Photo: Matt Georges // www.mattgeorges.com
Tyler Chorlton is a doer. Pro snowboarder, shop owner, and since this year, he also runs his very own video production, WhatWeWant Films. He speaks three languages fluently (English, French, Spanish) and two other ones at least fifty-fifty (Scandi and German). He started snowboarding in 1999, got pretty good pretty fast, started entering some contests, started winning, became a part of the British Olympic Snowboard Squad, and finally realised bombing through nipple deep powder is way better than a triple cork hans 1630. He’s one of the most stylish snowboarders out there and when it comes to the much-loved moustache biz he’s pretty much on top of the game as well. Have you seen his full part from Levity? What cheek!
Anyway, in this interview I talked about pretty much anything with Tyler. Breakfast, stache wax, snowboard shop biz, WWWF, pro snowboarder biz, Coin Coin, agents, Axolotls, surname pronouncing… anything. So, give it up for Tyler. If he’s not one of your favourite snowboarders, well, he should be.
Tyler Chorlton, what did you have for breakfast today?
My wonderful girlfriend made me a whole wheat egg cheese and mushroom wrap with creme freache!
Do you wax your moustache before or after breakfast?
Haha, usually it’s still waxed from the previous day. It’ll just need a tune up before I go out… it’s pretty tough wax!
Clubman.
Yep, that’s the one. Pinaud Clubman’s Moustash Wax. It’s the wax Dali used, I sneeked into his bathroom on a tour of his house and found it there – 30 years later.
Well, I think you should be the lawful heir of Dali’s wax, so sneeking into his bathroom is okay.
Haha… well, I didn’t steal anything of course. It was pretty amazing to take a tour around his house, he left everything one day to another and never went back. Everything is conserved just the way he left it.
Photos by Matt Georges // www.mattgeorges.com
Damn. When did you go there?
I went there this September.
Real interview questions: What’s up? What have you been up to in the last couple weeks? What’s next?
All good, thanks! Lately I’ve been pretty busy getting things ready for winter for my shop, my movie production and my snowboard career. Next phase: when the snow gets here is to get shredding! And it’s snowing now in Andorra, so I need to get a move on!
You’re born English. And you grew up in France. How the hell did you end up having a snowboard shop in Andorra?
Yup, that’s right. I ended up here because my dad bought a place in Andorra. It was the first place he ever skied back in the day. Then the rest is history: got an opportunity to open a shop and went for it.
When did you start your shop?
Slidewayz started in November 2010. Actually 2 years ago today as we write this!
No shit?
Yep. I just noticed that, haha.
Well, congrats, man!
Thanks very much! But that was the opening date. We started about 6 months before.
You’re doing it together with your partner, right?
Yep, with my homie Merlin Balfour. He was my local idol when I started riding here as a kid.
Photos by Matt Georges // www.mattgeorges.com
And now kids are stoked to get their boards from Merlin and Mr. Chorlton.
I hope so, that’s why we’re here. Stoke out the kids!
Awesome. But what’s it like having a core shop these days? The industry hasn’t been the best friend of you guys lately, right?
Yeah, it’s not easy these days for sure, but we try our best to keep it real with the industry and customers. And in the economy we have these days sometimes it’s a case of surviving.
Indeed. But I think it’s one of the most important jobs of our industry to prevent the smaller and local core shops from a die out..
For sure and in a way it should be the same in every industry.
Yeah… that’s the theory.
It’s just sad these days that kids don’t mind buying their top end board from (pretty much) a supermarket.
True.
We could go on for hours but it would just become complaining…
Probably, yeah. So next: as said, you’re not only a pro snowboarder and shop owner, you also run a video production. How did the idea for WhatWeWant Films come?
Yea, basically myself and Gerome Mathieu kinda had the same idea to go off and do our own thing and hire a filmer for the season to produce a part. Turns out we wanted the same filmer – our friend Serge aka Marc Vaudroz – so eventually we just decided to join forces and created WhatWeWantFilms.
Are you happy about how Levity turned out in the end?
Yeah, I am. We had a sick season together! And we’re super stoked on the movie.
Who cracks you up the most on the crew?
Gerome is hilarious, he does what we call in French a “Coincouinade” which is when something amazingly stupid comes out of his mouth or cracks us up in a way that only he is capable of such a feat. He is the guaranteed entertainment, hehe.
Have you ever had beef with another pro?
I don’t think I ever have, I’m pretty much a peaceful soul. There have been misunderstandings here and there but nothing ever serious.
Let’s do a little summary: Besides running a shop and having a video production, Tyler Chorlton is a professional snowboarder and his girlfriend makes him whole wheat egg cheese and mushroom wrap with creme freache for breakfast which means he can’t be the that bad as boyfriend. How the hell you’re doing it, man?
I dunno, dude. It does get pretty hectic at times, usually around this time of the year actually… but, you know, take it day by day, stay stoked and take care of your worries before they take care of you.
Ever thought about hiring an agent?
I have a few times but somehow it never really fell into place so I guess the situation or the timing just ain’t right for me.
But everbody has an agent, Tyler.
Been doing ok without one so far, hehe.
Photos by Matt Georges // www.mattgeorges.com
All right. Next question: Have you ever seen an Axolotl?
A what?
An Axolotl.
No? Never heard of one. Does it involve a lot of axes?
I don’t know. Maybe. It’s a mole salamander. What’s a Jumbuck?
Oh, I know what you mean!
Really?
Yea! I just googled it, haha!
Wait, the Axolotl or the Jumbuck?
Axolotl.
It’s gross.
Haha, it’s a little dude.
Yeah, and imagine it would have kids with an Aye-aye. New level of gross.
Haha!
On a serious note, what’s the best part of being Tyler Chorlton?
Being called Tyler… people usually remember it. But if I’d have to be serious I’d have to say simply being alive.
What’s the worst part of being Tyler Chorlton?
Being called Chorlton, people sometimes have a hard time with it…
What? Really?
For French and Spanish they can’t get their tongue around it. In English or German it’s more natural, I guess.
Photos by Matt Georges // www.mattgeorges.com
Jesus! Ask me! My name is Götschl… even Germans can’t pronounce that.
Yeah, haha. I was trying out loud in Spanish accent… it doesn’t work really. They would be confused.
Speaking of nicknames, has anyone called you ‘TC Stache’ yet?
Yea, TC is my usual nickname.
And seriously, how sick of talking about moustaches are you?
I love talking moustashes! As mine is always growing there always more to talk about, hehe.
That’s it, thanks Tyler. Danny Larsen told me I have to say he said hi to you, by the way. Does anyone deserve a ‘thank you’, a ‘hey man, what’s up? How’s your mum doing?’ or just plain and simple a ‘dude, you still owe me those 5 bucks!’? If so, here you go. It’s all yours.
Yea, big shout out to Merlin, Serge, Gerome and the whole WWWF crew! Kareem, you still owe me for getting your boardbag back to Europe. D.Larsen, get growing again!
Also cheers to Beckna for being da BAUSS, the rest of my TM’s and all the people I work with for just being down with what I do. My friends and Family and my girl, Love you all.
TC out.
Tyler rides for: Vans, APO, Electric, Relentless, Nixon and Grandvalira.
Big thanks to Matt Georges for providing us once again with amazing shots. Check out more of Matt’s work on www.mattgeorges.com. Also click here to check out WhatWeWant Films. Then click there for the Slidewayz website, there for more Tyler videos, and there for even more videos. And there. Not there, though. That would be a waste of time. Here’s good.
