Adam Moran: Adidas Snowboarding

BY Molly Glynn 15 February 2018

How many chances do you get to travel to three different countries and snowboard with some of the best professionals in the world? For Adam Moran, all he needed was one. When Adidas called to ask about his availability to shoot a new global campaign, Adam was totally on board.

Once he was signed on to the project, there was very little time to plan. As soon as the holidays ended, the whole team was hopping on a plane to their first destination– Japan.

Planning for shoots like these can be tough. You not only have to work with the schedules of multiple professional athletes who all have other commitments going on, but the video crew as well. But the most important thing is timing it right with good snow.

Japan in January boasts some of the best snow in the world, so Adam was certain they could get the shots they needed. Yet with changing conditions and unpredictable weather, the team needed to be as mobile as possible, and everyone needed to be on the lookout for the perfect location.

At one point, we packed it up in one location and moved the whole crew 5 hours north to another area where the temps were colder and the snow would stay better.

The constant travel was no sweat for this crew, even if it meant long days hiking with heavy camera bags and equipment.

As you are hiking, everyone is scoping for terrain to shoot and when we see something someone wants to ride, we stop and assess it, then get to shooting. I knew the direction that Adidas wanted in the shots, so I would then try to apply that to what we’d find in the mountains.

The main goal for the project was to promote Adidas’ new outerwear and boot lines using the professional athletes the brand sponsors but to also project a laid-back, nostalgic vibe, reminiscent of the early days of snowboarding.

As much of professional snowboarding has become heavily focused on contests and scary tricks, Adidas wanted to create a vibe that was much more about the fun and camaraderie that snowboarders had when it was more of a counter culture winter sport and less mainstream.

The crew had a blast in Japan, but their next attempt didn’t run so smoothly. After a month’s reprieve, they headed to Revelstoke, British Columbia in hopes of adding to their catalog of images. However, the weather schemed against them, and a recent rainstorm ruined most of the snowfall in the area. They waited for another snowfall and set out to take some shots, but the wind had blown and made the layer of snow uneven and dangerous.

We tried and tried, and got a few shots, but for the athletes bad snow conditions can mean risking their safety, no matter how sunny and nice out it is. So we had to pull the plug and save some production money.

After a disappointing shoot in Canada, Adam relied on their last location to deliver the remaining images for the campaign. Mammoth, California was a great location for sunny, spring images, and since it was the end of winter, the weather was great and the athletes enjoyed riding the small halfpipe and being in each other’s company.

Overall, the shoot took several months to complete, and featured it’s fair share of highs and lows. In addition to the distressing weather, one of the snowboarders broke his leg in Japan, and another ended up tearing a ligament in his knee that required surgery. But despite the dangers, Adam found the shoot invigorating.

It’s hard not to feel fortunate when you’re sitting atop a mountain you hiked up in Hokkaido, and after shooting you get to ride down in some of the best powder in the world.

All’s well that ends well, and Adidas loved the final product. They’re rolling out the images periodically on the Adidas Snowboarding Instagram account throughout the year. In the meantime, Adam gets to revel in time well spent with a great crew of friends new and old.