“Long before he was an acclaimed designer, creative director, and brand advisor, Kelly Dee Williams was just another kid with a skateboard and a lofty dream of becoming a pro snowboarder. But it was his lived study of boardsports culture that would inform his career… After a brief span as a snowboard athlete on the Mammut team, he pursued a different line and landed in a design role with Burton’s…

Mark Sullivan and Kelly Dee Williams sit down to discuss the art of snowboarding and the business of marketing in Episode 96 of The Snowboard Project. Listen to the episode here ↗

I started a snowboard company back in 2003/2004. It was a lot of fun, and I learned a ton. The earliest designs were embarrassingly bad, and the brand was ultimately dissolved. But it was a catalyst for collaborating with people I consider legends, and I’m so thankful they were down. Snowboarders Kevin Jones, Rob Kingwill, Robbie Sell, Harry Kearney, and artists Aaron Draplin and Damion Silver were among the talented…