Interview by Mike Reff/MSI / Photo: by Keith Carlsen/MSI

Rob Kingwill is a man of many talents. Besides winning first place at The 2008 North Face Masters event in Alyeska, AK, X Games medals, world cup and grand prix wins he is also a business entrepreneur, an artist, and an all around shredder. He runs AVALON7 a community of creative minded individuals that all share their love for snow, music, art, and culture through functional apparel and accessories. Rob is a super busy guy but MSI was fortunate enough to ask Rob a couple of questions about the upcoming 2009 North Face Masters series as well as some other topics.

What’s up Rob how is it going today? Did you get some time to enjoy your summer?

I just got off the mountain at Jackson Hole. 10 inches of new, bluebird skies, life is good! Summer was great, I spent a month in Whistler coaching at the Camp of Champions and learning some new tricks. I got double cork 9s on lock onto the Bag Jump, and I can't wait to build some backcountry kickers and stomp it on snow!

I noticed that you made a cameo appearance on Yogatoday.com, how did this opportunity come about?

I have been involved with the Yogatoday crew for a couple of years- they make most of the shows in Jackson. Yoga is a regular part of my schedule and it is fun to bring some snowboard flava to the show.

Can we expect a full series of Yoga DVD’s from the Kinger?

I am working on a coffee shop yoga/stretch program. You know, get your yoga on while drinking coffee and waiting for your crew to show up to go riding.

You are no stranger to the competition scene with plenty of experience in a variety of events from Chinese-eyed downhills to Grand Prix halfpipe events. But you have also had the opportunity to film with large productions like TGR, so what motivates you stay in the competition scene?

I have done a lot of competitions in snowboarding, for sure. Most people know me as a halfpipe rider, and it is easy to get pigeonholed into one category. Doing the North Face Masters is a way to show the world that I am a world-class big mountain rider as well.

After your big win at last years North Face Masters event in Alyeska are you planning on doing the whole Masters tour this year?

I am planning on doing at least two of the stops. I really want to focus on filming more this year, and it is always hard to get a sick part and still travel for half the season. I am just going to wait and see what seems like the most fun thing to do.

Who do you see as some of your strongest competitors in The North Face Masters series?

Cliff Diamond, Martin Gallant, Cory Cassimirus... I think we will see a lot of young guns come out of the woodwork this year as well.

With the two new stops on the North Face Masters tour being Kirkwood, Ca and Crested Butte, CO which venue are you most psyched for?

I am stoked on the Kirkwood stop for sure. Crested Butte has always been a little too rocky, billy goat style for me. I like big lines that you can shred with speed and power instead of nit picking your way down.

Who were some of your strongest influences growing up?
Craig Kelly, Terje, Slasnek, Brushie, Jason Ford, and my Family.

You appear to be a modern renaissance man dipping your talent wand into several different disciplines from art, design, business entrepreneur, and of course snowboarding. Where do you feel you are devoting the majority of your time these days?

I try to only dip my talent wand into special places. LOL. Snowboarding is still my major focus- everything I do, from running my company AVALON7 to producing the Kingdom video blog series based on the intention that I will get to continue to ride and promote snowboarding. I still have a lot of drive to progress myself and the sport, and everything else gets thrown out the window when it is time to ride.

Snowboarding started with guys on their directional boards pointing it down the hill. The evolution of terrain parks and equipment brought the freestyle movement into the forefront of the industry. Where does big mountain snowboarding fit into the greater scheme of the snowboard industry today?

When I started riding, snowboarding was not so segmented. We went freeriding, we rode pipe, hit jumps, and we raced, ran gates and rode race boards with hard boots. It was all good. Now you almost have to specialize in one aspect to keep up. I see kids now that never leave the park, and don't ever really want to leave the park. But I think they are missing out on the most inspiring aspect of snowboarding, which is truly being in the mountains and riding the terrain that mother nature created herself, not just lapping some groomed and controlled manmade features. Big mountain freeriding is the pinnacle of snowboarding, as it combines all the other aspects of snowboarding and forces you to constantly adapt to changes in terrain and conditions. I consider it more of a craft than a sport, as it takes years and years to become a master at it.

How do you see a competitive big mountain snowboarding tour like The North Face Masters affecting the sport and the industry?

I think the industry is begging for something like The North Face Masters to bring us around full circle and celebrate why most of us ride in the first place.

Now that The North Face Masters is reached its sophomore year where do you see the sport of competitive big mountain snowboarding going?

I think that we can continue to refine the judging formats and venue choices to represent the freeride element of snowboarding in a competitive environment. Kids don't connect with X-Treme contests, they actually never really did. But they can connect with a contest that promotes what they see riders like Travis Rice, Mark Landvik and Nico Mueller doing in the movies. I think there should be more focus on freestyle on big mountain terrain, as well as lines that look fluid and exciting.

What does “futurepositiv.” mean to you?

FUTUREPOSITIV is a word I invented to remind myself to be a better citizen of the earth. It is a personal motto that I have built into AVALON7. It means when given a choice, what can you do to make the future a more positive place. It is funny because it has started to really infiltrate my everyday life- I find myself forgetting to turn out the lights or something trivial, and saying to myself "that's not futurepositiv", and then I go back and fix it. I think that snowboarding attracts the kind of people and personalities that take pride in who they are and what they do, and I feel like they are the ones that can really make a difference in the world. By making my brand AVALON7 rooted in the futurepositiv concept, I hope I can influence the next generation of kids to be conscious of the choices they make and ultimately make the world a better place to live.

Now for some quickies:
Top 3 websites:
avalonseven.com, facebook.com and NOAA.org (national weather service).

Top 3 Trips:
AK last year with Mikey Basich, camping on Thompson Pass for 3 weeks in an unheated Uhaul box van. Check the story I wrote at jhsnowboardermagazine.com. Go to page 31/32- It is called 'Death Drums'. Any time I get to go to Wiegleworld with Ken Achenbach Staying home in Jackson Hole and riding pow with my friends.

Put your ipod on shuffle and tell me the first 5 songs that appear:
Bob Marley-Positive Vibration, Iron Maiden-Trooper, We are pilots- Shiny Toy Guns, Weighty Ghost- Wintersleep, Someone Great- LCD Soundsystem

Tight Pants or 3XL? XL all day.

Thanks again for your time. Any last words for all the kids out there on the world wide web? Check out the new mesh AV7 Bandarils. You will never rock a cotton bandana again.

Ride 'cause you love it. FUTUREPOSITIV. RK

More at thenorthface.com/masters.