034: David Benedek/The Great Connector

“People always say ‘You retired at your peak’, but I’m always like ‘No way, I milked the shit out of it’”.
For episode 034 I welcomed one of snowboarding’s most creative and influential characters onto the show – David Benedek, who for a decade bestrode the global snowboarding scene like a veritable colossus.
Think of any significant cultural snowboarding development from 1999 to 2008 and chances are Benedek was involved. From the moment he burst onto the scene with a podium at the 1999 Air and Style, his career was one long list of significant milestones, from that classic trio of Robot Film movies, to his ground-breaking double corks.

And then, seemingly at the top of his game. Benedek suddenly made the Cantona-esque decision to retire so he could concentrate on his off-the-snow creative ambitions. Since then he has produced the book project Current State, studied at film school and today makes a living as a renowned and award-winning creative and designer.

At the end of January 2018 I headed to Munich to catch up with David and have a brilliantly wide-ranging conversation about his snowboarding past and creative present.
Among the highlights? David on
- His creative process.
- Why he retired when he did – ‘I milked the shit out of it’.
- The bubble of inflated self-confidence that comes with being an athlete.
- The appeal of the mystifying.
Such a great chat this, with a fascinating, erudite and compelling thinker. Myself and David had a great time catching up and discussing his life and career, and I hope this comes across in the episode. Thanks for coming on the show David, it was great to see you.
Listen to the episode here:
If you only have five minutes…
Listen to this section - David on why snowboarding initially appealed to him
Connect with David
Show Notes
- The perils of losing an interview.
- David’s lost interview with Bob Klein during the Current State years.
- Last meeting – three years ago.
- David’s working method – have an idea and work out how to do it.
- Today’s working lifestyles.
- ‘The post-agency age.’
- Creation versus curation.
- The banality yet necessity of hard work.
- Struggling with creative pressure.
- The bubble of inflated self-confidence that comes with being an athlete.
- The hidden cost of being a professional athlete.
- Ignoring your limitations versus conforming to artistic expectations, and how it affects the work.
- Giving yourself permission.
- Current projects – splitting time between writing and design work.
- Learning the screenwriting form.
- The director as auteur.
- Classic three-act screenwriting structure and tropes.
- The sprawling Current State project.
- A multimedia follow up to Current State?
- How underachieving modern digital multimedia experiences can be.
- Snowboarding today.
- “I milked the shit out of it”.
- Robot Food – Afterbang, Lame and Afterlame.
- First Air & Style victories.
- How David’s career unfolded – and how he tried to constantly change it up.
- First break at the Air & Style.
- The powerful Yankophile appeal of snowboarding.
- The appeal of the mystifying.
- The relative emotional dullness of being an adult.
- Sharing a room with Jason Ford.
- When the spell was broken.
- ‘People who really push trends don’t really necessarily know what those codes mean’.
- Is disillusionment an inevitable part of growing up?
- The spark today.
- Finding flow in everyday life.
- What inspires David today.
- Recent snowboarding trip to Kitzbuhel
- Choosing the big trips.
People Mentioned
- James Stentiford
- Bob Klein
- Terry Kidwell
- Shaun Palmer
- Jeremy Deller
- Stefan Gimpl
- Jim Rippey
- Andrew Crawford
- Craig Kelly
- Boris Benedek
- Mini Karpf
- Jason Ford
- Peter Line
- JP Walker
- Joni Malmi
places mentioned
- California
- Innsbruck
- Seegrube
- Munich
- Hintertux
- Kitzbuhel
- Chatter Creek
COMPANIES/BRANDS/ORGANISATIONS MENTIONED
- ISPO
- The Turner Prize
- Baldface Lodge
- Air & Style
- Oakley
- Burton
- Salomon
- SPC Camp
- The Notwist