Gigi leaves Burton for Volcom Snowboards

Last fall, without warning, JP Solberg, DCP and Romain DeMarchi were all unceremoniously given the boot. Gigi quickly became the last man standing of a brand that claimed to be so adamantly against the corporate model. After Burton dumped UNINC and the riders who built the brand, Gigi decided to take control of his fate.

"Leaving Burton was for sure hard. I saw that more than ever I was sharing a lot of the same ideas more so with the people at Volcom. It was also good to change from the management at Burton to a little looser company. I am really looking forward to a new way of traveling now that I don't have a team manager around... I also get to work with more and different photographers now, which hopefully will give me a new insight into the world of snowboarding."

"After 12 years things just became a little bland and frustrating at times. For me personally, I just wanted to find out what it would be like to be out there in the big open sea rather than in the same little pond." These are strong statements from Gigi. It's sad that Burton doesn't give their loyal team riders more control and let them make their own decisions.

"With UNIC, for years we had the independence and creative freedom to do our own thing but for some reason that was slowly lost as the company changed direction. Looking back I would have liked to see more communication as to all of our options and why everyone got cut. To us it didn't make any sense. It freaked me out. We are all so close, so seeing that happen really hurt, but it also made me think, "Why not me? And if not now maybe next year or whatever." So that is why I wanted to take hold of my situation and realize my own dream of doing something more fitting to myself and to create something all the while giving back to the kids."

"I want to emphasize that Burton is the one that got me here. It was just a decision I made... without any bad feelings. I owe a lot to them and all of those years... but things change and I had to do what was best for me. The thing is Burton has changed a lot. So I wanted to keep it to my own pace and be happy with the people I work with. I just had a feeling that if I wanted to make a change I had to do it now. I kind of wanted a different routine and to see the other side of it. Basically, I still get to ride with the same guys, my old crew... actually, I get to ride with more people now!"

"I realized that I don't have to ride a Burton board and bindings to perform! That was really satisfying. Nike is my boot sponsor. I was kind of cautious about that but after talking with their team riders and seeing that the product was the best out there I think I made the right choice. Also I wanted to make sure I could identify myself with the company. After the boot deal, I had like three binding people after me but I after some more talks I decided with Union, which has proven themselves for many years now."

"But this has taught me that change is good. I know it is risky but I am trying to remain calm but in the end I know it will be a good move as long as I remember that snowboarding is still about fun no matter what. It is nice to break out of the mold and know that I am putting my all into this. If I do that I don't see how it won't work out. It is a learning process for sure and it's coming at a time when I am learning about all kinds of other things as well."

Volcom snowboards aren't for sale on the Retail floor. They are for team riders only. They're waiting for a couple more years to drop the Hardgoods on us. Good luck to Gigi, Burton is so 5 years ago.....