Charles Kwok is an avid snowboarder hailing from the North Shore. Currently at the University of British Columbia pursuing his Bachelor of Commerce degree, Charles spared some time for us to discuss his views on Vancouver and to talk more about himself.

Describe yourself in three words.

Three words to describe me…I guess one is relaxed, definitely relaxed and another would be athletic. Finally, I’m pretty chilling in general and just really easy going.

What is your favourite feature or quality of yourself?

I am extremely sociable and easy to get along with and I like how I am non-judgemental. It is important to get to know someone instead of just making assumptions of them right away.

Take us through a typical day of yours.

A typical day, to me, basically consists of school and them home. Usually it involves some food and maybe a nap! Throw in some homework, and probably another meal again. Of course snowboarding, lately I’ve been boarding every day.

What is an ideal day to you?

An ideal day would have no school and just time to hang out; no homework or studying. Instead, just snowboarding all day and perhaps a trip to the bar at night to wrap it up; that would be my ideal day, just relaxed and chill.

What turns you on and what doesn’t?

In a girl? Definitely a nice smile and nice eyes. So cliché right? And she has to have a super nice personality. A girl can be super hot but if she is stuck up, it just doesn’t work. No matter how good they look, snobby girls are not for me.

It is understood that school takes up a lot of your time, but when you do have spare time, what are your interests?

For sure snowboarding because the mountains are just so close! Skim boarding, skateboarding and skate parks are also what I like to do; just outdoors activities in general. I had a short phase of rollerblading, and a bit of mountain biking here and there.

Do you see any correlation between business school and boarding?

At the moment there is no relationship at all; I consider them “polar opposites” (haha). School involves studying all the time; it’s all work and seriousness. Snowboarding is an escape for me. There is no need to worry about assignments and midterms. It’s a time to relax and have some fun.

In the future, with a considerable group of people all with the same motivation, it could possibly start a new company that focuses solely on the snowboarding culture and gear. For this to happen, the key is to have people who share the same passion and idea to work together. You need to literally love what you do.

What is your opinion on the current snowboarding scene?

It’s huge, that’s all I can say. You can see it in the way people dress, talk, and act. I think it did peak a couple years ago, though, and it is starting to come back down now; everything has its phases. But snowboarding is definitely still growing, with lots of younger kids getting into it. Whistler is probably the main spot for the snowboarding trend. It’s where everyone who wants to make it big goes.

Would you say it’s more of a lifestyle than a hobby?

It depends on how much you love it. For me I love it to death but there has to be balance. You can’t just be a boarder all your life. You need balance, you know what I mean?

How did your love affair with snowboarding begin? Would/have you ever skied?

A friend of mine took me up to the mountain one day and left me there (haha). He was supposed to teach me, but it was more of, “see you at the bottom!” and, “just follow me down”. It was a blue run too; he didn’t take me down a bunny hill or anything! To say the least it was a frustrating day with lots of falling and me taking the bus home by myself. No pain, no gain so its all good now.

I have never skied but I would like to try. My buddies and I always say, “ we will have a ski day in jeans and neon jackets”.

Everyone has their pre-game. What is yours before you go boarding, or do you just go for it?

A painkiller for my leg, but that is more of a necessity. And an energy source like coffee, Red Bull, or any kind of pick-me-up. Oh, that sounds bad, doesn’t it?

What is your favourite place to meet people?

Definitely coffee shops. I was actually just at another one before coming here. I’m always at coffee shops to study anyways. They are so much better than libraries, especially during exam time when I can never find a desk! Though sometimes I spend more time driving around to find a good coffee shop than I spend in there reading.

Where can you usually be found on a rainy-day?

At home. I’m usually sitting around, bummed that I can’t be boarding. Rain down here does not mean it’s snowing on the mountain. Come on, it’s Vancouver!

What’s the best thing to living in a city?

The best thing has to be how close everything is. I live in North Vancouver and can get around by foot, bus or skate. It’s just awesome how close everything is! I didn’t learn to drive till I was 18. There wasn’t any reason to need to drive or have a car.

Can you give us your take on the diversity in Vancouver?

Vancouver is diverse, but in a weird way. It’s diverse, yet segmented. People don’t really mix; they stay with their own “type” of people, making a lot of different scenes in Vancouver. I guess it’s because people feel more comfortable with people like themselves.

Do you think being Chinese-Canadian influences your perception of the lifestyle?

This is going to sound bad…I don’t really associate myself with Chinese. Wait, associate is the wrong word. What I mean is that when people ask me my nationality, I say, “Canadian.” I have always thought of myself as Canadian. It’s not that I am trying to deny or hide being Chinese, it’s that I see myself as Canadian, so that is my immediate response.

What does Vancouver have to offer?

A chill atmosphere and it’s not like Hong Kong. Hong Kong is too busy and has too many lines. I hate lines! Here, everything is chill, slow, and I can take it easy. I should move to Jamaica (haha).

Are you excited for the Olympics? How do you feel about all the new developments on the mountains?

No! I’m not excited! The mountains are going to be too busy which means lines and waiting! I don’t really want to go to the Olympics because I can’t afford the tickets.

The new infrastructure is going to be good for the city, but it really sucks now. Cambie Street is crazy to drive on, and what’s with that street there? It’s such a hassle to drive now, but it will be good when it’s done.

As for the new developments on the mountain, I’m not going to benefit from them. I probably won’t ever use them, not even after the Olympics. I wish the Olympics could be a city over. That way we could get the buzz without all the hassle.

If you could, what is the one thing about Vancouver that you would change?

I would change the price to live here! It’s so expensive to live here. Everything is pay, pay, pay, like the Lonsdale Library. It used to have free parking and that was the place to park in Lonsdale, but now, it’s a garden with pay underground parking. If its not “pay” then its restricted and it drive me nuts.

What would you trade it all for?

I’m pretty content with the way things are, but this did actually come up at work the other day. My co-worker asked me if I would rather be able to fly but only live 10 years, or to not be able to fly and live for a normal amount of time.

So would you pick to fly or to live?

I would fly. Think about it, you aren’t guaranteed to live for more than 10 years right? Also, think about how sweet it would be to fly. No more waiting, no lines, being able to move thousands of miles super fast. You could visit anywhere in the world and not have to spend millions of dollars on tickets!

What is HYPE?

Hype is the excitement around something. It can be a good thing if the thing lives up to the hype. It can just as easily be bad if it’s built up expectation for “nothing”. Hype isn’t good or bad because it depends what the hype is about.

Photography by Jarvis Ho