Event
Mash and Bash 2024
St. Patrick's Day Session in New York
“Luck of the Irish” is a term that originated in the 19th century during the California gold rush. Despite its seemingly positive nature, the saying was a slight towards the large number of successful miners of Irish descent living in the United States. Without getting too deep into the history of why so many Irish people immigrated to the States in the first place, to put it lightly, the Irish have not always been a particularly lucky group of people. Giving credit where it’s due, a nobler man would’ve admitted that their good fortune was a result of their own hard work. If anything, the Irish have always had to create their own luck.
Johnny O’Connor, 50-50 gap to lipslide 270 out. He also hit a 50-50 hardway 270 on this same transfer, along with an onslaught of other tricks that had the lot of us saying “He’s just too good.”
This past Sunday, St. Patrick’s Day, Johnny O’Connor hosted his annual freestyle event, Mash and Bash, at Windham Mountain Club, NY, a small resort in the Catskills right around the corner from where he grew up. For years Johnny has been investing his time and energy into this diminutive corner of the snowboard world. He’s a beacon to all riders in the area, for both his generational talent on a snowboard and his welcoming demeanor off the slopes. As an ambassador of SHRED Foundation, an Albany based program which utilizes snowboarding as an avenue for youth empowerment, Johnny uses his platform at Windham to raise funds for programming, as well as Ukrainian relief efforts. On top all that and organizing the event, he designs and helps construct the course so that snowboarders around the East Coast can have one hell of a session to send off the season. Then he straps in and throws down harder than anyone there.
Johnny is truly a generational talent. Nevertheless, he’s holding it down in the small but mighty Catskill Mountains in New York.
Although, the Mash and Bash isn’t really a competition. It’s more of a gathering. A gleeful reunion for our extended family of smiling sideways-sliders. Dozens of snowboarders show up to Mash and Bash every year and 2024’s soiree was no different. Johnny is lucky in that sense, lucky to have such a strong community backing him. Lucky to have such a good relationship with his local resort, with people who encourage him to put on this event on every year. But remember, the luck of the Irish is not serendipitous. Just like those who came before him, Johnny’s luck is his own creation.
Elias Parise and Jasper Kahn hug it out next to the course at Johnny O’Connor’s 2024 Mash and Bash at Windham Mountain Club, NY.
Founder and CEO of SHRED Foundation, Danny Hairston. Read more about SHRED Foundation and get involved here.
Tay (@big400tay) squaring up over the front foot on the flat box.
Michelle Slanger was crushing it all day long. Backside boardslide on the slight-up rail.
The legend himself. Ladies and gentlemen, Lucas Magoon.
If Timmy Sullivan is at the event you are certain to see him upside down at some point, either flipping or planting. In this instance, the latter.
How ya doin’? Fuggetaboutit. Joey B[auer] and Sean Callaghan of the iconic Ice Coast Kills Shit crew.
Johnny O’Connor getting blunted at the end of the course with Sean Callaghan working his angles on the follow cam.
Seven-year-old Axel was riding strong across the whole course. With hard-charging younglings taking notes from masters of the craft like Johnny, the foreseeable future of east coast snowboarding looks to be in good hands.
Thank you to Johnny O’Connor, SHRED Foundation and the folks at Windham Mountain Club for putting on the event.
Want to get involved with SHRED Foundation? Read about it here and get involved at shredfoundation.org.