Snowparks all over the province, a bunch of events including the upcoming Empire Games and exclusive projects such as the construction of a mini snowpark on the island of Montreal; Today's Parks definitely won’t be slowing down in 2018.

Follow Today's Parks on Instagram: @TodaysParks

Photos: @elamothe @le.renrob

From designing and building the wildest snowparks in the world to setting up obstacles and events that are always next level, the guys at Today's Parks are telling the truth when they claim to be pleasure providers. Celebrating its 5th anniversary this year, the company is now recognized as a leader in the field of snow structures in Quebec.

They are also the guys that are responsible for organizing and building the set ups of some of your favorite snowboard events like the Empire Games. If you’ve already had the chance to ride their parks, you know that these guys, even if they're all about having fun, are very serious about what they do.

We’re always into what’s hot in the snowboard world so we got in touch with Guillaume Fournier, one of Today's Parks founders, to talk about their projects for 2018, the upcoming Empire Games, how to have fun while working 100 hours a week, designing obstacles while drinking wine and of course, snowboarding.

Let's start with the basics. How did Today's Parks first started?

A little more than 5 years ago, René Caza and I met during a surf trip in Indonesia. He was already working on the snowpark construction for mountains like Orford and Bromont and I was doing the same for Saint-Bruno. I didn't know him that much, but it was during this trip that we became friends and started talking about a project that would later become Today's Parks.

I arrived with a plan for the project, we got incorporated and we started working for the mountains that we were already working for. Even if we only chose the name of the company 4 months after starting it, we found 5 new customers during our first year. Today, we are celebrating our fifth anniversary with a long list of projects under our belt and we’re really proud of it.

You are known for creating snow structures that are out of the ordinary. Where do you get your inspiration for your creations?

René and I usually just open a good bottle of wine and work our designs! For real, we take inspiration from everything snowboard related. We are passionate, so we stay on the lookout for everything new that happens in the street, the parks, the backcountry and everywhere else. We are also inspired by a lot of other things like skateboarding and some elements that are part of our daily lives.

Do you still have a crazy concept for the 2018 Empire Games?

 Absolutely. We showed our plans to a few people and it created a very big and positive reaction. The concept has never been seen before, the features will be sick and the formula, unique as usual. Without revealing too much, I can tell you that the features will be mostly snow structures and that our concept is inspired by skateboarding and construction sites in Montreal. Stay tuned for more details and come check the Games out later this winter.

 Your team consists mainly of snowboarders. Why do you think it's important to have an experienced crew for this kind of work?

It's essential to adapt our creations to the demands of today's snowboarders. It's important to know the technicalities. For example, anyone is able to plant a rail in the snow, but only a snowboarder will easily know which angle will be the smoothest, how fast you will need to be going, how much run up do you need to set up? Basically, you have to know about all the details that make a feature 100% functional for snowboarders. In addition, it's always better to love your job. You see, I'm working 100 hours/week during the winter, but I don't feel like working because I love snowboarding and I'm having fun.

Is it true that the first people to test the set ups you just built is your team?

Yes! We have to. Every time we finish a park or a setup, we test it to see if everything is perfect. There is no one better placed than the snowboarder who built the structure to say whether he likes it or not. Some of the jumps we build for events are too big and we don't want to take the risk of getting hurt since we have work to do. When a jump exceeds 45 feet, we bring an experienced rider with us to make sure everything is smooth and comfortable.

You are already well known here in Quebec, but do you have plans to grow internationally?

Most of our work is here in Quebec, but we're getting there! We will be going to Georgia to build a park later this year, our very first park outside of America. We also have two ski resorts in New Brunswick. Without revealing our strategy, I can tell that we are ready to go further than Quebec. We have all the energy and momentum we need to keep growing.

How does Winter 2018 look like for Today's Parks?

We have a lot of projects this year. Snowparks, events, designing and building snow structures of all kinds. One project that's really cool is the design and construction of a small snowpark on the island of Montreal. Again, I don't want to say too much because the official announcement will come out very soon, but I can tell you that there will be a snowpark with boxes, rails and jumps accessible by metro on the island of Montreal in the next couple of weeks. Boom!

See you guys in the park!