A Katie Kennedy Interview

Katie Kennedy is awesome, both on and off the board. She was able to manage a full time job with below zero days in Ottawa. We could keep talking about Katie all day but we gave her a call since it’s probably best for her to explain.

How’s it going?

It’s going really well. Just got to California yesterday, and chilling here for Thanksgiving with my family.

What’s your favorite book club book been so far?

The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah. Shoutout Kristin Hannah, she started our book club basically. It’s super good. It’s about WWII, two sisters, and the French Resistance. I love book club. These girls I’m in it with, I met them through snowboarding and we just found out we have so much more in common. We get to talk about everything that comes with reading a new book. But Nightingale…highly recommend.

You reading anything currently?

Currently we’re in a hiatus from book club because everyone’s so busy, so I’ve just been reading things on my own. I’m reading this book called The Stranger Diaries which is super good. It’s a mystery, I like mysteries.

How did 6040 come about? Did you go into the winter expecting to film a full video?

6040 has kind of been like… not so much a dream, but something that we’ve talked about probably since COVID. Me and my friends Stefi, Jill, and Amanda were all kind of living together and snowboarding together. We kind of joked that 60% of us like street and 40% of us like powder. Our crew is just unique in that way where we don’t all snowboard the same way at all. So that’s like how it started and then we were just joking about 6040 being a funny ratio. Like there’s a 60% chance that we won’t land this or something. Then I filmed with Jack Reid. Basically, it was just kind of like we always joked about it and talked about it and then the pieces came together. I started filming with Jack Reid two years ago and I was like “oh perfect”. He’s great to work with. He’s kind of down with us being silly and stuff and he’s just an easy going filmer. Then, yea, last year I went into it and did say I was hoping to film with my friends, but that was really the gist of it. That was the only goal.

6040, is that your spliff ratio too?

Yea. I mean if someone else rolls it for me then yea. I’m known to be more heavy on the T but ideally it is 6040.

What are your thoughts on filming in Vermont?

Filming in Vermont was really sick. I think the people there made it sicker. Obviously, it’s not like a huge spot place. It’s not like everywhere you go there’s a ton of spots. But I’m from the East Coast. I’m from New Jersey and a lot of my first snowboard friends are in Vermont. So, like, going back and hanging out with Lily and meeting up with Ralph and seeing you guys was just like kind of an ode to where I’ve been in the past. And really, I didn’t have to move to Utah to hit street spots (but I’m happy that I did). But it was cool. We got to drive a little bit farther if we wanted to get to something. There’s a lot of potential, you’re just in the car more but Vermont’s beautiful so no complaints about that. Yea it was really fun. I got to stay at Lily’s house, Burlington is awesome. I love Vermont. I think that if the winters were a little bit better, I would consider moving there.

Can you tell me about that boardslide ledge in Canada? What was it like hitting that spot?

Well… went to Ottawa with the Dino’s crew. Shoutout Sean and Darrah and Jeff and everyone that was there. There are so many spots there, kind of like the opposite of Vermont. In Vermont you’re more like, oh, we only have these three things. In Ottawa it’s like, here’s a hundred things, let’s pick them. So, we went to that ledge that’s famous, and I was looking at it. A lot of things I’ve done in street snowboarding Jeff Holce has kind of already had an idea in his head of what I was going to do before I even think of it. So, Jeff was like, “you should boardslide this. No girl has ever boardslid this before.” I think last year Kennedi Deck tail pressed it. But I was like, alright I’m pretty down. It was so cold, like negative degrees. You’re right on the water, the wind is bustling through. We were trying to pick the stairs, but it was a sheet of ice, so I wish that could’ve been better. It was true winter in Canada. And then I just strapped in, dropped in, and went for it. It kind of was a battle. It probably took a good hour. Most of that was because the drop in wasn’t a straightforward drop in. I was dropping in up from a ledge that was around the bend from it. So, I drop in from this ledge and have to do a heal turn and a toe turn and a few pumps and if the speed was right, I basically could almost do it every time but if the speed wasn’t right, I was coming off early. Yea and finally as soon as I was on it and locked in, I really didn’t want to have to hike back up to the top, so I just stuck it out.

Are we going to see another one this year? A 6040 sequel?

So, I think we’re… it’s going to be… we’re going to do something this year. It might be a little different. Maybe some type of midseason drop. I’m going to be filming with Lib Tech more this year. But next winter, I think we’re going to try and do a more legit 6040. Travel more. I mean, technically 6040 this past year was only three trips. So, I think not this winter, but next winter we’re going to dedicate a lot more time and resources and make it a 20-minute, 30-minute video hopefully. Yea, that’s the goal.

What’s one thing Jill does around the house that drives you crazy?

One thing Jill does around the house that drives me crazy? Haha. I call her the soundboard. It doesn’t drive me crazy, but she often is just making noises about all of the feelings she is feeling. If she’s sick I’m like, oh the soundboard’s going off. Also, she overreacts about common things like the recycling being full which is something that, if the recycling is full just take it out you don’t need to freak out. Haha that’s it.

What’s something people always get wrong about Jersey?

People have the wrong idea about Jersey. They usually fly into Newark and just see some pollution going on and the Meadowlands and swamp water. Basically, everything outside of Newark is pretty beautiful. They call it the Garden State. There’s a ton of great farms and the Appalachian Mountain Range is there. I lived at the Jersey Shore and it has the most beautiful beaches ever. I would say the thing people get wrong the most is that they think because I’m from the Jersey Shore, I must be doing what Snooki does on that TV show. Those people are not from the Jersey Shore. They come to the Jersey Shore. I always got to tell people that, no, that’s not the type of partying I do… kinda hahaha.

Watch Katie in 6040 here: 6040 Golden Ration

Interview by Norm

A Katie Kennedy Interview

A Short Liddle Interview