Snowboarding gets beautifully glorified in David Benedek's wonderful Current State

Date
30 August 2012

Answer me this – is there anything in the world cooler than snowboarding? Actually I’ll answer for you – no, NOTHING. Some philistines will say that surfing is superior but they’ve been grossly misinformed – once you’ve cut swathes through the white stuff there’s no turning back. Also you can’t drown on a mountain, which puts it one up on surfing at all times. David Benedek is a man who acutely understands the all-consuming passion engendered by this extreme sport, and to prove it he’s made a massive, similarly all-consuming book that explores in-depth the state of snowboard culture today.

Just creating one book would’t have been enough for David – one book doesn’t scream “I love this ruddy sport” like two books does, particularly two books physically bound together that can be read separately or in tandem. That has passion written all over it.

Current State does exactly that, binding two hardback volumes into one, “turning every spread into a four-page composition of correlating content.” And it’s all snugly housed in a screen-printed protective case. The concept itself seems mad – surely binding two hardback books together is just awkward and impractical – but the format allows for some jaw-dropping spreads that offer up vast A2 images of snowboarding at its very best. It also looks mighty good on your coffee table.

Content-wise it’s a no brainer for boarding fans with interviews from Travis Rice, Jed Anderson, old-timer Jake Burton and many more. It’s also rammed full of exquisite photography so you can remind yourself year-round what you’re missing on a mountainside somewhere far, far away.

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David Benedek: Current State

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David Benedek: Current State

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David Benedek: Current State

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David Benedek: Current State

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David Benedek: Current State

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David Benedek: Current State

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David Benedek: Current State

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David Benedek: Current State

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David Benedek: Current State

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David Benedek: Current State

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David Benedek: Current State

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David Benedek: Current State

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David Benedek: Current State

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About the Author

James Cartwright

James started out as an intern in 2011 and came back in summer of 2012 to work online and latterly as Print Editor, before leaving in May 2015.

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