10
JAN/FEB 2019
11
GET2KNOW| LADIES OF THE SNOW INDUSTRY
ALEX UVALLE
BERKLEY
BALDWIN
Age: 28
Hometown: Auburn, CA
Years in Bend: 3
Company: Crab Grab
Hometown: Old Forge, New York
Years in Bend: 13
Company: NW Zia Works - rep agency for Dakine, Ashbury, Salt &
Stone, Wolfgang, Slash by Gigi Snowboards, FIX Binding Co, MTN
Approach, & Aesmo
1. How did you get involved with Crab
Grab and what are your responsibili-
ties at the company? Is there any travel
involved?
I am a semi new family member with Crab
Grab. I have been working in the snow
industry for about five years now, first as an
intern with Moment skis down in Sparks,
NV and then with Airblaster for almost four
years in Portland/Bend and now Crab Grab!
I am so overjoyed to belong to such an
amazing company. Crab Grab is run by the
three most caring, humble and intelligent
people out there (Preston and Dawn strout,
Andrew Kelly)! There are only four us in
house at Crab Grab, so we each wear many
different hats. I cover inside sales, customer
service, and hopefully some design in the
near future! Travel wise, we get to go all
over for different snowboarding events, I am
too lucky! In January we’ll be in Innsbruck
Austria for a trade show/ to ride the local
mountain. This will be my first time in Inns-
bruck, and I cannot wait!
2. You have an incredible love of ani-
mals, especially dogs. Did this start at a
early age?
It did! We always had at least two dogs at
a time at my parents house. When I moved
out I was dogless for about four years (it was
awful). Last year I was finally able to get my
dream puppy Hamilton, he is a border collie/
black and tan coonhound, and is the apple
of my eye!
Currently, I am lucky enough to live on a
farm with the amazing all animal veterinar-
ian, Dr. Martin Warbington. I am constantly
picking his brain and soaking up as much
animal knowledge as possible! We have
horses, chickens, sheep, llamas, etc. so
there is always something to learn right here
on the farm!
3. Who got you into snowboarding and
how long have you been riding?
Growing up I always despised winter and
would get depressed as the days got shorter
and colder. During my first year at college
(about seven years ago) I told myself I need-
ed to do something to give me joy during the
winter months. A little while later I walked by
the “Chico State Snowboarding Club” table
that was set up on campus. They told me
to come with them to a cabin they rented in
Tahoe, and that they could teach me how
to ride! To Tahoe I went! I loved it so much,
I ended up moving there after I graduated,
and the rest is history!
4. Do you think you could ever live
without snow? Is there a place great
enough on this planet that could take
you away from this lifestyle?
Well… My best friend Marla’s mom lives
1. How long have you been working in
the outdoor industry and what is your
position with the company? Is there any
travel involved?
I’ve been working with Dakine since Novem-
ber 2015. I started with more of a back-
ground roll, doing account and order support
as well as sales analysis. In May of 2018, I
moved into more of a sales rep position for
Central Oregon, covering most of our brands
as well as my other responsibilities. I travel
the Central Oregon area at least quarterly,
head up to Hood River for sales meetings
twice a year, Portland twice a year for trade
shows, and Denver usually just once a year
for a national trade show.
2. You work for Dakine (based in Hood
River) who makes gear to enhance out-
door adventures and is respected world
wide. Is this a dream job?
It does check off a lot of boxes for sure! I
do appreciate working for a brand that cares
so much about the quality and integrity of
the products they make and stands behind
everything they do. Nobody gets into the
outdoor industry to make millions, people
work hard so they can get outside and enjoy
the things they love. The best part of the
job is working hard when the season calls so
you can get out an enjoy the slower times
and working with people in all aspects of the
industry that are doing the same.
on Maui… I was just
there for two weeks
and definitely feel
like I could survive
island life haha. I love
walking through the
jungles and find-
ing delicious fruit
everywhere you look.
If I could get over my
fear of sharks, I think
I could fall in love with
surfing as well!
5.You have a artistic
side. When did you
discover photog-
raphy. Are you
self taught? What
subjects do you like
to photograph?
I really fell in love with
photography in the
dark room of my high
school. From there I
went on to get my mi-
nor in Photographic Studies. Fine art fashion
portraits are my favorite images to curate
and capture. I love creating images that tell
a story, this story might be different for each
person who sees the image, but the goal of
my work is to have my photography leave a
lasting impression on the viewer.
6. You illustrate animals, mammals,
plants, and fungi how did this start?
Honesty, I didn’t know I could draw until
a few years ago! I was in my friend Zoe’s
3. What are some of your favorite ad-
ventures in Oregon?
I love getting over to the coast at least a
couple times a year, such a great change
from the high desert. In every corner of the
state there are great places to visit and the
best part about them is that there are never
many people there so I’m keeping the rest of
my favorites to myself.
kitchen in Portland and she wanted to do a
drawing night and suggested I draw a fish (I
think there was a can of tuna sitting on the
table, so that’s what popped into her mind).
My favorite art has always been photo
realistic, so I just started shading and dotting
to get the fish to look as real as possible!
After this I fine tuned my work to exclusively
pointillism or stippling (shading with dots).
Personally, this is how I can make my draw-
ing look as real as possible! Before I knew it
I was getting commision requests!
4. You just had a baby, how has that
changed your adventures and what out-
door adventures has he enjoyed in CO?
We have been lucky enough to get my son
down the Deschutes River for a couple
nights in April, up on Bachelor for some
spring turns in May, and Cascade Lakes for
some cooling off this summer. He even did
a trip down the Metolius before he was born!
Last summer, with him being so young,
the smoke limited our options. So this past
summer, with him being a bit older and the
smoke significantly better, it was nice to
get out and be able to explore more. How
and when we get out for adventures has
definitely changed since starting a family but
we are pretty pleased that we are still getting
out no matter what. We have a travel trailer
that has allowed us to spend many nights up
at Bachelor and Hoodoo and plan to do the
same again this season.
Dani Whitehead | P: Austin White