Words By Sadie Maeda & Carmen Leung 

You’ve heard the saying “it takes a village”, but villages are strongest when they are together. In a metaphorical and physical sense, being an (or descendent of an) Asian immigrant means you are disconnected in some way from your village. In today’s world, it seems like we are technologically over connected and often emotionally disconnected from one another. But for three days a year, Soy Sauce Nation brings us back to our roots, refills our cups (and soy sauce bottles) and allows us to feel the strength of a community behind us. 

What started as a meme page in 2012, has grown into the largest global gathering of Asian snowboarders that the Western hemisphere has ever seen. Soy Sauce Nation (SSN) has earned global recognition and respect from all sides of the world. The soy sauce bottle logo that SSN is synonymous with even got the approval and sponsorship of the Asian dad of soy sauce, Kikkoman. Since its debut in 2021, starting at Mt. Hood with Soy Sauce Nation’als, this event has grown exponentially, not only in attendance but in its impact on the community. Soy Sauce Nation leaders, Andrew “AK” Kelly, Nirvana Ortanez and Max Tokunaga have created something truly special and each year they find a way to make it better than the last.

It’s been a hard year for snowboarding and it was a particularly emotional few days right before this year’s Soy Sauce Nation Stir-Fry Event. On Tuesday March 24, 2025, we lost mentor and videographer Jeff Keenan, 44, photographer and legend Alex Pashley, 45, and guide and heliski operator owner Jason Remple, 53. Whether you knew them or not, they were sons, brothers, husbands, dads, uncles, mentors, leaders, and friends and they helped pave the way for so many of us.

Now more than ever, we need community. Soy Sauce Nation came together, so we didn’t have to feel alone anymore. We didn’t have to be the token. We could celebrate the things we tried to hide to fit in. So in the spirit of Soy Sauce Nation and in honor of those we lost, tell your loved ones how much they mean to you, tell them you love them and cherish every moment together.

Moreover, Soy Sauce Nation aims to show the world new perspectives, share under-represented stories, and give a platform to the voices that might otherwise not be heard. So I want to pass the mic to Carmen Leung, a first time Soy Sauce attendee and part of this year’s production team. She is a breath of fresh air, a brand new bottle of sauce, here to add some Australian & Asian spice to the industry. - Sadie Maeda

I didn't know I was different until I was told so. - Carmen Leung

Growing up in the suburbs of Sydney, Australia, I never thought I would be a snowboarder. I was 6 hours from the nearest resort and like many other people of Asian heritage, my childhood focused heavily on academics, musicianship, and the burden of opportunistic guilt turned torch carrying for our first generation immigrant parents. The daily tutoring sessions, studying into the hours of the night, and mitigating my parents' fights always took priority. Snowboarding was an afterthought, a far away dream, or even maybe another life. 

My parents immigrated from Hong Kong when they were 30. While they came here for a more abundant and diverse life, being Chinese growing up in Australia wasn’t easy. We were constantly told to “go back to where we came from” for talking in our native language, and no one around us looked like us. I didn't look Australian enough to be Australian, but I didn't sound Chinese enough to be Chinese. I was somewhere floating in between. My escape and refuge was Youtube. The platform was just starting out (yes I’m that old), and grainy videos of Bob Burnquist’s backyard mega ramp, P-rod’s City Stars rise into signing for Plan B, and Ryan Sheckler’s first X games win that skyrocketed him to stardom was circulating the internet. Torah Bright was taking over the world and Forum’s “That” was trending.  I was hooked. Boarding to me was this rogue, untamed sport with no boundaries for artistic expression. It was for the outcasts, the outliers, the ones who were told no and did it anyway. It was the feeling of banding together due to your differences.

It’s hard to explain snowboarding to Asian parents. The idea of spending money on expensive gear, lift tickets, and “wasting” your whole day “playing” was counterproductive to why they came here in the first place. My parents are traditional. They worked one job for decades, built a family, bought a home, and all they wanted was for me to have the opportunities that they didn't have growing up. And for most of my life, I did exactly what my parents dreamed of for me - I went to university, finished with high marks, opened my own exercise physiology business, and competed at World Cup level at Tag Rugby. It wasn’t long before I found out that my candles were burnt at all ends and I was spiralling into a quarter life crisis. At 25, I packed up my bags, bought a one way ticket and moved to Canada, in search of my childlike love for skate and snow.

