# A Favour to ask... ;)



## Kevin137 (May 5, 2013)

My 7 year old stepson has a facebook page, nothing fancy, not loaded with crap, and not loads of junk on your wall...

But he has reached a stage where we are stuck with new likes, he is nearly at a 1000 and we want get him over that figure...

If you want to support a young man who loves his boarding, and follow him over the years, then please just like his page, nothing more, nothing less.

He asks me every day when he comes home from school how many he has now, and it is always nice for him to have a smile when he sees it has gone up...

It started with him trying to work out how many people follow him compared to his school, that only has 300 in it, so he is so chuffed that he got more than that, but every like helps and puts another smile on his face.

https://www.facebook.com/sneakysnowboarder

All his videos are on there, including his season edit, which is now almost 22,000 views on youtube, which is amazing... There are others on there as well, including his 1st dunking in a slush pool, which he almost made it across... 

Thank you in advance for all those who have read this post... :bowdown:


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## Board Gadget (Oct 30, 2012)

Done!! Good to see a young entrepreneur.


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## koi (May 16, 2013)

kid is going to be ridiculous in a few years.


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## Anaru (May 15, 2013)

Canu make the vid to be able to play on mobiles?


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## Kevin137 (May 5, 2013)

Anaru said:


> Canu make the vid to be able to play on mobiles?


It is not possible, due to the music HE chose and copyright issues with mobiles...

Thanks guys, numbers going up slowly... And we do hope he will be ridiculous... Being Norwegian the snow is in his blood, we just need to push his boarding in the right direction...


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## baldylox (Dec 27, 2007)

Maybe it's not the best idea to condition a 7 year old to think that happiness comes from how much people on the internet like you. Just a thought.


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## ItchEtrigR (Jan 1, 2012)

You're an awesome step dad... that's one lucky kid....


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## Kevin137 (May 5, 2013)

cifex said:


> Maybe it's not the best idea to condition a 7 year old to think that happiness comes from how much people on the internet like you. Just a thought.


I don't think it is conditioning, he just likes that others are interested that is all. And how he likes watching others videos, he watches a few other kids who are doing really well and follows there vis etc on youtube, and just enjoys his time doing that...

There is another kid over here that i'm sure many of you have heard of, Marcus Kleveland, and he is another that follows him, and has sent him parcels of stuff etc which is really cool...

You only have to see how he has come out of his shell and started progressing with everything he does since he started snowboarding and found a love for it to understand that it is not a bad thing...

A friend came over in the winter, for a few days, and it was funny to see a 7 year old , trying to explain how to snowboard, but my friend had only had 3 or 4 days before, and this little norwegian kid, with limited english was trying to explain, and was laughing at my friend every time he fell... Anyway, they really hit it off, and my friend ended up giving him the nickname "sneaky" which is how sneaky snowboarder came about... Which he thinks is really cool, and now when he boards with me and my friends, he is simply known as sneaky, and they all love boarding with him, which to be fair, is awesome for a 7 year old, as some of them are pros, and make time for him, enjoy riding with him, always have pointers for him, and they love seeing his progression...

To be fair, while HE loves seeing the numbers go up, i also love seeing it, that people want to follow him, that he is doing something that others can enjoy, and will make a difference to his life, rather than just sitting indoors and playing on a gaming machine, he has an outside interest...

Surely that is a good thing...???

And when we have snow, he is always asking, can we go boarding, can we practice this, practice that, how does this work etc...

It really makes him shine in himself...


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## wrathfuldeity (Oct 5, 2007)

Kevin, its great that your son is into it, reminds me of my daughter when she was younger and is still hyped. The thing we did was to establish that she was the one to earn the privilege to ride/ski. When she was younger I would match dollar for dollar to her addiction, that I would not say no to her snow shenanigans as long as she had good grades, she figured out how to do it and kept out of trouble and she understood that she had to pay for her season pass...which she has done for 12 years. She understands that she is blessed to live near the snow but also realizes that it is an earned privilege. Her senior year in high school she skied 100+ days, yet lives 60 miles from the hill and didn't drive nor have a car....she figured you how to make it work and her senior project was working with Baker's ski patrol.
Have fun!


