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074: Schoph/Black Milk

“You don’t eat food to take a shit, do you?”

Now then flower. It’s a veritable War of the Roses this week as I welcomed my favourite Yorkshireman onto the show for a proper northern summit meeting. Schoph is a snowboarder, artist and all-round creative powerhouse, and his story is one of the strangest and most interesting in action sports.

An early one from the Brighton years

Today, he is probably the most sought-after artist in snowboarding, exhibiting at packed shows around the world, creating successful collaborations with Lib Tech, Dragon and Vans; and enjoying a fruitful creative partnership with the legendary Jamie Lynn.

It’s a singular success story that begs a rather obvious question: just how did a lad from Doncaster, who started snowboarding at his local dryslope, end up here?

Getting it done during a hefty studio stint.

At times Schoph’s persona can make it seem as though the whole thing is dashed off between metal shows and pints of his beloved ‘black milk’. But the truth is much more straightforward. Schoph is a grafter, pure and simple. You just don’t achieve this level of success without pushing yourself as hard as you can and being an extremely shrewd individual, which is something I’ve long recognised in Schoph.

The full Lib Tech collaboration range

So when I headed to Laax for the Tidal art show in March 2019, I grabbed a couple of tinnies of Guinness and sat down with Schoph to get the full lowdown on his whole extraordinary career. Expect northern accents cranked up to 11, and some classic anecdotes from one of snowboarding’s truly unique characters. Enjoy.

Connect with Scoph

Show Notes

  • Enjoying the Tidal Art Show’s second year.
  • Aaron Schwartz’s work.
  • Working on HMNNTR.
  • Making art accessible to the snowboard community.
  • Curating your own show.
  • The basis of Scoph’s ‘Doncaster work ethic’.
  • Overcoming artist’s block.
  • Keeping away from the noise and social media.
  • Keep focused with deadlines.
  • Memories of sofa surfing and Enterprise Point in Brighton.
  • Doing his first show.
  • Working 10+ seasons in Tignes.
  • Learning to snowboard on dryslopes.
  • Seal on the cover of Onboard.
  • Running his own kitchen in Tignes.
  • Getting itchy feet.
  • Not speaking until he was 4 years old.
  • Anyone can draw.
  • The days of MySpace.
  • Dealing with Imposter Syndrome as an artist.
  • Being in the 40s club.
  • Insecurities we get from going on social media.
  • “You don’t eat food to take a shit”.
  • Why learning art at school can put people off.
  • His style progression.
  • Finding inspiration – it’s about not taking in too much.
  • The 1910 collaboration with Jamie Lynn.
  • His time tour managing.
  • Never planning too far ahead.
  • His main aim with work: “not working with dickheads”.
  • First solo work.

People Mentioned

Places Mentioned

  • Laax
  • Doncaster
  • Seattle
  • Jackson Hole
  • London
  • Brighton
  • Tignes
  • Newquay
  • Alpe d’Huez
  • Harrogate
  • Middlesborough
  • New Zealand
  • Oslo
  • Mammoth, USA
  • Ventura, USA

Companies/Brands/Organisations Mentioned