Do you know Koga Hoshino? 22 years old from Minami Uonuma City, Niigata Prefecture. He was last season's FWQ HAKUBA. In addition, his original skiing style has attracted attention mainly from snow park users, and when he released the 20th season edit in May this year, even the Canadian ski web media "NEW SCHOOLERS" praised his skiing. I posted an article to.
I interviewed him to look back on last season, so please check it out along with the video of the topic.
- First of all, thank you for your hard work this season, what kind of season was it?
I agree. I was able to make a video work this season, and I was able to leave some results in the competition, so I think it was not bad.
-How is the video quality?
In the end, it took shape, but to be honest, there were still spots I wanted to try and tricks I wanted to do, but I couldn't do them. This video is short, and I made it with the intention of including only good cuts. Ideally, I was planning to finish it at around 1:30, but in the end it ended up being 2:30 after cramming a lot of things into it.
-Why 1:30?
I was very conscious of the XGAMES REAL STREET program. It's a video competition in which top athletes team up with cameramen to create works with only street footage and compete for the best works, and top riders such as TOM WALLISH and the viewers judge them. Since it is a video festival held once a year, there is a tremendous amount of excitement on the Internet. By bringing it closer to this REAL STREET style, I thought it would be easier for people to compare it and attract attention from the media like News Coolers. Also, even if it was 5 minutes or 6 minutes, I wanted to put together only images with impact because I felt like I would be sluggish.
―Why did you put together only street footage?
From the beginning, I decided to make only street music this year. That's definitely the influence of the real street (laughs).
―Why are you attracted to REAL STREET?
Is it because there is no other competition that focuses on the individual and evaluates it with images? I think it's simple and good to be evaluated by the quality of the individual part. Also, I am attracted to the big organization called XGAMES. REAL STREET is sent out to people all over the world and voted for, so the sense of unity with the audience is unique.
―Most of the filming locations are in Hokkaido. Why?
I had been to Hokkaido the previous year, and had done some location scouting to decide on the location. Also, there is a lack of snow nationwide this season, so Hokkaido was inevitable. Last year I went there because there were many street spots.
―Who did you shoot with?
These are Shota Murayama and Kenzo Uemura, who are working together. In Hokkaido, we took our own car and took pictures while staying in the car. The places I went were Sapporo, Otaru, and Asahikawa.
―Which episode left an impression on you?
Is it the big wall in the last scene of the video? I later found out that the spot was also tried by the Level 1 production team. The wall feels bigger in real life than it looks in the video. The other two were injured and weren't in perfect physical condition, so in the end it took me five hours to prepare my approach, but I was the only one who tried. Even the slightest mistake could lead to a serious injury, so I managed to make it the second time under pressure. The joy at this time was really big just because everyone took time to build it.
Whistler life hitchhiking to ski resorts
―You were featured in News Coolers, how did it happen?
When I went to Whistler, Canada, the staff at New Coolers watched my skating and remembered me.
He checked my SNS, and through an acquaintance, he contacted me and asked if I could write about it. But I didn't know him. Was there? I don't remember much (laughs). I didn't know him when we were skiing at the same ski resort, but he knew me. Thankfully.
―I also skated with Koga at Whistler at that time, and I remember being excited when a local I didn't know said, "Your skating is really crazy!" And you actually went to Whistler when you were 19, right?
Yes, three years ago when I was 19. I went with Masahiro Murayama. The reason was that Mina Itaba, a skier from Minami Uonuma City, was already there, and the rent, ski pass, etc. were generally cheaper than other ski resorts. Japan is good for her, but she wanted to go to a high-level snow park overseas to train.
―What has changed?
It definitely worked. I didn't get hurt. The biggest reward was being able to see the skiing of people who are active in the world in front of me. It was super good. I was especially attracted to Jake Carney, who is popular on SNS. He's a Whistler local. He was only there occasionally. Each slide was cool, and I learned a lot just by watching.
―What was life like in Whistler?
