The Spirit of the Thing | PHIL CASABON & SAMMY CARLSON

Style titans Phil Casabon and Sammy Carlson stomp foot on Mt. Hood’s volcanic ground to capture, with the hand of Hotlaps and his wizard staff, 'The Spirit of the Thing'.

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Park

Athletes

Philip Casabon Sammy Carlson

Locations

Mt. Hood

Philip Casabon

Philip Casabon, known to skiers around the world as B-Dog, is a Canadian freeski legend from Shawinigan, Québec, whose influence on street and park skiing spans more than a decade of groundbreaking video parts, signature products and era-defining style. He emerged in the late 2000s and early 2010s as a rider who could make complex tricks look effortless, pairing technical precision with a relaxed body language that reads clearly on camera and in person. While many athletes built careers around podiums, Casabon built a catalog around originality and storytelling, proving that progression in freeskiing is measured not just by spin counts, but by ideas, rhythm and the way a skier uses terrain. Casabon’s breakthrough years were intertwined with a creative partnership with Henrik Harlaut under the B&E banner, culminating in invitational events that showcased style, flow and unconventional features. Those projects amplified a philosophy that still guides his skiing today. Lines are designed like sentences with a beginning, middle and end. Approach speed is chosen to preserve cadence rather than to force difficulty. Takeoffs are decisive and axes are set early so rotations remain readable and landings ride away clean. The result is footage that ages well and remains instructive for younger riders studying how to combine rails, walls, gaps and banks into coherent sequences. The contest world eventually embraced video-based formats, and Casabon became a benchmark there as well. In X Games Real Ski he delivered all-urban segments that balanced heavy enders with subtle touches: nose and tail presses that carry real weight, surface swaps performed on imperfect steel, redirected spins that treat walls and banks as extensions of the rail line. Those edits demonstrated mastery of spot selection, logistics and risk management under tight timelines. They also highlighted a symbiosis with filmer and editor Brady Perron, whose eye for pacing and framing magnified Casabon’s skating-inspired approach to edges, balance and transitions. Equipment is a central part of Casabon’s story. His signature park and street skis became known for playful flex in the tips and tails, supportive underfoot platforms and shapes that feel neutral on unknown landing angles. He is meticulous about mount points that keep swing weight balanced without sacrificing landing stability, and he is vocal about edge durability, torsional support and base speed on contaminated snow. In boots, he gravitated to progressive designs that preserve ankle articulation and rebound for presses and quick recentering after surface changes. This product literacy turns gear into a creative partner rather than an afterthought, and it informs a steady stream of feedback to designers who translate rider needs into shapes and constructions that withstand urban abuse. Casabon’s training habits reveal why the style looks so effortless. Off snow he emphasizes hip and ankle mobility, single-leg strength for efficient pop on short run-ins, and trunk stability to manage off-axis rotations without letting the upper body flail. Trampoline and air-awareness sessions break big tricks into components, rehearsing set mechanics, grab timing and spotting before full-scale attempts. On snow he builds lines from low-consequence moves, scaling them patiently into heavy features once speed, angles and snow texture are predictable. That incremental method reduces injuries and preserves longevity in a discipline where impact tolerance is often mistaken for progress. Storytelling is another thread that runs through his career. Casabon treats each project like an album rather than a single, choosing music, color and pacing that serve the skiing. He shows the process in behind-the-scenes moments: shoveling and salting to control speed, testing inruns at dawn when light is flat but traffic is light, cleaning spots and restoring environments out of respect for neighborhoods. This transparency sets a standard for urban filming etiquette and keeps doors open for future crews. It also explains why his films are rewatchable; they offer both the satisfaction of heavy tricks and the narrative of how those tricks were made possible. Community impact rounds out his profile. Casabon mentors younger riders by translating complex technique into simple cues: align early on the inrun, commit to a clean set, keep shoulders calm through impact, and ride away with purpose. He is honest about fear management, using visualization and measured increments to turn nerves into information rather than noise. In camps and informal sessions he shares the small adjustments that create big gains, from binding ramp angle to edge bevels that keep rails viable on cold mornings. As freeskiing continues to evolve, Casabon remains a reference point for authenticity. He releases tightly curated video parts, appears at select events, and collaborates with brands in ways that preserve the integrity of his style while pushing product design forward. His legacy is not confined to medals or one winter’s highlight reel. It lives in a generation of skiers who learned that creativity can be systematic, that style is a skill built on fundamentals, and that a line that reads beautifully will always matter. For fans and aspiring riders, Philip Casabon stands as proof that street skiing can be both refined and raw, both disciplined and free, and that the most enduring progression happens when craft, culture and community move together.

