When I first met Parker, he was passed out atop a snowboard bag in the lobby of a downtown Denver hotel. His hair was spiked and dyed black. He was spooning his skateboard and wearing Kurt Cobain white oval sunglasses to mask eyes that were swollen from a big party the night before. The rest of the hotel was bustling with businesspeople and staff, yet no one second guessed the rock star chill Parker was throwing out. “This guy can hang,” I thought, while nudging him to wake up.  

Parker was in Denver for the annual Outdoor Retailer trade show. He’d proven himself as an amazing snowboarder in Jon Stark’s street-focused 2015 classic, Rendered Useless. A few years later, he got on with Vans and filmed for Tanner Pendleton’s Together Forever. Parker did it his way and held his own with the likes of Dillon Ojo and the rest of the team. Backed by Vans, K2, Howl, Loon Mountain, Crab Grab, Zapstix and Eastern Boarder, he was well on his way to a pro career based on his street riding. Yet Parker, who hails from coastal Newburyport, MA, was drawn to bigger mountains…

Buy issue

Subscribe to start your collection of The Snowboarder’s Journal.