I first heard of Soy Sauce Nation after landing my dream job as a manager of a skate and snowboard shop in Nelson, Canada. I had never heard of something like that, because I was indifferent to being ‘different’. I spent most of my life convincing myself that I wasn’t, trying to do what was on trend and cool at the time so people wouldn’t attribute their first meeting of me as my race, but hopefully as someone who was a snowboarder. A skateboarder. A part of something that was larger than my race, or my gender. 

When I learned to snowboard, I was not only one of the only Asians at the skatepark AND the resorts, but on top of that, I was a girl. Learning how to drop in was fun, but being boo’ed out of the skatepark because I was “just a girl” and told to “get back in the kitchen’’ was not. But this wasn’t new. In primary school, I was one of the only asians amongst a seas of blonde and brown hair westerners, and I’m sure I’m not the only one with ‘ching chong’ stories, or snide remarks about my food smelling weird. Too many times my food ended up in the garbage for fear of being different. 

Soy Sauce Nation was the first time I'd heard of an event that celebrated diversity by shouting it out from the rooftops, and using it as a megaphone to project that our differences ARE what bond us. It was a childhood dream to witness a Woodward Park, and to ride in the USA. Maybe it was the way X Games, Dew Tour and all prominent competitions were held in the States, maybe it was the way I romanticised the way all the top riders were televised and announced with an American accent. So when I heard that Soy Sauce Nation’s Annual ‘Stir-Fry’ Event for 2025 would be held at Boreal Mountain, Woodward Tahoe, it was a double whammy that I could not resist. I needed to find out what this was about.

Day One: RSVP Day One, Park Sessions & Hot Pot Discussions 

The event took place parallel to Chair 49’er on March 27 and 28th, with a community day on the 29th. Attendees excitedly greeted each other, friends from years past and new faces alike converged at the registration table in the Woodward Bunker, receiving goodie bags filled to the brim with Kikkoman gear, Subaru beanies, Skullycandy earbuds and custom crewnecks designed by community member Aaray Amano. Donned with new memorabilia, riders went downstairs to take their custom portraits by talented Canadian photographer (and first time attendee) Mirae Campbell before the opening ceremony hosted by AK, Nirvana and Max. Somber faces filled the room as we began our event with a moment of silence for our friends Jeff, Alex, Jason and Won, for whom we gather in community for. Following the silence, Max’s cheerful voice brought us back, filling the room as he excitedly announced the run of show for the next 3 days. This year, we had a packed roster with an even bigger crew, with notorious names on the roster including newly announced 2025 Torment Rider of the Year Iris Pham, Burton pros Raibu Katayama and Takeru Otsuka, Gnu extraordinaire Naima Antolin, and Capita young gun Miles Fallon. It was going to be 3 full days of community bonding, culture, our equal love of soy sauce and all things asian, and snowboarding.

For the Soy Sauce Nation “Stir-Fry” event, a private park was set up parallel to Boreal’s 49’er chair. Riding the chairlift up the first time, you got a clear view of what Max Tokunaga (the mastermind behind the build), Mizl and the rest of the Woodward Park crew had cheffed up for this year’s Stir Fry. We were treated to a four course meal. 

APPETIZER of Edamame: a smaller, progression friendly jib park at the top
FIRST COURSE of Lumpia: a beginner/intermediate rail section with flat boxes, round tubes, double barrel rails, down kink rail and a hubba ledge
MAIN COURSE of “All You Can Eat BBQ”: 2 table top jumps with a hip each side and a stepover roller
DESSERT of Mochi: A 13 ft halfpipe, dubbed “the world's shortest mini pipe and quarterpipe” by course designer Max

The focus of this year's course build was about one thing: progression. As soon as you got off the lift, you were welcomed with progression friendly features which funneled into more challenging rails and jumps as you made your way down the course. 

But more than the course, they had built out the schedule of the entire weekend to promote collaboration, progression, and community. New this year was Pro Trick Tip sessions, allowing the pros to share their knowledge and everyone else the opportunity to level up their game. Whether it was learning methods from Miles Fallon and Naima, getting more comfortable in the halfpipe with Raibu Katayama and Summer Fenton, or working on rails with Iris Pham and Max, it was amazing to see riders bond over trick tips, make new friends young and young at heart and hit features that they had never hit before, together. 