Sammy Carlson

Sammy Carlson is an American freeskiing legend whose impact spans competition, film, style, and backcountry exploration. Born on January 11, 1989, in Portland, Oregon, he was raised in a ski environment near Mount Hood and developed a deep affinity for varied terrain from a very young age. Carlson has become renowned not just for tricks, but for pushing the boundaries of what freeskiing means—integrating creativity, risk, terrain, style, and storytelling. Early life and competition beginning Carlson grew up skiing with his family around Mount Hood, starting at about age four. His exposure to ski camps and summer park terrain shaped his early style. By age twelve he was attending more formal ski camps and spending summers focusing on tricks, rails, jumps and slopestyle terrain. His early competition success came in his late teens. Major competitive achievements and technical milestones One of the standout moments in his career was in summer 2010, when he successfully landed the first switch triple rodeo 1260—a complex trick combining switch take-off, multiple rotations, and aerial orientation. That solidified his reputation as a technical innovator. He earned multiple X Games medals, including a gold in slopestyle in 2011. He also won a silver medal at the FIS World Championships in slopestyle in 2011. These results placed him among the top freeskiing competitors of his generation. In early 2012 Carlson attempted a triple cork 1620 in an X Games big air final but suffered a serious knee injury, torn ligament, which forced him into a recovery period. This injury was a turning point—after it, his priorities shifted more toward creative freedom and backcountry skiing instead of just contest results. Transition toward film, backcountry and style evolution After his injury, Carlson invested more effort in video segments and backcountry skiing. He became widely known for his video work in the Real Ski Backcountry competition, which emphasizes creative ski film pieces filmed in natural mountain environments, away from traditional competition runs. He won this Real Ski Backcountry contest multiple times, displaying a blend of technical park tricks, terrain features such as pillows and natural jumps, and flowing transitions. Carlson’s style is often praised for its fluidity, for bringing surf-like motions to powder, for creative use of natural terrain features, and for blending daring with grace. This style has inspired many skiers who want more than just competitive success—they want expression, aesthetic, adventure. Recent work, philosophy, and legacy In the last several years, Carlson has focused strongly on backcountry film projects, exploring remote zones in British Columbia, exploring safety and risk more carefully, improving his narrative voice in his videos, and emphasizing maturity in decision-making in mountain environments. He has released feature-length works and shorter segments that highlight not only his skiing, but his evolution as a person, an athlete, and someone wrestling with risk, creativity, and joy. Even though he stepped back from being a full-time competitor, he remains active, and many see his current era as one of artistic peak—where his influence through video, style, and exploring uncharted terrain is as important as any medal. His equipment sponsors and brand relationships reflect this balance: they support both quality performance gear and the freedom to film and experiment. Samson Carlson (commonly called Sammy C) is based now much of the time in British Columbia during winter seasons, which gives him access to prime backcountry terrain.

Mt. Hood

Mount Hood is an iconic volcano in Oregon, rising to 3,429 meters, making it the state’s highest peak. Its history is closely tied to exploration and mountaineering since the 19th century, before becoming a major skiing destination. Today, Mount Hood is famous for resorts like Timberline and Mount Hood Meadows, offering nearly year-round skiing thanks to its glaciers, especially the Palmer Snowfield. It’s also a key spot for summer freestyle camps, drawing riders from around the world to hone their tricks. Events like the Sammy C Invitational have further boosted its reputation. Thus, Mount Hood is known as a hub for skiing, blending alpine culture, summer training, and creative competitions.