Manic Monday - Eric Jackson's "ALIGNMENT"

"...this balance of fishing and snowboarding, this alignment between the two, is not about the act of catching the fish. That is a secondary bonus. It's all about being in the river–being in that peaceful environment–and if you get a fish, that's incredible...I am at my best when my two favorite passions come together" - Eric Jackson, Pro Snowboarder

As humans, we often have a tendency to lump people into particular categories dependent on a single defining characteristic. If you love to fish, you’re a fisherman. If you love to snowboard, you’re a snowboarder. But what if you love more than one thing? Surely your character and personality aren’t constructed solely by one determining force.

This is a question that has been at the forefront of Eric Jackson’s mind over the last few seasons. As a professional snowboarder, his career–like many others–has had its fair share of ups and downs. His performance in Travis Rice’s Fourth Phase as widely regarded as noteworthy and exceptional, yet the film’s release also coincided with him losing three of his long-time sponsors. The following year, he filmed for the X Games Real Snow competition and landed himself in third yet once again struggled to reap the benefits often thought to accompany such a victory. For Eric, this series of events did not act as a deterrent, but rather a motivator–forcing him to look inwards while constructing a path forward. Where he landed was at the crossroads of his two greatest passions, snowboarding and fly fishing, in a land he has long called his favorite place on earth, Northern British Columbia. It was here, deep in the woods of a place Eric has known well for over a decade, that the concept of alignment was realized. Fishing no longer acted as only a pastime, and snowboarder no longer had to be his singular descriptor. By focusing on the two together, fly fishing soon became a method to recharge and find a balance to the inherently dangerous factors associated with his backcountry snowboarding. This is Eric Jackson’s Alignment, and this is how nearly two decades into his career that he’s found his best self yet.

Read the full interview on Transworld Snowboarding, Eric Jackson's "Alignment"