United Shapes Snowboards
The brains behind Owner Operator outerwear introduce an American-made snowboard brand driven by creativity and design
Designing for the next Golden Age of snowboarding, United Shapes is a the latest creative venture from Steven Kimura and Peter Sieper, the duo behind NYC-based Owner Operator outerwear. Taking a similar approach in terms of inspiration and attitude, United Shapes will act as a collective, working with a cast of professional snowboarders and close friends to design unique, innovative, performance-driven snowboards meant to inspire the rider to see the mountain in a different light. The first snowboard to get the US treatment is the Space Cadet, an all-mountain freestyle and powder board designed by pro snowboarder and Warp Wave filmmaker Gray Thompson.
“United Shapes is a collaborative effort. We are working directly with snowboarders that we admire, and helping them to design the kinds of boards they want to be riding. They’re invited to contribute to the entire process—from design, to promotion and pricing and sales,” Kimura says. “Gray wanted to keep his board affordable, while still making a top-tier
product. In order to make that work, his board is available exclusively thorough United Shapes online, and from the back of his truck. We’re all in this together.”
The unique shape and distinct camber profile encourage floating in powder without sacrificing sidecut, meaning it will still dig in on hard-pack and groomers. United Shapes stands for creativity, freedom and independence, and this board epitomizes that. It’s designed to ride the way Thompson does—a little rough around the edges, but confident, fun and as stylish as can be.
“There used to be lots of cool snowboard companies, but I haven’t been in love with one since 1996. I don’t want to buy a board from a company that’s not 100% core snowboarding,” explains Kimura. “We don’t make rental boards, scooters, or duvet covers. We’d never make something we didn’t want to ride ourselves.” Find more information about the young brand and their encouraging approach to an activity that has lost a lot of its soul in recent years at United Shapes online. And be sure to refresh your memory on Thompson’s Warp Wave videos; everything is falling into place.
Images courtesy of United Shapes
