As part of the new wave of freestyle snowboarding in the early nineties, Brian Iguchi played a central role in the early stages of style and progression. Hailing from just outside of Los Angeles, Guch may have polished his skills in the terrain parks at Bear Mountain, but after moving to Jackson Hole, WY at the age of twenty-one, he really started to show his innovative ideas.

Seeing a vast, untapped region of potential in and around his new home, the backcountry soon became his main focus. While exploring new zones and reassigning his freestyle skills to natural terrain, Guch ushered in a new dawn of snowboarding. His experiment layed the groundwork for much of modern snowboarding.

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He’s riding more now than ever while showing young riders how to navigate and safely spend their time in the backcountry. Guch hopes that the movement that he helped create is furthered in a fun and responsible manner.

“Guch is my teacher. His generosity and willingness to pass down his first-hand knowledge is so inspiring to me. I would say he has been one of my biggest role models in snowboarding.”
– Travis Rice

“Snowboarding has become my life. I live and breathe it, and I’m still definitely obsessed by it. I think, basically, I’m just dedicated. It keeps me strong, and it keeps me feeling good, so I just keep going back for more. Riding a snowboard has been the best thing that has happened to me; I’m going to stay true to that.

“There’s no real way to shortcut things, and there’s no sense in trying to cheat life — snowboarding has taught me that much. In the mountains you have to be honest with yourself. You need to have a level of self-control, and as a result, you learn to make good decisions snowboarding by paying attention to the signs and following the clues. Based on experience, you learn to listen to your feelings out there because if you don’t, the mountains can be very strict and ruthless. If you make bad decisions it WILL be evident and there WILL be punishment. So my advice for anyone looking to expand their snowboarding is to learn as much as you can about safety in the backcountry and to get a splitboard. Do that and a lifetime of good riding awaits you. In the mountains, knowledge is freedom.” – Bryan Iguchi