The following article was originally printed in the October 2026 Issue of Slush. To get more articles and subscribe, click here.

There was a time in snowboarding when every piece of magazine coverage about or with a member of the Dustbox sounded relatively similar. It was a piece about the entity more than the individual. I don’t think that was the fault of any one interviewer or writer. More so, it was a product of where those kids were at the time. The Dustbox was what they had, full stop. Years have passed, though, and things are different now. Original Dustbox members have branched out and found their own lanes: Noah working on Vans projects, Reid and Cody in Videograss. And of course, there was Cooper in Atlas 2.

Now it seems the Box is welcoming its prodigal sons home. Those who had left are, in theory, returning with a more mature, more nuanced take on the craft of filming snowboarding. Their new video is a two-year, something the Box has never done before. And they haven’t hired a filmer, also a first. Instead, most of the creative direction is being handled by Cooper, though the snowboarding is hardly taking a back seat. Instead, he’s pulling double-duty, filmer and rider, which seems fitting for who Cooper is. Listen to him talk about snowboarding for even a moment, and you can understand the seriousness with which he sees the sport. And it’s in that understanding that you realize stepping behind the lens is not a burden for him. Rather, it’s a culmination of everything that led us here.

The last time I interviewed you, it ended with you basically saying, "I wanna take everything I learned and put it back into a Dustbox video." Did you mean that as a rider, or as a filmer?

I think I meant as a rider. That's for sure where the mindset was.

When I had that question in my mind, I had assumed—and wrongly so, I guess—but I had assumed you had meant that as, like, "I've been watching Colton [Feldman], and now I'm coming in with more creative direction." You know what I'm saying?

Yeah, I do, and I think there's an element of that. Seeing him work—and work for footage as a filmer at such a high level and holding himself to such a high standard—I was really inspired by that, maybe even subconsciously. Right after we were filming Atlas 2, I went back to Woodies, and all I wanted to do was just film follow cams in the park. It is so inspiring to see him in that pocket all the time. I think there was an element of that. I think more so, though, I meant the dynamics...and the teamwork of it.

What do you mean by that?

Just the process, I guess. The process of getting footage and working toward a project as a group. I feel like I've learned a lot seeing those guys handle that.

Do you think you hold yourself to a higher standard now? Or maybe hold the crew to one?

No. I think, if anything, it made me realize...I mean, okay, yes, every year I think you do hold yourself to a slightly higher standard. But going into this year, I didn’t put too much pressure on it. Just try to make it look good. Maybe not from an objective standard, but a little bit more from an aesthetically subjective standard.

I can also see there being less pressure this year, knowing that you're doing two years and having no one—I mean, I don't think 686 was breathing down your neck last year, but I can imagine there being at least some pressure for that project.

Oh, for sure. It was my introduction to the company. And I also felt like it was an introduction to being a professional snowboarder. That's what the part felt like to me while I was filming it. Like, this is the first time I’ll be viewed as one of these guys. That was definitely a lot of pressure internally.

How do you think that "debut" went?

There's not much that I wish were different. I'm really hyped on it, really proud of myself. Obviously, there are things like, "Oh, maybe a little bit more of this or a little bit more of that." But all in all, I’m hyped. It was the first time I watched a part of mine and was very content with it. I was like, "All right, that's what I set out to do." Just hit as many big rails as I could, hit scary shit.

It was probably also the first time since Everybody Everybody that you maybe didn't have a hand in how it would look as much. Is that correct?

No, Spirit. That was so much of Bryden's [Bowley] creative direction. So it’s been two years in a row of maybe being a little bit more in the backseat.

How does it feel now to be so fully in the opposite direction of that? Now, being the guy who basically has the keys to the castle?

It's crazy [laughs]. It's different for sure, definitely in the filming process. A lot of my energy was going in different places, and at times I felt like I was blowing it.

You didn't hire any filmer, right? It was just you guys?

It was, yeah. Ryan [Collins] and I were the primary filmers for spots. It was always Ryan and me with the camera in our hands, and then the other guys were stepping in and taking angles if Ryan or I were snowboarding, or just taking an angle because one of us was tired. One thing I definitely noticed was that the energy levels were maybe a little lower at times.

I can imagine. You're pulling double duty because you were still boarding, right?

For sure. Our crew was pretty small this year, so there was no shortage of time to snowboard.

Is there added stress? You're no longer only worrying about getting your shit; now you have how the clips look on your shoulders, too.

It was actually something that I took so much pride in. Like, working with Brett [Kulas] and Sierra [Forchheimer]—I'll use those two as examples. Working with them to try to get their footage as good as it could be, and working through spots and trick selection, and angles, working with them to help them craft it. Like, "Yo, that's really cool, and here's my two cents." And, "Yo, my take is maybe this isn't worth the energy or time." That was really cool.

I want to change course a bit because you just got on Rome, and they've been doing a rebrand of sorts, putting out Swarm. Why not film with them on a project?

I don't think there’s any specific reason why not. I just, very early on, told them, "This is where my mind's at and, if that's okay with you guys, I really wanna work on this [Dustbox video]." And I think they have their bases covered over there. That crew is so strong, and I would love to film with them, and I will. I might even have some footage in that new video they put out. They're killing it. And they don't...they don't need me. You know? I guess that's maybe a weird thing to say, but...

I don't think it's that weird. I don't think it comes off as an ego thing. I think it's more of a—and correct me if I'm wrong—but it's like they have a certain dynamic that maybe you don't want to interrupt. Is that correct?

Yeah, they have a dynamic that is obviously really working for them. And I want to get involved with it, we just don't need to rush it. It's already developing naturally. I got to know those guys this spring for the first time. I've never really hung out with any of them closely, and I really got to understand what they're about. And now I'm even more excited to film with them.

SUBSCRIBE TO SLUSH THE MAGAZINE TODAY! All archived issues can be read with both print and digital subscriptions via THE APP!