SNOWBOARDER’S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY BY ELENA GRAGLIA AND KAEL HILL

One of our favorite power couples in the snowboarding scene is presenting a new movie. Elena Graglia and Kael Hill are dropping their first project together: «Snowboarder’s Guide to the Galaxy». The just happily married couple has shared a winter of adventures in the streets of Canada and the USA and here is the result. To be able to watch the whole movie, they have come up with an amazing idea: by showing proof of having economically contributed to the snowboarding scene in any way, they will DM you a link with the movie. For more info visit Elena’s post on IG by clicking HERE. But first, make sure to read this interview!

Hi guys, how are you doing?

Great!! Working on our bodies and ready to board!

How was last season for you both? And how is the situation at the moment in Canada with this whole covid situation?

Last season was really productive. We started off the season travelling around Europe filming at various resorts and doing some competitions. After that we went back to North America and spent the rest of the season filming in the streets. We arrived back in Canada from a trip to Salt Lake City 13 days before the country announced that everyone who had travelled in the past 12 days was required to quarantine. The snow was also pretty much gone in the city by that point so luckily, we didn’t miss too much boarding on account of the whole covid thing.

At the moment things seem to be kind of up in the air, certain parts of the country are going into lockdowns and cases here seem to be on the rise. Regardless of what direction things go it’s pretty safe to say that snowboarding is going to pop off this year!!!

What’s “Snowboarder’s guide to the galaxy”? Why this title?

Snowboarder’s Guide to the Galaxy is the film we produced together this past year. We chose the title for a few reasons: first of all, the movie «The Hitch-Hikers Guide to the Galaxy» is epic and second, we both think space is pretty rad, so ultimately seemed like a good fit. I wouldn’t read too far into it, though, as the content in the film is pretty much all killer no filler with an awareness piece at the end.

Where did you get the idea from?

We were in New Zealand driving on the other side of the road, talking about making a snowboard film together and this was the first thing that popped into Elena’s head. We thought it was pretty funny so we went ahead with it.

(ELENA) You are kind of new to the street riding world and it seems like you are enjoying it! What do you like the most about the streets? Are you planning on going this direction from now on?

In the past years I gathered a lot of experience in the parks all over the world. But it seemed that it was about time to step my game up and challenge myself towards the natural direction of the sport. My purpose is to transport the tricks that I enjoy doing in the park to the streets. What I like the most about street snowboarding is that you can build whatever comes to mind and get creative rather than riding what somebody else built for everyone’s enjoyment. I plan to continue on this path in order to help my growth as a snowboarder and as a human facing the limits of fear and self-doubt.

(KAEL) Will we ever see another one of your ‘street-riding-summer-edition’ videos? [Visit Kael’s vimeo account if you don’t know what we are talking about. 100% worth it. CLICK HERE]

Hard to say, last few rounds were pretty tough on my body, although there is one no snow-esque trick in our movie (Spoiler Alert!!!). There are definitely still a few rails in my sights so I guess you will have to wait and see.

Let’s move on to the important stuff: A CAT THAT LIKES SWIMMING. How did that happen?

Step 1. Cat has natural curiosity for water.

Step 2. When brought near water cat did not freak out and attack.

Step 3. Cat was placed in water and instinctively swam to shore.

Step 4. Cat spent the next to hours licking himself dry.

Although I should probably also add that «like» is a pretty strong word here. I would go with something more along the lines of our cat doesn’t hate swimming (hahaha).

Sorry about that. Let’s stick to snowboarding. How was riding the streets with your partner in life?

ELENA: Riding with one of the greatest inspirations of all times which happens to be my husband really helped me to go outside of my comfort zone. Kael has a unique approach to anything and being with him makes everything in my life just happier and brighter. So, it’s pretty obvious to say that living our dreams together is just so special.

KAEL: It was really awesome to watch Elena learn and grow in the streets. It is super cool to have your partner totally aligned with your direction in life. The fact that we can pursue our passions together is a huge blessing and I’m really excited to see what she pulls out of the bag this year!

What’s your best memory from last season?

ELENA: Being on the couch after getting married thinking that we were just going to chill with the family for the rest of the day when a HUGE limo pops up in our driveway to bring us to our first kiss spot.

KAEL: Getting married to Elena.

What gets you going?

ELENA: Opportunities for mental and physical growth.

KAEL: Elena.

We were following your adventures during summer and we’ve seen you have built your own home on wheels. How is life in a van during these crazy times? Are you planning on travelling with it this winter?

We are so proud of our summer project. It was a really neat experience to be able to build something together and then call it home. We spent most of the summer on the small islands which surround Vancouver Island. Due to the remote nature of our travels we really didn’t notice the «crazy times» first hand too often.

We were planning on living in it this winter but we had second thoughts because of concerns relating to our cat’s lifestyle. During the summer he’s free to roam around in the forest all day with no restrictions and we felt it wouldn’t be fair to him to be cooped up all winter in the bus. In light of that, we have moved to Calgary and are living in a house getting ready to film street all winter.

Walter, the bus

What will we see next?

Bigger, Better, More Professional.

Thank you so much for your time, guys. Thank you for bringing some awareness about topics that affect us all as snowboarders. And obviously we hope to see you back in Europe some time in the near future!