In late December, New York City was set to get hit with more snow than it had seen in years. Signal EXP had just opened a new store at 88 Thompson St in Soho, right in the middle of it all. Cofounder Dave Lee saw the storm coming and made a call: get to New York, ride the streets, and film it before the snow melted.
We sat down with our content director, Tom, to talk about how a two-day-notice trip turned into a 1.1M-view moment and what it says about where content is headed.
Real quick, what's your actual role here?
Content director, team manager, tech guy, whatever needs doing that week. We're a small company - hats get passed around and we all chip in. We've also brought a couple new faces in as we're evolving.
So how did this start?
I was at home in Big Bear Lake when Dave called and said we needed to put together a strike mission to NYC. Normally I'd sit down and write out a rough day-by-day plan, but there was no time for that. Honestly there rarely is on trips like this. Too many unknown variables show up once you're on the ground anyway, so it's usually better to go in a little loose. I'm used to run-and-gun scenarios, so I didn't blink. We just had to move fast. Grab a couple riders, charge the cameras, go.
"You work with what you've been given, and this was one of those situations."
How much lead time did you actually have?
About two days between the call and getting on a plane. Kolman was in town so I grabbed him. Cali and Gomez were already in Vermont, close enough to make the commute easy, and they know what it takes to get things done in the streets. It's not always a walk in the park. No pun intended.
What was going through your head in that window?
Just getting there. Making the flights, crossing fingers for no delays. When snow hits a place that doesn't normally get it, people freak out, roads close, the city kind of shuts down. Which actually works in your favor if everyone else is tucked inside. That was the whole focus: get there.
What did you pack?
As many digital cameras, lenses, and audio gear as my bag could hold. I brought a board but it never left the bag. Our photographer was Jeremy Weiss, a friend of Dave's, and his son Eli rode with us too.
Walk me through landing.
We flew in on the 27th and headed straight out that afternoon to some rails Dave had scouted. Nothing came of it footage-wise, but it was a good warm-up. Didn't get back to the hotel until 3am.
Did you have a shot list for the 28th, the actual riding day?
Not really. We weren't filming a video part, we were filming an edit. This was a one-off moment in NYC, not a street mission. Real video parts take multiple days, sometimes you get lucky, but we had one day and multiple riders. There was no chasing quad kinks hoping for a couple clips. That wasn't the trip for it. Central Park was the move: iconic, enough snow to work with, and a spot where you could stir up a little chaos.
"This wasn't a video part. It was about the moment, and about what a small crew can pull off together that none of us could pull off alone."
What did the day actually look like?
We headed out early, grabbed food, and started walking, picking off small spots along the way until dark. The footpaths were ice under a dusting of snow, but Gomez and Cali ride ice all the time in Vermont so that wasn't a problem. If a spot needed too big a build, we just kept moving. Snow wasn't dumping the whole time either, it was melting fast, so we didn't have a lot of runway.
Tell me about Bethesda Terrace.
That was the moment. Some of the stairs at the grand staircase had filled in with snow, creating a natural runway to jump over a small wall. Not a huge trick by any stretch, but a crowd of maybe 300 people gathered, and every time someone dropped in there'd be this wave of "oooohs" from the crowd. No complaints, just people in awe that we were snowboarding in the middle of the park. I'd told the crew before the day even started that we'd probably end up on some viral NYC Instagram account, and sure enough, the next day it was on @newyorkers. That one clip alone did 1.1M views.
"Every time someone dropped in there'd be this wave of 'oooohs' from the crowd. I knew right then it was going viral."
How did people on the street react to seeing you?
Confused, mostly. People were out enjoying the snow and definitely freaked out a little seeing a group of us walking around with snowboards. They'd ask where we were headed. Street snowboarding just isn't something most people have a frame of reference for.
Did the store play a role?
At the end of the day we all dropped in at 88 Thompson to hang out and decompress. Having somewhere to call home after a session like that made a huge difference. The crew was Kolman, Cali, Gomez, Eli, and Jeremy for most of it, and Dave joined later in the day.
The edit itself, how fast did that come together?
A couple of days. It always has to be quick with this kind of thing, or you lose the moment. I edited it myself and cut it to Joy Division's "No Love Lost." I'd wanted to use that song for something for a while, and it fit the NYC grit and the handicam footage I shot. Nothing too polished. Same as the trip.
The video pulled over 100k views in a couple days. Why do you think it hit the way it did?
Timing, the crew, and how we approached it. It was relatable. No big tricks, just grabbing your board and working with what's around you. No lift ticket, no drive to a mountain. Funny enough, Shaun White ended up doing basically the same thing in the next storm and made headlines jumping over Shane Gillis. We weren't mad he got the attention, honestly we were just stoked to see more people snowboarding in the city. Shoutout to the crews who've been riding and filming NYC streets for years: Hellgate, Dustbox, Bumfucc, and plenty more. That takes real timing and execution.
How did this compare to a normal planned shoot?
Night and day. The projects that take the most time are usually the ones where you have no idea how people will react. You get precious about it, and it becomes more about the editing and the artistry than the actual riding. This wasn't that. It was about the moment, and about what a small crew can pull off together that none of us could pull off alone.
You mentioned people see through the marketing noise these days. What do you mean by that?
I think people can tell when something's authentic versus when it's built for a campaign. Signal is small, really small compared to most brands out there. We don't have big marketing budgets or people involved who don't know anything about snowboard culture. This is just what we do, and always have. I think people recognize that when they see it.
"People can tell when something's authentic versus when it's built for a campaign. Signal is small, and this is just what we do."
Where do you think content is headed next?
In the moment. IRL. If we could've livestreamed the entire day, we would've. That's the direction things are going, less produced, more real time. But as a one-man team, there's already too much to juggle. Shooting, directing, keeping an eye on the crew, thinking about the edit while it's still happening. Livestreaming the whole thing just wasn't realistic for us on this one.
What did Dave say when he saw the numbers?
He was hyped. We did what we set out to do and exceeded every expectation we had going in.
If there's one takeaway from this trip, what is it?
Don't hesitate. Take full advantage of any opportunity in front of you. You can plan for things, or you can just go. This was one of those situations where you work with what you've been given, and I think that's exactly what came through to everyone who watched it.
"Don't hesitate. Take full advantage of any opportunity in front of you. You can plan for things, or you can just go."
