Former pro snowboarder Jordan Small has not slowed down. Stepping away from the strapped in spotlight a few seasons ago, he has carried on a lifelong passion for cooking into a new venture. Opening up Small’s Smash Club in San Clemente, CA last year (after running a pop-up during COVID), he has quickly created a new place for the action sports world to come together with plenty of burgers and beer. With a new location coming to Laguna in the works, as well as two kids at home, he has a lot on his plate. Check out our interview about everything Jordan learned in the snowboarding world and how it applies to the new entrepenuer now for our latest Back of House below!
Where do you grow up?
I grew up in Lake Forest, CA.
Where are you living now?
I currently reside in San Clemente, CA.
How old are the kiddos?
I got a tornado of a 2-year-old and a 4-month-old.
What’s your home resort?
Bear Mountain!
Who was/is your riding crew?
Currently, I don’t have much of one, haha! When I get up there, I am mostly solo or with a couple of my good buddies around her. But my Bear crew was Richie Conklin, Jeremy Estorga, Lenny Mazzoti and all the Bear Homies. When you grow up riding Bear, you kind of have an endless crew.
What is it about riding Bear that is so unique and special in snowboarding?
Bear is probably the most famous snowboard park in the world. While it may not have the draw it had back in the 2000s, it is still a place that everywhere in the world has eyes on. The vibe, the weather, the people, it’s all so unique and nowhere else I have been to in the world can touch Bear Mtn’s vibe.
Any current or past sponsors you wanna give some love to?
Will always give love to the ThirtyTwo crew. I basically built my career around Spot checks and without ThirtyTwo, I don’t think I would have gotten far in the snowboard industry. Shoutout to Cook, Bachman and HDJ.
Favorite moments or film projects that you worked on in the past?
All the 32 videos and trips I was able to go on will always be a standout, but as far as a video part, the one I am most proud of is the year I filmed for Transwolrd Arcadia video. I feel like everything lined up that year and it’s a part that I always look back on as being super proud of.
When did Smalls Smash Club open? Was it a difficult process?
We started pop-ups back during COVID. Traeger was hooking me up with grills and pellets, so we were smoking meat on the regular until my wife and I had the great idea of selling BBQ out of the yard. We did great with that and carried that into pop-ups at breweries and after a year, we introduced the Smash burger. It killed it, and we spent the next few years perfecting our recipe until the time came in 2025 to open our brick-and-mortar.
We lucked out on our location being a second-generation restaurant, so we didn’t have to do too much work to the place. As far as the difficulty, I won’t lie. We had it easy and had so much local support that we were able to hit the ground running and be profitable out of the gates. The biggest challenge was staffing and finding like-minded people to run the joint with us, but now we have such a great crew that going into work feels like hanging with the family. Of course I had countless sleepless nights and also had a newborn during the process, but my wife and I just locked in and enjoyed the process. Mindset plays a big role in doing a big venture like this and we just put our heads down and grinded through it with lots of help from family and friends.
Where did the inspiration come from to open a restaurant?
My family was always big foodies. My Dad was always an amazing chef, and he, along with my mom, kept us fed with really amazing, high-quality meals. We were always eating good and spending a lot of time in the kitchen so I feel like food was always a passion of mine. I used to always tell people once snowboarding ends I want to shift my attention to food and thats what we did.
Can you explain the transition from being a pro snowboarder to becoming an entrepreneur?
I would say the transition was pretty natural. I always knew there would be an end to my contracts and making money on a snowboard. I think my mindset on that may have even caused some sponsors to start phasing me out. I think I always had big ambitions and sometimes that rubs sponsors the wrong way. I would say I was pretty vocal about wanting a life beyond snowboarding and I am always a preature to the younger generation that you should have a backup plan in this world of snowboarding we live in. We will always love it and be snowboarders at heart but you gotta think long term with your goals while you are in the mix of this amazing pro snowboard life we get to live. I always knew this is where my life was gonna head, so I made sure to enjoy it while I had it, but make sure when it ended, I had a path that was something I would love and be passionate about and not be left in a phase of life with no idea what to do.
