Review: Defenders of Awesome

Grade: B

In the past couple seasons, Capita has garnered many good riders to ride their boards. Many more people are riding their boards, and they make them look so fun to ride. I think this is why Capita Super Corp decided to make a video; to solidify the hype surrounding them. Good decision on their part.

I like the theme of the video. It’s entertaining and original, but doesn’t take away from the actual riding. I think snowboard videos need more of this.

The music choice in this video was on point throughout the entire video, and depicted the riders styles at the same time. The track for Cocards part especially will have you thinking about the song and his part for many days.

I gave the video a B grade because the line up wasn’t as deep as other productions. The whole team is good, but the abundance of riders is lacking. It is definitely worth the download, but I would not recommend spending the money on a hard copy. I solely bought it to see video parts Scott Stevens and Mike Ravelson.


Scott Stevens:

Like I said, Scott Stevens was one of the big reasons why I bought the video. In his part, he once again breaks the ground in creative jibbing. He brings new one foot variations and improves himself on spots that he’s done in previous years. He also mixes in the typical stock shots and proves that he can do weird, technical tricks and also keep up with the regular progression of rail riding. His powder spins also look very good.

Dan Brisse:

Dan drops huge gaps and hits really long rails. He is obviously very good, but I personally don’t enjoy his style on rails at all. When he jumps, he’s alright, but he doesn’t have the rail style that Midwest riders are known for.

Jess Kimura:

She may be the first female rider that I’ve actually looked forward to seeing her video part. After seeing her video part in Think Thank’s Right Brain Left Brain, she made me a fan of her riding. But, lets get to the point, I was disappointed with her performance in Defenders of Awesome compared to Right Brain Left Brain. However, she still remains to be my favorite female rider. She has balls, good style, and her nickname has danger in it.




Cale Zima:

My favorite trick in his part was actually a fuck up that he landed. That being said, I haven’t understood why this guy is pro. He seems like a cool, funny guy, but his style doesn’t do it for me. He shows signs of potential, like that front board down that huge gray rail, and his ender, but he’s a bit too sketchy. I think if he tunes up his style and narrows his stance a little, I’d like him better. Until then, he should step aside and let one of the many ams take his spot on the pro roster.

Brandon Cocard:

I didn’t know he would have a full part in this video. This is by far my favorite part in the video. I think about it often, perhaps because the editing and the music is especially good in this segment. I like the way he front threes off the rail in his third shot. And, he has a really proper rodeo, his backside nose grab spins (reg and switch) are no joke, and, also, his ender may not look the best, but it’s gnarly. This seemingly soft spoken ripper has now grown to be one of my favorites. I hope to see more in the future.

Laura Hadar:

The intro of her part really gets on my nerves. Besides that…she sucks. Moving on.


T.J. Schneider:

Yeah, apparently this guy still snowboards. I remember him being one of the few pros that actually wore a helmet. His part was short, but I approve. Tj is back and his newly designed snowboard for the season is dope.

Andrew Burns:

I never really have heard of this guy. Anyway, I liked his part. He has good style on his spins. His couple rail shots would have been better if they didn’t put them in the video, pretty lacking.

Mike Ravelson:

Mike Rav went on a tear last season in the Loon and HCSC edits. He got the chance to film a part with Capita and took advantage of it. His segment is definitely one that I will skip ahead to now. He has good style, good tricks, and a little of the Stevens creativity. Looking forward to what he comes up with in the future.

Dustin Craven:

I have been a fan of Craven since I saw this picture of him tapping high on a lift pole. The picture is still on my door and I still can’t figure out what jump he popped from. Anyway, this dude rips the pow, and he’s underrated. Get at his part, it’s good.

Phil Jacques:

I forgot about this dude. I won’t forget about him anymore after watching his two-song ender. He rips the rails and sprinkles in a few powder spins. His wallie to boardslide on the red ledge and his backlip (best I have ever seen) were standouts in his first part.

The first trick of his second part bothered me. Three angles of his back one street gap were unnecessary.

The ender of his part was for sure gnarly, but I liked his first song ender much better. Hollaaa atchaaa boiiiii!