2 questions!..involving snowboarding career & Carving.?

Question

Ive got a Dynastar Freshy 06' :D ahah .
Ive only been boarding for about 3 yrs now . still not the best but amamzingly i can go faster ( and not wipe out ) then most of the guys on the hills out here ( in BC )
But i have soo much trouble carving. I always swtich my front feet back a forth. i cant make up my mind. its set at Goofy but i use as if regular sometimes too. ( but not correctly positioned obv.) i have no problem wipping around corners with my toes up. but when it comes the the whole point the toes down ( pressure down ) to turn the other way, i freakout .I was thinking... do you think it would be my bindings? like holding me back..? i got Burton Lexa Stilleto toe straps.Any awsome tips??
And the last Question
Would anybody know about how i could get into working as like , creating designs on snowboards? or am i JUST not able ot do that lol. yes im artistic and i know what people like. But i have no clue where to start or even look 4 that stuff.
Thank you very much Btw

Answer 1

my wife had the same problem, you've got to decide on a stance and then get over your fear of the toe edge, try not to think about turning toe so much when your doing it. and try to ride on your toe edge going strait for a while, that will help you get the hang of it. as for designs, do you mean actual deck designs or graphics? you could probably do graphic designs but you'll have to find somebody to look at them, try emailing the different company's and ask them if they accept that kind of think. that's where i would start.

Answer 2

Better equipment never hurts, but it sounds like you have some pretty good stuff. I would see if you could borrow one of your girlfriends setups for the day and see if that makes a diff. I did that once and realized I needed new equipment right away.

As for the carving, it's a little tough to get over that initial fear of going toe edge, then catching your heal edge and braining yourself on a hard packed cat track. One way to avoid this is to learn to read terrain well. Once you do that, then you can anticipate areas (bumps, icy patches, rollers) that might wipe you out and you can kind of ollie them. If I am on my toe edge and I see a small bump or roller, I'll ollie just a bit right before I get to it. This gets me over the part that would pop the board from underneath me and it puts me on the backside transition of the bump or roller. If you get good at this, your board never really will leave the ground, keeping your toe edge on the snow constantly.

To get into the industry, I would go to a local bro shop and ask about reps in the area. An area rep is somebody who is contracted through a company to handle pro-forms, shows, etc. Talk to one of these guys about how to become a rep, and see if you can get in with a company that doesn't have a rep in your area. It's not exactly design, but it's an "in".

Answer 3

Either being an instructor, or working in a shop, or a rental place are the most common jobs that involve snowboarding. But as your good at graphics etc you should give the board design thing a go, Good luck.

Answer 4

First off all you get someone to push you backwards.Which ever foot you put back is your back foot. this will decide once and for all if you are natural or goofy. Try setting your bindings at front 15degrees and back foot 0 degrees.Also it takes courage to carve.Try standing like a teapot on your board and keep your front arm ALWAYS parrallel with your board.Your back arm should also be parrallel with the board and put like a teapot handle shape.Front arm straight and back arm like a teapot handle.As for the designs on the boards start networking with ALL the snowboard manufacture's out there and offer to do it for free ,just to show how keen you are.That should get you a foot in the door.Be persistant with applying and good luck.