A few minutes in the mind of Andrew Hardingham

Originally posted on SnowboarderGuide.com

Andrew Hardingham is a rare breed, one of those free spirits that isn’t just trying to seem cool by being all “out there.” He’s been slaying it in Sandbox and Skids videos for years, but “Time Well Wasted” set a new bar for Canadian shred-flick excellence, and Andrew was kind enough to give us an inside track on the film, life as he sees it, and escaping clone armies.

Photo Credit: Sandbox Films "Time Well Wasted"

Name: Andrew Hardingham
Age: 21
Years Riding: 15
Home: Banff Alberta Canada
Current Ride: I do the Ride TMS 158cm
Sponsors: WESC, DROP, RIDE, Bruxe, Vonzipper, Etnies, 32, Crème, Rudeboys
Music: old school & dark electronic

Photo Credit: SBG

SBG: Andrew, the last time I saw you was at a booth at SIA.08. You had just finished adding red lips and a lollypop to a stretchy facemask, as pictured with Maggie. Did you end up wearing it on snow?
Andrew: Ya damn rights I did. I’m all about looking sexy for my mountain. It gives me so much that I just want to look good and sexy for it all the time. You know keep it from straying from me.

Photo Credit: Sandbox Films "Time Well Wasted"

SBG: Your video features an equally out-there full-face mask, what inspires your outerwear choices?
Andrew: Well of course staying warm has a lot to do with it but also trying to stay away from the clone armies. Facemasks are so hot and they keep your lips warm when you’re hitting the kind of speeds I’m hitting. Warp 9 was the only time my facemask came off. There not designed for those kinds of speeds.

SBG: Your video parts are always fun, but this years section in Time Well Wasted is truly epic. What was going through your head while you were preparing for The 540?
Andrew: I needed one more trick to make the industry’s quota so I just hammered it out. I have always tried to get as far away from the “porno parts” you see in so many snowboard videos these days. It’s all just hit, spin, and land Time and time again. I was watching the same parts in the 90’s, so I’m out to give our viewers something a little more entertaining and still offer them some serious snowboarding. My parts truly reflect my year. I rode solo almost all season and sometimes I get some oddball ideas when I’m climbing a mountain all by my self. As soon as I’m done the line and a meet back up with my filmer we write it down and bring it to the part. There isn’t enough time to bring very much to the part but it still reflects the season well.

Photo Credit: Sandbox Films "Time Well Wasted"

SBG: The music for your part was pretty rad, but pretty different than what most riders use; how did you choose that song? Is that what it’s like to be in your head when you’re riding?
Andrew: The credit for the music is entirely the artist Die Form. They are this insane dark electronic band that has some of the coolest ideas I’ve seen and herd. They’re from France and there style is exactly what their music portrays. As for my edit on the part, I did it completely on my own. I wasn’t at the editing sweet or even in whistler. I just locked my self indoors for a month and worked on it and several other short films in Banff. Maybe that’s why it’s a little dark. I was just at a premiere last night in Calgary and got to see the public response to the whole movie and my part and it was really cool. I had a few hidden jokes in the part that half the theater responded too. One guy was yelling at the projector dude for screwing it up. Good times.

SBG: Word is you’ve taken the art of making tape-balls to a whole new level:
Andrew: I’m exploring new ways to do whatever I want. Its fun! When you’re in my position in the industry and by that I mean not as supported as many others you get something really cool. Freedoms to do what ever you think up. I’m not trying to be disrespectful or out of control but its nice being able to just try something with out the risk of consequence. I’m a political guy and I like including my opinions and views of the world in my work whether that be my snowboard part in sandbox, my photography or my writing. It’s worth being poor for.

SBG: If you can leave one lasting mark on the industry, what would it be?
Andrew: Be your self. That is an almost cliché thing to say but I really mean it. Everyone in snowboarding is looking at the top to base there style, image, and ideas on. Well fuck the top. They are all doing the same thing, watching everyone ells so they know how they will act in the future. Iv heard the industry take very negative opinions at creativity. I think that’s crazy; you should welcome it at all times. Especially now with suck a generic following. I am starting to see things change though. There are a lot of really cool riders out there now and not only are they picking there own lines but their fun to watch too.

Photo Credit: Sandbox Films "Time Well Wasted"

SBG: One area we’ll be working on this winter is to improve the resources on our site targeted to new or future snowboarders. What made you decide to take up snowboarding, and how did you learn?
Andrew: I started in 92”. It was something very new and had the buzz of not being a ski racer that I loved. See ski racing to me was more about doing trips and trying to get the racing over with so you could go hit on the ski racer chicks in the lodge in hopes to feel them up later. That was cool but snowboarding had an on hill presence that I loved. It still had the feeling up ski racers part but you were in no hurry to get there because getting sweet air time and inventing new things and that taking hard hits and getting up was crazy awesome. And then topping the day off with a sweet make out session or at least the pursuit of one was fantastic. Plus the pants were way cooler.

SBG: What motivates you to get up and try it again after a failure?
Andrew: I like horses so getting back on them seems to be the right path for me. Plus I hate being conquered outside the bedroom.

First words that come to mind:
Sansalone: exploration
Lift line: irregular
Corporate: focusing
Video parts: fun

SBG: Well thanks for spending the time with us Andrew, look forward to running into you again soon.

Photo Credit: Sandbox Films "Time Well Wasted"

Andrew: Tootles.