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## Kevin137 (May 5, 2013)

wrathfuldeity said:


> Kevin, its great that your son is into it, reminds me of my daughter when she was younger and is still hyped.
> 
> Have fun!


I am fortunate enough that from this season i get a family season pass for free, but he has still has to pull his weight...!

He gets every lesson anyway, that is tuesday evenings from 6-8pm, on the snow, and then 3 weekends with events for the club as well.

Other than that, because we have shared custody, we have one week and his dad has one week, although lessons are an exception, the alternate weekends, he gets one day regardless, and has to earn the other...

As for paying for his equipment, that works reasonably well, we have secured a basic sponsorship by way of a shop in the UK, he is there ONLY sponsored rider, and not even from the same country, but they are family friends and they do COST for all his equipment now... Which is really cool... We are looking at developing this as much as we can, and again this follows on from his nickname...

We own the domain www.sneakysnowboards.com and we are looking at starting a kids winter clothing range using cool logos for basic stuff, my bro is a finance director for a well known label in the UK, and has the contacts, so we are setting it up as a trust with all proceeds going to a trust account that can fund his learning and competing if he is good enough, we also have full time winter sports schools here in Norway, but they cost money, so it will help with that...

However, we DO understand that he has to be good enough, and have a love for it, and if he loses interest then the money will be used in an alternative way to help fund others from the school he is at now... It is not about making money from him, but not denying him the opportunities he could have.

I think he will always board now, but how good he is is down to him, we are just planning so that he won't miss out if he IS good enough...


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## Kevin137 (May 5, 2013)

Can't believe how close we are to 1000 only 15 more needed, the little one is on holiday at the moment, so won't see him for a week, and i will be on a shopping holiday in the UK, until we all go to Germany for a few days...

Picking up some more new gear for him while in the UK, so he will be excited when he gets home no doubt...


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## Kevin137 (May 5, 2013)

Lagomorphic said:


> Wow. That's a lot of pressure for a 7 year old.


Really...??? How, he doesn't know anything of the financial side or what we are doing, but thinks it is cool that he will have a website and already has a fb...

It is not just me that is doing this, his mother is doing it as well, and his father is cool with it...

For him it is just snowboarding as much as he can and seeing how cool it is that more people like his page...

The video we did of his season edit was originally going to be just for him, but as he progressed and got the hang of it, he wanted to see it on the net like the professionals, and we burnt a dvd for him to take to school as well, which the whole year watched... And the teacher had nothing but praise and loved his fb as well...

I think it is always hard when you push a child hard, as to what the benefits actually are, and we don't push him, we lead him, and that is not very often as he has such a passion for it...!!!

Unfortunately things are expensive here, so when my brother suggested we did a clothing line, we sat down and thought about the benefits, how it would be funded etc, and how the money would be managed... Which is why we came up with it being a trust and if he quits that it will benefit others, i am not talking about a full blown business, but every little helps...!!!

It may be that there are many parents out there rich enough to do all this with no help, but we are not all as fortunate, i am in a position that i can take him everyday through not working anymore, but that does not mean i am loaded, just sensible with money to give me an income that means i can not work should i choose...

I don't understand how that equates to pressure on him though...??? As i have already said, if he wants to stop he will stop, although i cannot see that happening anytime soon...!!!


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## Girvs (May 14, 2013)

Kevin137 said:


> Can't believe how close we are to 1000 only 15 more needed.


You mean 14 

Great to see the progress of your young fella. I'd love to have had someone document where I started and where I am now. Will be great to see how he's going in a few years time.


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## AntipodeanSam (Apr 19, 2013)

Kevin137 said:


> I am fortunate enough that from this season i get a family season pass for free, but he has still has to pull his weight...!
> 
> He gets every lesson anyway, that is tuesday evenings from 6-8pm, on the snow, and then 3 weekends with events for the club as well.
> 
> ...


