Kas Lemmens

For those of us that don’t know you, introduce yourself.

I’m Kas, 30 years old. I live in the Netherlands and I like to snowboard. Actually, I like to do a lot of things!

Talk us through your journey in snowboarding?

We don’t have mountains here in the Netherlands, but we do have a couple of indoor snow domes. I’m from a smaller town down south, which had its own dome. My friends dad owns the place, so when I was young I often went snowboarding with them after school. After a while we felt ready to go to our first ‘event’ in one of the better-known snow domes in a bigger city here. We realised when we got there - or we were surprised to realize - that we did quite well in the results. Things started rolling from there, I think. There were already a handful of Dutch snowboarders going out and making videos and after some point they invited me to come and film with them for a new production. I was 16 at the time, I went on a trip with them to Helsinki and that was my introduction into filming urban snowboarding — I don’t like that word at all… I rather just call it snowboarding.

Describe your local scene?

It feels much more like going to skate park than a mountain, you are all together in this small space. You can snowboard down, which takes about 10 seconds and then take the lift up for a minute while constantly seeing your friends. In the mountains it’s obviously a much bigger area so you are spread out from your friends, on the lift or in the resort. In a dome everything is so condensed. I do a trick, my friends see it, my friends do a trick, I see it – so it’s a good dynamic and helps each other get excited.

What are the challenges being a pro snowboarder from the Netherlands?

The challenges? Always having to go somewhere to find snow! To film means I have to travel. But I realized I like it that way, coming home and having nothing to do with snowboarding. My friends don’t snowboard so it feels nice to disconnect from it when I’m not on a filming trip anymore.

How is your routine back in the Netherlands?

In summer, I have a carpentry job, I do a lot of stuff with my fiancée, hang with friends – the usual things. Trying to stay as healthy as I can, both physical and mentally. I just finished a video project I’ve been working on for the past few years called Transparent. I was lucky enough to do it with my close friends and fellow Vans teammates Dominik, Ivika, and Will. My dear friend Tim Schiphorst filmed and edited it all. We are currently finalizing everything, so it should release very soon, around December or January. We just had premieres in Salt Lake and Innsbruck which was really fun. Also, lately I’ve been working a lot on Time For Service.

Tell us about Time For Service.

I started it three years back. I needed something that I could put all my interests to – mental health, art, clothing, music and of course snowboarding. On a Vans trip a couple of years ago, my car broke down and ‘Time For Service’ popped up on the dashboard. I started thinking about it and thought it would be a nice way of linking that to mental health awareness. Once in a while you need to get your car checked, otherwise your car will break down and I think the same goes for your mental health. It’s good to check in with yourself to keep living in a healthy way. I do a lot of different things under “Time For Service”, like clothing and events, but the ultimate goal is when people see the name to think: how am I feeling today? Even if it just helps one person.

What are your plans for this winter?

I can’t remember the last time I didn’t have a plan, but this winter I don’t have an exact plan yet. Trying to enjoy snowboarding a little bit more instead of focusing on filming all the time. I would still love to go on a couple of trips with the team, but also snowboarding more for myself.

What inspires you in snowboarding?

People that have a different approach, there’s a group called Sensesse in Norway, they have a refreshing outlook on the scene and do it differently. They did a fashion show and premiere in New York with the Dustbox crew which was super cool. Same goes for the Dustbox - the younger generation who aren’t afraid of stepping out of the box and doing their own thing.

And outside of snowboarding? What are your inspirations?

I like people that do things differently, my friends, art, music.

How would you describe the vibe within the Vans snow team?

It’s in a really good spot right now, having Benny Urban running the team is super inspiring – taking the torch and moving it forward. The crew is really close, we all hang out together and although we all have our different approaches, we all have a similar way of thinking – the execution is different. You can take a little bit from everyone and learn. Overall it’s just a good collection of beautiful people.

Favourite Vans boot to ride in?

I wear the Hi-Standards or the Hi-Standard Pro.

Any last words? A message for the internet? A message to your former self?

Thanks to everyone who has supported me along the way and everyone that’s trying to make a positive impact in the world. To my former self? To be kind to myself, to stay vulnerable, to not care what others think of me. It’s a work in progress.