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Five minutes with...
Nick Visconti
Sessions MFG is a firmly OG snowboarding brand, and they’re making a heck of
a comeback. We spoke with former pro-rider Nick Visconti - who now puts his
passion back into the brand that helped him - about who they are, what they
stand for and (most importantly) why they’re awesome.
Images: courtesy of Sessions
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So what makes up the world of
Nick Visconti?
Skateboarding, snowboarding and
rock & roll! The same constituents
of my lifestyle are Sessions’ brand
ethos, not because Sessions is me,
but because I am Sessions…
Born in the 80s in San Francisco,
the Sessions brand renaissance
was all around me. SF street
skating was influencing the global
industry with spots like “Hubba
Hideout” and “Embarcadero,”
likewise Tahoe was the Mecca
for infamous snowboarding
productions Mackdawg and the
TB series. Central to it all - fast
skating and faster snowboarding
- was Sessions. I started as a
Sessions grom, became a Sessions
snowboard pro, and now am a
Sessions brand exec.
How has the brand progressed
since those early days and where
is it headed?
Sessions has been seshing life since
’83! Founded by Joel Gomez, the
brand was more than a right-place,
right-time story, it was a story of
dedication and passion. Volcom
was doing its thing in Southern
California, meanwhile Joel was
creating Sessions’ DNA in Northern
California. After 30 years plus, the
brand is still alive, and thriving.
Things have changed obviously,
punk turned to metal, no lift access
turned to primetime snowboarding
competitions and skateboarding
in SF has, well, I guess stayed the
same. Ha! But our brand is still
built on a lifestyle of skateboarding,
snowboarding and rock & roll -
ALWAYS HAVE ALWAYS WILL.
That’s your brand slogan, where
did that come from? What does
this mean to you?
Always have and always will is
more than a brand slogan, it’s a
religion. Sessions isn’t for everyone,
and that’s ok, but for the people
that continue to live and die for
skateboarding and snowboarding,
this slogan is who we are.
Music has played a big part in
Sessions’ history - producing CDs
from Metallica to Pearl Jam, is
this still a key part of the ethos?
Ethos, yes! Day to day practice, it
comes and goes. We try to position
ourselves with bands, like Metallica,
that have heritage and legacy. We
don’t pride ourselves in our history,
but we are proud of it, does that
make sense? We integrate music
into everything we do, including our
External Media Access Pocket in
the new line. This feature on many
of our jackets allows media devices
to be access from the exterior of
the jacket so you don’t have to
sacrifice the weather or your style to
flip through music and ramp up the
volume. Music will always stay a key
component of the brand.
We like the look of the Sessions x
Metallica jacket. How did it come
about?
Sessions x Metallica is a homage
to our joint history and our
commitment to the future. We did
a Metallica colab in the past, the
first-generation jacket was epic,
and with their new album release -
Hardwired… To Self Destruct - and
Sessions’ relaunch, it was a no
brainer! So we collaged albums past
for a unique aesthetic, and stitched
it with new era performance to
create a jacket that leads to some
electric snowboarding.
What’s your favourite Metallica
tune?
Fade to Black — it’s dark, sexy, and
honest. t