New hire: MAGGIE LEON X ROME SNOWBOARDS
Extra extra read all about it! We don’t think many people saw it coming, but Maggie Leon has just been picked up by Rome Snowboards. We caught up with her in her new office to see how this change of guard came about.
This is a big change. I don't think anyone from the outside looking-in saw it coming, was making a move like this on your radar for a long time or did it suddenly come about?
I’d say it suddenly came about for sure, it came to fruition in maybe less than a month. After I got back from the Uninvited Invitational, I was trying to figure out how I was going to plan for next winter and that’s when I realized I needed to figure out how to prioritize my riding at this point in my career. It really opened the door to having conversations with other brands basically and seeing if there is someone who is willing to support the hybrid position, who can cater to both sides of my career
Had you been wanting to move on from Burton for a while?
I’ve been wanting a change of pace and scenery for quite some time I’d say. This past January I started to realize how difficult it was to balance a full-time job with my winter schedule.
Burton was supportive and granted me 4 work-weeks-worth of snowboard time. It was helpful for sure, but it didn’t feel like enough and it could only be used in stents(a few days at a time) in order for me to manage my design/development timelines.
I felt like Burton had gotten a lot out of me as a rider without, like, having to officially sign me. You can’t really film, travel, and do what I want to do with just 20 days a year. I kind of realized this winter that it was nearly impossible to manage going to say, like, Heavy Metal, then getting back on a Tuesday, and having to cram all of my work in three days and then pack to go to freakin’ Finland or something like that. It was just too much.
I had a really productive conversation with Jess [Kimura] and Haze(Sharalee Hazen) at Heavy Metal about entertaining the idea of speaking with other brands, they definitely helped plant the seed. THANK YOU both for that.
What spurred your decision to make the move?
I was having a ton of conversations about it all with my great friend Ashley [Rosemeyer]. She went freelance last year and had a bunch of great advice and insight regarding direction on how to approach this efficiently and effectively.
I was texting and calling her nonstop and was just spiraling like, “I need to go see ‘Shlee, I need to go talk to her”. So, I went down to Waterbury to her new spot, and we went to get a beer literally across the street. We ended up running into Dennis [Dusseldorp], who’s the CEO of Low Pressure Studio(Rome, Bataleon, Lobster). You know when you, like, click with someone really quickly? That’s what happened, he’s like, “Oh, you’re, like, Maggie Maggie”, and I was just like, “what do you mean?” [laughs]. He’s pretty much like, “Oh, I’ve been trying to see if Frapp [Justin Frappier, Rome's Lead Engineer] could get a hold of you. But the people on our product team were saying not to reach out to you, because you are working at Burton”. Then, he followed up and we had coffee the next morning, he basically said they were willing to curate a roll that makes sense for me at this moment in time. It was something I couldn’t say no to.
Now with your new position at Rome, will you be riding more, or will you be working more?
Well, we landed on a 60/40 split, which is pretty perfect. I was speaking to Dennis and I realized it’s really hard from a product development standpoint to be involved in larger projects if you’re working for less than 6 months a year. And I definitely want to be involved in these projects. Especially on a smaller product team, you have more say, more direction, just more shit going on. So, I told him I’d love to work for a little more than 6 months, and be able to ride during the majority of the season - mid-Nov - April.
Usually riders don’t have the ability to have their company so close to home, but you’ve managed to keep it local.
Actually, I’ll be moving to Amsterdam this upcoming Fall, which is kind of insane. There are two domes, and Dennis was saying that most major resorts in the Alps are only an hour flight(give or take). Plus, LPS has a team house over by Absolut Park, so I’ll probably spend some time there as well.
BUT I’ll be back in VT every summer for 2-3 months to work with our team here in Waterbury and also get to spend some time with Joey and my mom! I find so much comfort in Rome being a Vermont based brand. Another reason why making the switch to Rome felt so natural.
Damn, that’s really exciting. Do you have a plan/vision for the upcoming season with this new home? What are you most excited about?
I’m still not totally sure what my winter will look like yet, which is kind of stressing me out. But at the same time, I’m trying to lean into the fact that it’s flexible, and that they’re willing to help me figure something out. Now that I have some time I’ll be able to figure that out more. It’s just exciting to be in a new environment, and the pace at Rome is just a lot quicker than it was at Burton. I feel like that was something that kinda got to me at Burton, because I’m so passionate and so excited about the things I want to get done. I just wanted things to move at a quicker pace.
Sibling rivalry or greatest sibling power duo now that you’re on a team with your brother Joey?
You know, I see it as a power duo for sure. That was definitely a major reason for changing brands, and taking this new job. Hopefully now I’ll be able to actually film with Joey. Now that I have more time set aside, I can film a part that I’ve been wanting to film for the past forever. it’d be great if he could film, edit, and ride with me alongside. Or whatever he wants to do.
Any projects out the gate?
Yea, two major design projects right out the gate that I’m not allowed to talk about yet. But they’re fucking cool, really cool.
What boards have you tried out so far? Did you try any before joining the team?
didn’t try any before joining the team actually, but I used to ride the Rome Detail all of middle school. I remember breaking the edge really badly and then p-texting the shit out of it so I could ride it for as long as possible [laughs].
Well, Ms. Maggie, I believe that does it for this interview. Is there anything else you’re most excited about?
I’m honestly just so excited to go back to work on Monday, which is pretty telling that I’m in the right place. It’s really cool to work with people who are so immersed in the snowboard community. On This past Friday, we all drank some beer, watched some old-school videos like The Hard, The Hungry, and The Homeless, which I had never seen. It’s just nice to be around people who are so invested in snowboarding in every way.
Would you like to shout-out anything/anyone before we get out of here?
I don’t know how to begin to thank everyone at Burton that supported me throughout my time there and encouraged me to move forward and to continue to keep pursuing things that keep me passionate and excited about snowboarding. You know who you are :) Shout-out Spotheads, shout-out Jargs, shout-out Mother, shout-out Darkside, shout-out Coal Headwear, and shout-out Rome Snowboards!