Following a windy, snowy day filled with smiles and new friends, we headed over to the brand new evo Hotel in Tahoe City for a new addition to the schedule dubbed “Hot Pot Takes & Discussions”. This was an off hill, informal panel discussion with 3 industry greats in the form of Mike West (Founder of 686), Bryce Phillips (Founder of evo), and Kim Woozy (Community Advocate/Entrepreneur). Servers waltzed around tables to hand out Montucky Cold Snacks and with beverage in hand and AK as comedic moderator, we all listened eagerly and learnt the hardships and stories that came with trailblazing as a person of colour in an industry monopolised by Western culture. There was healing in hearing that even the greatest to do it felt the depths of imposter syndrome at times, but that doing it scared is more powerful than never doing it at all.

Day Two: Invitational Day Two & Family Apres 

Day two rolled around and Edamame was the zone to be in. Decked out with a long flat box dance floor, a disco ball bonk feature and a jibbable staircase, it was a playground that had everyone showing off their favourite tricks, and feeding off each other's contagious energy.

Attendees of all ages sessioned the zone before trickling down to the All You Can Eat BBQ jump zone, where the hip feature was the epicentre for blast off. 

With our hearts full but our stomachs growling, we ended the day with family apres in the lodge. The Boreal F&B Team (s/o to Keith!) and Kikkoman had put out a SPREAD for us - tuna poke, marinated wings, fried prawn and chicken, crab salad and a selection of Kikkoman’s best sauces. We ate as awards were presented by Nirvana and AK and the day wrapped up with an impromptu dance off for the biggest Skullcandy speaker on offer.

Kikkoman: Full Sodium Award: Willy & Carmen
Burton: Black Belt Shredder Award: Amaya & Kaiser
Subaru: Pedal to the Metal Award: Caleb & Alessandra
Skullcandy: Sweetheart Award: Matt Tam & Miriam
SSN In-House Ally Award: Savannah 

Day Three: Community Day
The final day of Stir Fry 2025 greeted us with perfect bluebird conditions. After two days of progression and friendly banter, Community Day brought a relaxed energy that invited everyone to participate. The vendor village was set up in the parking lot with a raffle giveaway, and a large Kikkoman tent and Burton demo tent. Families and riders of all skill levels filled the course, many sporting matching Soy Sauce Nation crew necks. Woodward’s portable soundsystem “Woody” sponsored by Subaru sat on hill in the middle of the course, blasting DJ mixed tracks throughout the day, and between riding and soaking up the goggle tan, dance parties were happening all over the course. But as our legs wearied, we finished off the day by watching the raffle giveaway thanks to our amazing sponsors, eating tailgate lumpia and laughing and singing to Wonderwall in Karaoke in the parking lot.

As we look forward, our hearts will always remember Jeff, Alex, Jason, Won Suh, and all those who came before us. To me, Soy Sauce Nation is more than just an event. It's a refuge for those of us who have often felt caught between worlds, neither fully belonging to our ancestral cultures nor completely accepted in the Western spaces we navigate daily. As founders of Soy Sauce Nation, AK, Nirvana and Max have created a space where cultural identity becomes a source of strength rather than isolation. What began as a simple gathering has snowballed into a movement where we CAN shout out our love for foods that ‘smell weird’, and that our collective differences through shared experiences are what binds us as a community.

I never grew up in a space where I thought I could be a snowboarder. But as we packed up our gear and exchanged contact information with new friends, I took a moment to take it all in. I finally made it to Woodward, I finally snowboarded with people that were like me. I didn’t feel like an outsider, I felt at home. Events like these show me that I may have grown up as Australian Chinese, and now live in Canada, but the love for sliding sideways knows no borders. This may have been my first Soy Sauce Nation, but it definitely won't be my last. This is just the beginning for me in an industry that I love so much, so keep an eye out for me because this 5”1’ Australian asian girl aint going anywhere! ;)

It truly takes a village! Thank you to everyone: 

Sponsors:
Kikkoman (Special shoutout to Lulu, Sean & Xochil)
Burton (Special shoutout to Nor Cal Rep Ant & Team Manager Zach)
Woodward Tahoe | Boreal (Special shoutout to Gabe, Mizl, Gigi, and Tucker)
evo Hotel (Katie Yaguchi,Garrett, Nathan, Jamie Whalen & Bryce Philips)
Crab Grab (Preston & Dawn)
Skullcandy (Alex, Chelsea Waddell, and McKenna)
Montucky Cold Snacks (Annie and crew)
686  (Special shoutout to Mike West, Sarge, & Brent)
Die cut stickers.com (Special shoutout to Jerry)

Media Team:
Mirae Campbell - Photography (@miraecampbell)
Carlos (Barlo) - Videography (@camerastuffbybarlo)
Luke Tokunaga - Photography (@luketokunaga)