I was a little naive with my preliminary research, and rent is expensive everywhere in Whistler in the winter, but I rented a house in Squamish, which is a little far from the ski resorts.
Then, the bus to the ski resort costs about 4000 yen round trip, and we can't keep paying for that. I happened to have a Japanese living with me on a working holiday. The person had a car and snowboarded, so I asked him to ride with me on the day he went. Other days I was hitchhiking. With a piece of cardboard with "whistler" written on it. This is pretty tough. Some days I get caught right away, and some days I don't get caught for an hour. Sometimes it doesn't work at all. The people who gave me a ride were local couples and office workers on their way to work. The police came once and asked me this and that. It seems that it was a place where you shouldn't hitchhike (laughs), but nothing happened. I'm not good at English, so I was quite scared. When returning, all you have to do is look for someone returning in the same direction in the parking lot, so you will be caught immediately. Anyway, it was hard to go to the ski resort...
I used the bus generously on days like The Day with Pecans from the morning. 4000 yen for a round trip seems expensive in Japan, but I have no choice but to go! Like.
It lasts about two months from January to February. Then I moved closer to Whistler when the rent was cheaper. It took about 10 minutes by bus to get to the ski resort, and there were many skiers and snowboarders from Japan around me. The first two months were tough, but I feel like I was mentally trained.
―Are you going to continue overseas expeditions in the future?
I agree. But next time I would like to do it in the short term. In the long term, homework, finances, and living are quite difficult. I want to ski at various ski resorts in Japan. I would like to go outside of Canada. Perisher of New Zealand. Now I'm learning English little by little, making use of what I learned in Canada.
FWQ 3 stars with regret
- Okay, on a different note, how was the freeride competition?
This year was 2nd place in the FWQ HAKUBA 3 star tournament. The results are still there, but I'm not completely satisfied. The 1st place will be given the right to participate in the FWT, but the 2nd place won't have anything. I thought it was meaningless if it wasn't 1st place, so there are a lot of frustrating parts. But, partly because of the good things, my main activity is posting videos on SNS, but by standing on the podium, I was able to get people who didn't know me to remember me. I think it was great.
With bib number 1, the start order was not an advantage, so he came in 2nd.
-Will you continue to participate in competitions?
I would like to put more effort into the freeride competition in the future, but if I put more effort into it, it would also have to do with video production. I'm a little worried. Rather than just playing around every season, I think of it as a year of competition, so next year I want to participate in the FWT and withdraw from the tournament (laughs). I think that the degree of attention will change if I do so, so I see participating as a passing point.
-What are you doing this season?
This season, I would like to go to Revelstoke, Canada at the beginning. Because it is a big mountain, it also has the meaning of training. My current ideal is to improve my experience in freeriding and come back to Japan in mid-January to participate in the Hakuba FWQ. After that, it's undecided, but it's a video production.
―Do you have an image for next season’s video work?
I have. This season, I'm going to put a lot of natural jumps in (laughs). I'm also refraining from street spots that I couldn't do this season. I think next year will also be a voluminous video, so please look forward to it.
-What is your next move?
I haven't decided on my future goals yet, but I hope to participate in FWT HAKUBA and REAL STREET in the near future. Both filmmaking and freeride competitions will continue.
Kouga Hoshino 22 years old 2020FWQ HAKUBA 3 Star 2nd place
Born and raised at the foot of the Ishiuchi Maruyama Ski Resort in Niigata Prefecture, where the snow park culture has been fostered.
Influenced by his parents, he started skiing at the age of 3, and when he was in elementary school, he was influenced by the free skiers around him at the ski resorts, and naturally started freestyle skiing. After that, when he became a high school student, his ability was recognized, and he became a member of the local free ski team "YBI" organized by Kyohei Miyata and Takuzo Takahashi.
He is strongly influenced by Daisuke Takano, who is close in age and family. Currently, he is focusing on photography activities, and continues to skate around the country with his classmate Masahiro Murayama, mainly in the Minamiuonuma and Yuzawa areas.
Interview Editorial Department Daigo Onozuka
Recorded in July 2020