PHILOSOPHY
The Northern Empyrean and all the existence up there, the sun, the moon, and the stars.
In other words, the absolute blessing of the raw nature or the natural passage that connects you to everything else.
It is like a thick tree trunk that stands tall and straight.
No need of questioning the existence, something that stays and will be unchanged, eternally.
That is GENTEMSTICK.
The shaping is the most essential factor in board design.
The beauty of snowboard design is to create an ideal three-dimensional curve resulting from a harmonizing outline, bottom-line and the actual warping of the board when riding it. GENTEMSTICK's commitment is to create a shape that allows a smooth and stable riding whether in powder or on packed snow. In order to realize this concept, we have adopted classical designs, such as swallowtails, which were already established in the '70s, and modern designs driven by our own experiences.
The wave and the snow. These two elements are similar in the way of being a high-purity contact point between the human beings and the Earth.
For the past 25 years, I have been experimenting a theory that ″Surfing and snowboarding are mutually elevating their own evolution.″ The people that got interested in my boards were equally curious to see me going out surfing mirthfully in the middle of winter. Friends were first coming along in doubt, but it didn’t take long for them to fall in love with this activity as they experienced the powerful northern swells, beautiful breaks, and deserted line ups.
Snow, abundant and falling, drifted by the wind. Crystal clear water streaming along mossy boulders. Swells traveling a calm and peaceful ocean as if they had their own will. These are the things I vision all the time.
These phenomena are equally tranquil but fierce, sincere, and lives in a world flooded with Love. From this natural world, I have learnt and been inspired to a great extent. Yet, the best opportunities hide behind trivial events, and would slip through the fingers without a cautiously honed sensitivity.
I pay extreme attention before taking action for carving my own tracks, and infuse all I have in me to manufacture the boards.
My father’s free sprit and dynamism, and my grandfather’s craftsmanship are the main influence in my snowboard manufacturing. Together, we traveled to many secret spots. Angling big ones like no one else ever came close before, using unusual and unique original bait. In those picture-perfect sceneries we were angling gracefully as if we were playing musical instruments. What I search for is, an encounter with an unknown location in a perfect condition, a lean approach to the rising slope and the ″Instant″.
My grandfather was practicing the same approach in the mountains or the country scenes and using his own hand-made equipments. I believe that all gears should not be fully completed, and that it’s for the user to actually give it the final touch to take it to perfection.
That is why I make an uncompleted artifact with an impregnable essential performance. No matter the changing times, my goal remains the same because that’s what my Soul is searching for.
Having been involved in the snowboarding circle and its promotion for a long time, I could not help feeling awkwardness in the industry. It wasn’t hard for me to turn my back to the temptation and to return alone to the quiet mountain slopes where freedom reigned. When standing in a company’s meeting room or in front of the media with weird glimmer eyes, my thoughtful soul kept telling me to avoid the dangers. Whereas, on the slope, all I had to do is to be alert of the outstanding risks, trust my instinctive decisions and act upon it. I could just be and exist there, just as naturally as the birds circling above me, or as fish swimming along the river flow, and find the one real line to ride.
