a new standard and still does to this day. I think as I get older I draw more and more inspiration from all sorts of riding and use it as inspo everyday.

I honestly just hear stories from my mom and dad saying that when I first did it I just immediately fell in love but I think more than anything it was a cool way for us as a family to be able to go on trips and spend time in the mountains together as a family.

I definitely watched POP the most, but some other notable ones are Forum or Against ’Em, 9191, and Landline.

Main riders for me were Travis Rice, John Jackson, and Nico Müller. And honestly no they are still my heroes in many ways, forever inspired by them.

I will say two of my biggest heroes would definitely be my older brother Grifen and my younger brother Tanner. They have always tried to do everything to the best they could, both super smart. And they have so much drive, and nothing gets them more stoked than scaring themselves a bit.

Which leads me to my mom and dad. They are the true heroes. They just put it all on the line and really prioritize memories more than anything in the world, and that’s something I try to carry into my everyday life. Honestly, they are really just the shit, and there’s nothing they wouldn’t do for their family or to support them in doing what they love and what’s important to them.

Powder riding is by far the type of riding that gets me out of bed in the morning.

Whether that’s filming for a video, riding a contest on sick terrain or whatever lies in front of you. Not to say I do like a packed down run too. ;) But the tip of the iceberg for me is doing a line or trick naturally on the first try. That’s the stuff I dream about.

We first got connected filming for Foyer about four years ago and clicked immediately. He’s a great friend of mine and we really jive together. I think we both just see terrain similarly and he knows my boarding really well at this point and can push me into doing things in a natural way.

We waited a couple weeks in Whistler for a sunny day and it was gonna be cloudy and snowy after that so we had this one day to go up into the alpine. It’s late March so not much more time left in the season and we get up there mad early and as we’re breaking through to the alpine Darrah’s sled hits a rock and just destroys her whole left ski and is unrideable any further. So we had to limp it back to the truck and get it to the sled shop as soon as possible.

I think we got one other sunny day in Whistler all year and it was the first week of January so we only really had a couple hours in the morning of good light. All in all it wasn’t a big deal; we were all healthy and in good spirits.

I really need to have those summer and fall months to just let go of snowboarding and get hyped on other things that make me stoked. Don’t get me wrong I definitely miss snowboarding but enjoying other aspects of life just gets me that much more hyped to ride when time comes.

Riding powder and just lapping with the homies or letting the sled sit at 7000 rpm ripping the deep.

It feels like a chapter in this life that I can look back on and remember the good, the hard, and time in the mountains with friends and good people. Definitely a winter I won’t forget, I had so much fun.

I hope they can pick up on the fact that we are really having a good ass time doing this. We love snowboarding just as much as someone who just got hooked the other day. All I hope they see is stoke and hopefully it stokes them out.

Dude I mean I moved to Southern California with my girlfriend Carli and it has been such a nice offseason just literally surfing everyday and hanging in the sun. The good life.

 A video of people who love to ride powder and snowboard every damn day.

At its core, snowboarding is simple. It’s about the urge to ride; to follow snow, movement, and feeling, wherever they lead. That instinct is what keeps people coming back, long after plans fall apart and winters refuse to cooperate.

CURVEBALL captures that idea, and BMO sits right in that mix. From the opening clips, the video makes its intentions clear: ride first, explain later. His approach, instinctive and grounded in feeling, sets the tone for the whole project; turning a chaotic winter into something honest and fun to watch. And yeah; the soundtrack hits just as hard.

Watch CURVEBALL below, and remember why snowboarding still pulls you in.