Words: Josh Ruggles

At one point or another, every snowboarder has imagined how they would design a board graphic.  Realistically, almost none of them get to actually design one. Even some artists and graphic designers with decades of experience don’t get the honor.

Recently, college student Jacob Brooks landed several of his designs on a slew of boards for the upcoming season. With a unique style and different approach to graphics, some industry artists may need to take notes from Brooks on keeping it fresh.

Brooks, being a fan of Capita, created his own mock-up graphic of the Horrorscope for his portfolio website, along with the product description copied from the Capita catalogue. Shortly after, Blue Montgomery himself contacted him about the design.

“I get this email from Mr. Montgomery wanting to discuss my Horrorscope graphics. I was stoked of course, until I got another email explaining how he was sent a link to my site regarding a ‘pirated’ Horroscope board,” said Brooks. “I was told to take down the wording or be taken down. After I fixed the issues, he fortunately liked my art enough to open up some dialogue.”

After sending Montgomery a pile of samples, Capita ended up with four boards including the Horrorscope, Outdoor Living and Saturnia—as well as a few shirts.

With so many artists and designers in the snowboard industry alone, it’s refreshing to see the young and hungry getting their dues. No prior industry experience can be a huge obstacle for newcomers, but with Brooks, being as original as possible has clearly paid off.

“Trying not to be influenced by other designers in the snowboard industry is what I strive for. Keeping Capita’s boards looking original is the goal. When it comes to Capita boards, I try to make something that I would want to ride,” said Brooks. 

As for Capita, they are clearly stoked on Brooks’ work, hence four decks and some shirts. Team shredder Cale Zima is stoked on the different take that Brooks brings to Capita. “I like the way the graphics are more simple than others. It’s usually just one big main graphic that goes from tip to tail,” Zima said. “I like those kind of graphics a lot more than a lot of little designs that are confusing and just blend in.”

With the upcoming season still months away, it’s a waiting game to see how Brook’s designs are received by the riders buying the product. But for Brooks, he’s just stoked, if Capita is stoked.

“Everybody has there own opinion of what looks good, but all that matters is that CAPiTA and its riders are happy,” said Brooks.

In what appears to be a big huge foot in the door for Brooks, the industry can probably expect to see a lot more from this kid.

To check out more of Jacob Brooks' art head over to thedevilseye.com