Kevin will you be my dad please :yahoo:


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## Deacon (Mar 2, 2013)

988.
:thumbsup:


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## sk8_choco21 (Sep 8, 2011)

Kinda reminds me of toddlers and tiaras..


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## Kevin137 (May 5, 2013)

sk8_choco21 said:


> Kinda reminds me of toddlers and tiaras..


I think people misunderstand the reasoning, and how we are doing it, we do NOT want to push him, we want to be able to support him...

His love is snowboarding, and if we are able to do this IF he becomes good enough is always going to be pressure we do not need as a parent, and this way of financing if it works is an alternative... Hehe

We will make nothing from it, that is for sure...

And the FB is purely so people can be involved should they choose, but a healthy FB page for anybody looking for sponsorship is essential in this day and age, so we looked at that as well, it is not filled with crap, not posts 20 times a day on your wall, but a few posts a month over the winter...

So thanks for all those that have liked, it's great, and i'm sure you will enjoy the videos from the future as well... Hehe

Thanks if you have, and well, thanks if you didn't as well...


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## AntipodeanSam (Apr 19, 2013)

989 :yahoo::yahoo:


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## Kevin137 (May 5, 2013)

AntipodeanSam said:


> Kevin will you be my dad please :yahoo:


In your next life... 

We or should i say HE is now at 22,000+ views on his season edit...

You can see so much in the change of his riding that is for sure, and how his confidence has built and how he tries new things, we are going to work hard on the rails and jumps next season now, he has to find his balance, on the jumps, he used to have a tendency to sit back every time, but we are slowly getting away from that now...

Can't believe how well he does with switch as a well, not the greatest, but certainly going to get that nailed this season as well...


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## Deacon (Mar 2, 2013)

I don't know for sure, but I'd bet that most of the negs are coming from people with out kids. Those of us with them get the difference between making the kid live YOUR dream, and simply supporting THEIRS. Nice work Kevin!


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## ItchEtrigR (Jan 1, 2012)

The Deacon said:


> I don't know for sure, but I'd bet that most of the negs are coming from people with out kids. Those of us with them get the difference between making the kid live YOUR dream, and simply supporting THEIRS. Nice work Kevin!


Beautifully put!!


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## Kevin137 (May 5, 2013)

That is exactly what i have been trying to say... Hehe

It HAS to be him that wants to do it, he used to be a shy withdrawn boy with little confidence who didn't have many friends, balance was always bad, he gave up easily, and now he is a different boy altogether, outgoing, confident, tries everything, and glows in his life and his ambitions...

Why...? Because he has found a love for something that he is good at, i really didn't think he would do so well, and the 1st year was a real struggle for him to learn, and i had no idea that he would just grasp it this season, but once he did, that was it...

Support from the school for snowboarding, and pros from the resort has helped immensely and now they take time to ride with him, and push him a little, but that is because they see his passion... All i do is drive him pretty much, and pay for his equipment... Haha I'm joking of course, but never having had a dad around for stuff like this with me, and missing out on much of my own sons stuff due to a bitter ex, i now have the opportunity to get it right with my step son, so i am definitely not going to push him out of his love, that woud not be what i want...


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## Girvs (May 14, 2013)

Lagomorphic said:


> Of course that's pressure. Especially for a 7 year old. Could he quit snowboarding tomorrow without feeling like he's disappointing anyone . . . ?


Under some pressure yes, but as his dad has stated, he's not pushing him. If he wants to stop he'll do it of his own accord and that has been openly admitted. Though I agree, it is banking on a lot of things behind him, so if he does give up....
However do kids at that age even feel like they're disappointing someone if they move on? Probably not, he'll move on to play with some other toys and be happy doing that and most likely won't care about whats left behind. It's just a fun sport that he can come back to anyway.


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## Kevin137 (May 5, 2013)

Lagomorphic said:


> A website, clothing line, sponsorship, DVD, different kinds of social media (which he's concerned about getting likes on), multiple adults in his life who are "looking at developing this as much as we can" . . .
> 
> Of course that's pressure. Especially for a 7 year old. Could he quit snowboarding tomorrow without feeling like he's disappointing anyone . . . ?


