Interviews

Crew’d Up – Sane!

[Mobile: When not in and around IBK, the Sane gang are big fans of Bear.]

Riding with your crew, pushing each other and having a blast is one of the cornerstones of this fun old experience we call snowboarding. Now, since the democratisation of videography, more and more crews are producing edits from their exploits and some of them have gone beyond the traditional ‘bro-cam’ cuts to produce entertaining, imaginative, or just downright hammer heavy video content. We’re stoked on that, so over the season we’ll be throwing the virtual Shakas to some of our favourite Euro crews, and this time round it’s the boys from Innsbrooklyn: the Sane! Crew. We hit up Michi Schatz – aka the DON IBK – for the skinny…

How did Sane! start? How long have you been snowboarding together?

It all started in Innsbruck when a bunch of us started to study here and met the local part of the crew. We basically met each other while we were snowboarding, skating or partying and just connected. After time more people joined our group of friends and we wanted to get a crew going to start making our own videos and shit. Tobi came up with a name and a sketch and some time later we had our first self-made T-shirts and a full movie, SANESHIT. We have been riding together for almost 10 years now – pretty sick!

How did the Sane Rinn Jib Park get going in the first place?

The crew always wanted to have a park and after some scoping in the neighbourhood, decided that Rinn would be the best place for it. Lucky for us, the boss of the little lift is one oft the coolest dudes ever and so we got the GO. I [Michi Schatz] then organised some real ass shit DIY rails for the park and we started into the first season with two double downs, a donkey rail, two downrails, a C-rail, some pipes, boxes and a little kicker. This coming season will be our 9th.

Who are the OG members of the Sane! crew?

The OG Members are Tobias Winkel, myself, Steve Grumser, Phil Schorp, Benno Postert, Simon Pircher, Klaus Lotto, Thomas Fimmel, Christoph Geiger, Benno Bauer, Thomas Hörhager, Matze Reif, Dominik Brunner, Max Glatzl, Andreas Gell, Maxi Maisberger, Patrick Wegerer, Johannes Münch, and ARON Holterman. New crew members include Lorenz Vyslozil, Marvin Salmina, Lukas Brandauer, Flo Corzelius, Mario Käppeli , Steve Spiss, Julia Baumgartner, Peter Walchhofer and Ethan Morgan.

[THE DON IBK, OG Sane! massive and general man about town, Michi Schatz gets busy at the Pre 4/20 Session. Photo: Florian Trattner]

You are a collective of artists, snowboarders, photographers and so on. What is the one thing that brings you all together?

Having fun and a good time whether it’s snowboarding, skating, partying or hanging out. We all are good friends, hang out with each a lot and we always try to do something, create something new or just make the best out of it!

What have you been up to the past winter? Will you have another full length movie?

All the riders have been out there trying to stack some bangers but as you all might know, the winter didn’t treat us that well here so everyone tried their very best to make it happen. We had a banging gang trip to Bear Mountain at the end oft the season and the edit is already in the making, so stay tuned for this one, hammeralert! For sure we will try to get some material to make another full length movie as well, but we cant promise it right now!

[Check the most recent Sane! movie, Sanezeta]

In the crew, who does what? Filming, editing, social media, etc.

Actually we all are filmers and editors. That means when we go on a trip we just pass the cam around and everyone is filming each other and in the end the one who is motivated to do an edit does it, haha! Sometimes Tobi films with the steady cam ’cause that’s his thang. The bigger clips and movies are mostly edited by Markus Klaes, Tobias Winkel, Phil Shorp and Patrick Wegerer. The new guy to run the biz on the social media side is Max Glatzl, so watch out, haha!

What do you think about social media and snowboarding, is it easier or harder to get noticed now?

Social media is a really big deal now in snowboarding. It’s way easier to get your shit out to the public nowadays but at the same time it’ s hard because there are so many good riders out there putting out banger edits every week! But it’s a good chance to step up your game ’cause people from all over the world can see what you are up to. You can reach out to so many people and that’s good for a crew like us. So hit us up on Facebook and Instagram – FB: Sane! Instagram: @sanesnowboarding. We always have some snowboarding to watch and also funny stuff, so just check it out!

[Simon Pircher hits rails faster than the speed of light! Photo: Sam Oetiker]

What are your plans for the coming winter and the future of Sane!?

Another full length movie is a big goal and also trying to get a filmer for the crew! We also want to produce new clothes and try to get bigger and bigger! Our goal is to spread our chilled lifestyle and get people motivated in joining in.

Who was been killing it last winter? Anyone we should know about?

Steve Grumser was killing it at the beginning of last season and scored some podiums but unfortunately blew his ACL at Rock-a-Rail in The Hague. Marvin Salmina also came in hot at the start of the winter and slayed some contests around Europe with ninja-like precision. Myself, Max Glatzl, Thomas Hörhager, Phil Schorp and Dominik Brunner filmed some hammers at Bear Mountain. Simon Pircher had a really good season too, and we cant wait for his Method part! Ethan Morgan, Flo Corzelius, Mario Käppeli and Benno Postert killed it as usual. No comment needed. But all in all the crew has been killing it so stay tuned for our new flick.

Mario ‘KK’ Käppeli easing back into things up on Hintertux. Photo: Sam Oetiker

What are your plans for this winter?

We are thinking about going back to Bear Mountain and try to bring the whole crew out there for a heavy trip! The Sane! 420 Session and Sane! Session at Rinn Jib Park are two events that you definitely don’t want to miss out on! Moreover we’ll try to have fun, soul shred as much as we can, drop some nice edits during the season, cruise some contests and kill some afterparties, haha!

Do the Sane products help you pay the bills?

Honestly, it’s a hard knock life for us. We don’t make a lot of money out of the products. It’s pretty hard for a small, young company like us to keep up with the big guys. But we try to grow constantly and keep trying to get by! The love and passion for designing as well as producing new stuff will always be part of our crew and we will see what the future will bring.

What advice would you give to other crews who are just starting out?

Try to do your own thing, have fun! It can be a pain in the ass in the beginning but when you get your thing going it’s the best feeling! Focus on what makes you happy and keep on doing it!

Tune in to more from this crew by tuning into the Sane! site, tapping them up on Facebook, or just follow them on the Sane! Vimeo account.

[Saneboyz MAX Glätzl & Thomas Hörhager playing around at the Pre 4/20 Session. Photo: Florian Trattner]

Topics:

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