For some reason, a lot of filmers acquire a sense of ego and hyper-criticism as they work their way up the ladder that is the snowboard film game. Ian Post isn’t at the top of that ladder yet, but at barely 22 years old, he’s well on his way. After filming and producing Afterhours this past season, Ian is working on his third full-length snowboard film. And I bet you never see any unnecessary ego inflation from this guy.
Photo left: Erik Hoffman
Where are you from, how old are you, and what do you do?
I’m happy to say I’ve spent the majority of my time in Vermont. I’ve also called New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and a few other places home. I’ll be 22 on January 10th, and most of my days are spent with a video camera in the snow.
What are you up to at the moment?
We’re up in Quebec city for the week getting some filming done for this year’s movie. It just snowed a good two to three feet in the city, depending on where you are, so it’s been great so far.
Ian and Luke Haddock in Quebec | Photo: Owen Ringwall
That sounds awesome. It seems like you’re constantly driving somewhere. Where does the money come from?
A mixture of our own pockets, previous video sales, and some branded support gets us where we want to be.
How many miles do you put on your car per year?
Way too many! Roughly 10,000 miles since November 1st to give you an idea.
Ian taking a break from filming at Windells this summer | Photo: Erik Hoffman
You’ve been done with college for a while now and already made a couple full-length movies. How did you finish school so quickly and manage to put together two films already?
I went to college a bit earlier than usual so I was able to wrap things up a year or so ago. I spent two years taking small business classes, then two years of web development classes at Champlain in Burlington. That all kept me pretty damn busy, so it’s nice being able to devote all my time to traveling, filming and boarding, now that I’ve graduated.
How did you get into filming initially?
I started by filming friends around Vermont and New Hampshire, at Loon, Burke, Sugarbush and the lot. Nothing serious, just us having fun with it in our earlier years.
Reviewing footage at Superpark. Look at the expression on Ian’s face. | Photo: Ben Birk – benbirk.com
I have to ask, where did the name “Afterhours” come from?
Ha. I was actually thinking about this today, and I really don’t have a good answer. I thought about it for a good while and for some reason it seemed right.
Well, tell us about this season so far – who have you been traveling with, where have you been, and what have you been up to?
I drove solo from VT to Tahoe in November, spent the month there and made a multi-stop trip back with Yale Cousino, Riley Nickerson and John Murphy. We stopped at Boreal, Brighton, The Bonezone, Keystone, Copper and finally Killington. We made a few edits and began gathering footy for the new movie. It was definitely a fun little start to the season. This current trip to Quebec has been our first super productive rail mission of the year though.
Ian finds time to snowboard every now and then. Double tail over a dirt gap at Hood. | P: Erik Hoffman
Riley Nickerson, Yale Cousino and Luke Haddock swept Rails to Riches a couple weeks ago. How much did you line the judges’ pockets with for that one?
Zip. Those guys worked their asses off that entire day and it ended up working out for them. Shaun (Murphy) also won $600 or so for best trick which was rad. The cash surplus has been very, very beneficial to them and our missions so far.
Luke Haddock in 2nd, Riley Nickerson in 1st, Yale Cousino in 3rd, and Ian with the camera. Rails 2 Riches was a $7,000 come-up for the Afterhours crew this year. | Photo: Scott Horwath
Are we going to see the Afterhours crew around any more contests?
Probably minimal on the contests this season. I’d usually say the US Open, but I doubt we’ll head there this year. They blew it by moving it from Stratton to Vail. It was always such a fun time heading down there for the weekend. We usually head up to Quebec for Shakedown in April if we’re in Vermont though.
What is your motivation for filming snowboarding? Is there any certain idea or feeling you’re trying to convey with the films and edits you make?
Personally, I think snowboarding edits and movies have gotten pretty damn soft. Touchy feely video parts along with edits and songs are all the rage when, in reality, snowboarding is a cold, rough, fast, yet incredibly fun activity. These days I try to show those aspects in the majority of the video work I make.
Ian working afterhours? | Photo: Ian Post
Who’s been doing a good job of this, or who with a camera do you look up to?
John Cavan, Leland McNamara, Aaron Hooper and many others have been doing great work. Whether it be a web edit or a full length flick, I’m hyped on their shit coming out.
The East Coast snowboard scene has really become more prevalent in recent years than it has been in a long time, maybe ever. Why do you think that is?
When it comes down to it, many of the guys killing it today grew up on the East Coast. They get after it for what it’s worth, and then move on to bigger and better things. Growing up in New England certainly gives you a better appreciation for all the riding the rest of the country has to offer – and the East has some of the best, untouched urban boarding there is, that is, if the snow allows.
Afterhours staple, John Murphy, is nearly as Vermont as they come. You can almost sense his calm demeanor in this photo | Photo: Ben Birk- benbirk.com
I grew up in the West, and I feel it’s often easy to tell when someone is from the East Coast, but especially from Vermont. What is it about Vermonters that make them so easy to pick out?
I’m not exactly sure, but it’s so wild how spread out Vermonters are. Everywhere we go we meet and sync up with fellow VT’ers. It’s pretty rad, since so many of us seem to share similar, outdoor-oriented lifestyles.
You’re very easy-going. But there must be something you see going on in snowboarding or in filming that pisses you off. I guess what I mean is, what would you like to see less of?
Eh, not a whole lot, mainly the never-ending pit of double cork enders. And those who take their snowboarding too seriously. That’s about it.
Someone I knew from rural Vermont called these “left handed cigarettes.” I’m not sure if they use that term in Burlington or not. Ian taking a break from editing | Photo: Ben Birk – benbirk.com
On the other end of the spectrum, what kind of positive things do you see going on? What would you like to see more of?
I dig seeing smaller crews making a mark while doing their own thing. There’s lots of motivated guys that are just beginning to get exposure, that absolutely kill it.
Alright, what do you have planned for the rest of the season, and what can we expect to see from you and the boys?
We’ll be working on the second Afterhours movie all season. Last year proved to be a great introduction to what we want to get into this year. It should be good and I know I’m excited for what’s to come. We’ll be traveling and shooting throughout the U.S. and Canada all year, as well as doing some stuff that’s not video-related, which I’m excited about.
You can buy Ian’s movie, Afterhours at: https://itunes.apple.com/
You can check out what’s going on with the Afterhours crew at http://lifeafterhours.us/
And you can follow Ian and the Afterhours crew on Instagram: @lifeafterhours