Website currently directs to fb, clothing line is generic so not a problem and hardly a line with a couple of t-shirts a fleece I'm different coulors and maybe 1 or 2 different hoodies, sponsorship currently consists of a small shop doing stuff at cost, they are never going to complain, DVD, what DVD, one for his class which to be fair is no different than talking and showing photos about your holiday, or did you never do that at school? Social media is fb, and he is not concerned but thinks it is fun when more people like it, he used to struggle to make friends, he is now open and fun minded and can't believe people like his page, concerned he is not, but it always gets a smile when there are more that is for sure.

The school he is in, is all about fun with development being a part of it, all the guys that ride with him came through the same school, and now they do what they do, they enjoy riding with him, probably because he likes to try new stuff and he takes in what he sees them do, that is not a bad thing, are they an influence, yes a positive one on his riding ability, but that is all...

I don't get why it is negative all the time, you only have to see how he is on the snow to see how positive is has been, and again in all facets of life, he is such a chilled laid back kid now without a care in the world, that loves snowboarding, that is all it is too him...


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## Argo (Feb 25, 2010)

I wasn't going to like the FB page but I am now just because these other guys are being dipshits. 

My son has a passion for boarding also. Few years ago we moved to vail when he was 10 so he could pursue his passion. He started competing in multiple styles and won quite a few contests... Over the last couple years he gave up all of the competing except big mountain. It's dangerous, it's scares the shit out of us(the parents) most the time, it costs a busload of money to do the tours when we don't want to accept money from people to corporatize him yet, but plain and simple..... He loves it, he is great at it and it's what he wants to do. We home school and travel around a lot for comps. We were oriionally from south Texas so it was not our dream we are following. He was ranked top 5 last year going into nationals in SBX, we passed on those finals because it coincided with north American champs for big mountain. He got 4th in that cause of a butt check off a 20' cliff.... Fucking skier judges. Now he has sponsorship from drift, smokin and a local shop..... Dunno of I want them to pay for travel and expenses or not but the free shit is nice. Think we will wait until he is 15-16 for the other stuff....

Point is, he knew at a young age(like 6/7) that's what he loved and that's what he wanted to do. When people have kids, they know. The fucking single life douchers or 6 day a year snowboarders that put an emphasis on living within the social norms don't have a clue. 

Good for you for helping the kid live and follow his passion. I'm sure your like me, if he gave it up, fuck it... There's plenty to doin life beyond boarding but I just don't see that happening anytime soon and I'm sure you don't either.


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## chomps1211 (Mar 30, 2011)

Definitely need _MORE_ parents who recognize and support their children's passions!!! Especially when they are somewhat,.. "unconventional!"

I haven't heard anything here that sounds like "pushing" or "pressure" to have the boy fulfill _ANY_ of the adult's unrealized dreams or aspirations!! 

Wish my own parents had been half as perceptive, encouraging and supportive of the things I was interested in when I was his age!!! I wish him all the best in his pursuits!


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## wrathfuldeity (Oct 5, 2007)

Its great that a kid has a healthy passion, that have parents who help and make the sacrifice. The passion is the motivating factor that gets a kid to expand into and is reflected in other areas. In the beginning parents do a lot and also help the kid to instill a belief that it can be done. In the middle, parents teach/show/help the kid to learn how to do/accomplish it and in the end the kid does it for themselves....imho what every parent wants for their kid...confidence, competence and accomplishment/self actualization. Its not pressure from adults...its the PASSION of the kid...they got to do it.

Daughter was addicted since day 1 at 7 yrs old and rode for 8 years, at 15 switched to skiing, 16 a ski instructor and 80 days, at 17 she skied 100+ days while living 60 miles away (didn't have driver license or have a car), was a ski instructor and did her senior project by training with pro patrol. And now at 18-19, her own stuff with the crew (who do it themselves)...btw bc filming is not like getting park footy.

