Outdoor Central Oregon Issue 15 | November/December 2019 | Page 28

28 NOV/DEC 2019 29 PRODUCTS| MAX WARBINGTON’S SIGNATURE GEAR BY NEIL KORN Max Warbington has had a steady rise in the snowboarding world. He started out as a little grom coming up through the ranks and he plans to keep riding hard for a long, long time. Max didn’t start snowboarding to become famous, he started because it’s damn fun and that’s what his sponsors see in him. His riding style is all about fun and progression. He’s not necessarily looking to win any contests or go the biggest in the park. Photographers want to shoot with him and show his fun style, filmers want to capture his runs and make great movie parts, sponsors want him to wear their product because they know he can stoke out a crowd. Back in 2017, Max joined the rest of the GNU Snowboard team at Snoqualmie in Washington for a spring photo shoot. At the shoot the team manager told him he was going to get a pro model for the next season coming out in 2018. Max was stoked to say the least and was told to start thinking about what kind of graphic design he would want on the board as well as the shape. Max decided to draw his own graphics and worked with the design team at Mervin Manu- facturing to come up with a fun board that represented his riding style best. Max calls the graphics that he designed “Space Case” and completed them under the watchful eye of Mervin’s chief art director Shawn Bishop. It’s an Asym- P: Pete Alport MAX’S GEAR: GNU THE FINEST SNOWBOARD P: Neil Korn metrical C2X Freestyle park stick that can also shred pow with the best. The board is a Banana reverse camber between the binding with camber in the noise and tail for kick. a halfway down zipper. And the pants have the old school look with knee pads patches. Accessories include a line of hoodies of different designs and colors. Next came the pro signature boots and outerwear. Max also helped design his signature colorway for the Ride Fuse boots. The boots on the outside have regular laces but the inside tongue is stiff with the dial system for a snug fit, good support but also really light and very responsive carving or jibbing in the park. Max Warbington, along with his brother Gus, have their own signature event each spring. The “Quarterpipe Camp Out” has taken place each May for the last five years and attracts professional snowboarders from around Oregon, North America, and around the globe. The QPCO is all about fun and progression. Riders are encouraged to bring their dogs. It’s not open to the general public so you are going to need to show Max and Gus you can throw down if you think you deserve an invite. For outerwear, Max also helped with design and color scheme. He has worked with Airblaster over the last couple seasons to create a pro model jacket and pants that match his unique style. The design is fresh with throwback colors; the jacket is a pull over with Look for Max Warbington’s new film Brain Bowl on www.youtube.com/tresquad. RIDE FUSE BOOT “WARBOSS” AIRBLASTER TRENCHOVER JACKET AIRBLASTER ELASTIC BOSS PANTS