As a pro snowboarder, you are effectively running your own personal brand/business. How is the business of being a pro snowboarder different/same that being a restaurant business owner?
With not going to college for long I look at my snowboard career as my crash course in business. It really is a business if you look at it in the right light. While I loved the shredding, the business side of things always intrigued me and I always kept my ear pointed towards the business side of things.We are constantly networking, marketing ourselves and selling our own personal brand which, if you look at it the right way, that’s exactly what running a business is. While yes, it is such a rad life of traveling with buddies and riding your snowboard, you can look at all the successful boarders that have made a long-term career at it and see that not only were they great snowboarders, they were also great business minds. You can also at the same time see the opposite side of that, where there were boarders who were the most gifted riders ever, but weren’t able to play ” the game’ that comes with being a pro snowboarder. I took a lot of what I learned in the snowboard world into my restaurant. I think one of the biggest things I carry is how you treat people. Whether it’s a vendor, an employee or a customer, if you treat people with respect, you are gonna get success and respect back.
Whether we are running a snowboard business or a restaurant business, we all try and balance work and home life. How has having kids influenced your approach to business and balance in life?
Won’t lie, kids have been a little hectic, haha. They are the biggest blessings in my life, truly being a dad is one of the best things that has ever happened to me. Balancing work and home life has been slightly easy cause my restaurant is literally a 3-minute walk from my front door. But at the same time, I have a great team in there and have been able to step back and be completely present with my kids while the restaurant stays profitable and running smoothly. You’re only as good as your team, and having kids makes me really appreciate my staff and everyone involved.
You’ve hosted a couple of industry events with Joyride, ThirtyTwo and Yuth to name a few. Obviously, you still have strong ties and connections in snowboarding. How have these events impacted your business? Any other reasons you enjoy hosting these events?
Yes, absolutely. My goal with this space was to be a hub for action sports events of all kinds. We have had 32 team meet ups, Surf movie premieres, kids’ parties, and magazine launch parties. My tie to the action sports industry has been part of our success for sure. We are in San Clemente, which is one of the hubs of the surf, skate, and snow industry and we wanted to really tap into that. We try really hard to hammer home our mission statement of “GOOD burgers better Vibes,” and being an action sports hub restaurant has helped business immensely.
Your business seems to be going well and a new location opening soon in Laguna Beach, CA?
Yes, it is! Laguna Beach is gonna be our bar forward, vintage beach club, ocean view spot! We are super excited to introduce this place to the world! We have big aspirations for this brand and Laguna is a big step forward to the huge goals we have!
Any shred trips on the horizon?
Shit, I wish haha! For now it’s just a couple of kids on the hip and grabbing beers at the restaurant. I am super happy to live where I live because I have a brand new skatepark next to me that Dove and I hit every morning, and I am happy just spending time in the ocean surfing now. I got Dove her first snowboard already, and I think next winter she will get on the hill, but this summer she will be surfing Doha and Sano with me for sure!!
Any bucket list locations you still want to ride in the future?
Baldface is always on the list haha! Maybe one day I can take my staff on a dream trip like that. But my mind is so ocean-focused now, I just want to go on surf trips! Tavarua, Fiji is big on the list.
Any words of advice for young folks wanting to make a career in snowboarding?
Absolutely. Take advantage of it while it’s there. Advocate for yourself when it comes to sponsors and maximize your travel and how you can see the world on your snowboard. While doing that, keep your mind on some sort of exit plan! It doesn’t last forever, but while you’re in it, make sure you enjoy the hell out of it because there isn’t anything like it! I wouldn’t trade the lifelong homies, parties and life experiences I had during my snowboard career for the world!!!
Favorite part about running a restaurant(s)?
The free beer! Kind of free, haha. But honestly, the ability to work for myself and provide for my family. Being a business owner is hard but it’s so rewarding!