Secret Stash: Locs Only on Vimeo

Bike Lap with Sade on Vimeo

North Cascade Productions on Vimeo


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## Deacon (Mar 2, 2013)

Argo said:


> I wasn't going to like the FB page but I am now just because these other guys are being dipshits.
> 
> My son has a passion for boarding also. Few years ago we moved to vail when he was 10 so he could pursue his passion. He started competing in multiple styles and won quite a few contests... Over the last couple years he gave up all of the competing except big mountain. It's dangerous, it's scares the shit out of us(the parents) most the time, it costs a busload of money to do the tours when we don't want to accept money from people to corporatize him yet, but plain and simple..... He loves it, he is great at it and it's what he wants to do. We home school and travel around a lot for comps. We were oriionally from south Texas so it was not our dream we are following. He was ranked top 5 last year going into nationals in SBX, we passed on those finals because it coincided with north American champs for big mountain. He got 4th in that cause of a butt check off a 20' cliff.... Fucking skier judges. Now he has sponsorship from drift, smokin and a local shop..... Dunno of I want them to pay for travel and expenses or not but the free shit is nice. Think we will wait until he is 15-16 for the other stuff....
> 
> ...


Exactly. +1m


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## BoardWalk (Mar 22, 2011)

Kids are all different, parents are all different. I would never offer advice to someone on how to raise a family. I'm not even sure how I do it, but I consider myself very lucky to have the kids that I have.


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## Kevin137 (May 5, 2013)

Well down the line, we are still boarding, not taking it too seriously, and he is hitting stuff that HE wants to hit, and stuff i would never consider him hitting either...

He is currently having his moments, wants to go loads one week, and the next do nothing, so that is how it is... But when he DOES go, he never wants to come home... Haha

We are looking at the Jnr Arctic Challenge this year, he has said he doesn't want to compete, but wants to watch, and there are a couple from his snowboarding class that are going, so we think he will change his mind, and he is entered anyway, so he has the choice when we get there...

His FB on the other hand, is still reeling in more likes, and is now over 1400, and going great...

Funny to see how he has grown, we thought he would go one way, and he seems to be going another, and absolutely loves off piste and powder now, which he hated last year...


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## Kevin137 (May 5, 2013)

An update on how things are going for Sneaky, well we never made it to the Arctic Challenge, other family commitments, but he has had his 1st Slopestyle and SBX comps this weekend, he was a little apprehensive this morning, so we had a chat on the way, and we both agreed that we would ride the course for each, and he could decide afterwards, well 6 hours later, he decided he had had enough...!!!

He finished 2nd and 3rd in his 2 SBX races, i think this was his favourite, and the conditions where very "spring" so a little slushy and it got cut up quite early in the day... But had so much fun...

The slope style was a little harder for him, but he managed a 10 foot Pipe Rail from end to end, which he had never ridden before today at all, managed to land most of his jumps in his 3 runs, and again enjoyed it, but not as much as the SBX...

Tomorrow, we have a slalom race which he loves, he did this one last year, and won ALL his races, so fingers crossed for tomorrow...

His page is doing very well as well, i know some of you on here are now following him, and thank you so much, it is so nice for him, and he thinks it is cool that he is not that good but still people follow what he does... Upto 1700+ likes now... 

https://www.facebook.com/sneakysnowboarder

If anyone else wants to come and joint his fun, then just like... 

We are also sticking with a theme, and like his season edit last year which was introduced by Stian Sivertzen who races SBX and comes from the same school he does, we have another PRO who has recorded one, was such a surprise for me when he made time to sit and chat, and give me some pointers for Sneaky, and when he said that he would record the intro for this seasons edit, i was shocked, such a cool dude, and so down to earth...

Not sure when his edit will be done, but will post in here when it is finished... Hehe


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## Kevin137 (May 5, 2013)

Almost 2000 likes now, amazing, and Sneaky's season edit will be done by next weekend, so will post then... 

Thanks for the guys who have liked and for those who have looked but not liked, thanks as well...


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