Shane Ruprecht Hooks Hump Day

Uncle Shane.

Shane Ruprecht is a nice kid from Minnesota with an almost ambidexorous abilty on a snowboard – see his part in Bald E-Gal’s Hooks and Hammers for evidence. When he’s not stacking clips, he’s hanging with his girlfriend Hannah, wreaking havoc on the streets of St Cloud with the Bombsquad, or routing grantine counter tops, all while working to pursue the snowboard dream. While he might not be able to throw a punch, Shane has insane style and control on a snowboard that may just get him there.

Your part just dropped. Are you happy with it? Anything else you wanted to do but didn’t get done for it?

I’m really happy with how it turned out. There were a couple of spots I would have liked to hit, and also a couple tricks I didn’t end up landing that I would have been stoked to have in my part. So hopefully I can get around to them next season.

Are you planning on hanging around Minnesota for another winter and filming with Bald E-Gal again then?

I don’t think Bald E-Gal is doing a film next year, but I do plan on filming with the same crew doing a similar project. I plan on being around Minnesota quite a bit, but hopefully getting out to surrounding states or areas more than the past season.

No Bald E-Gal? What’s up with that?

Mike Thienes has been organizing and doing Bald E-Gal for like 14 years now, and helping out so many riders get their careers started, so I wonder the same thing! He is working with Derek Combs, who filmed a huge amount of Hooks & Hammers and Ground Control, to get a plan for what is going to happen next year. It will still feature a lot of the same heavy hitters from Minnesota, it be a very similar crew all together, and will still be something to look forward too! Maybe Thienes is going to focus on an all-time fishing edit, who knows haha.

Switch back 50-50 360 out. Photo: Erik Ralles

Are you still in school?

Not at the moment. After high school I started a two-year program at the St. Cloud Technical College in Advertising Communications. I would go full-time in the fall, and part-time in the spring so I could shred a bunch. At that school fall classes are offered only in the fall and spring classes only in the spring for certain programs. So with that, I have finished my fall stuff and have about half of my spring classes to finish. I have put them on hold for now, but plan on finishing them soon, or finding a way to finish them online or something.

Any plans to move west or you think you’re Minnesota for life?

I would like to get out of Minnesota for a while atleast. I would like to experience riding some other terrain, but I will probably keep Minnesota as my home base for the next couple years. I love riding fast tow ropes, and it’s pretty nice filming a rail part here. You don’t have to go far to find spots.

I saw on Instagram that it’s the one year anniversary of you getting jumped. What’s the story behind that?

Haha. Well I was the first one back to the house where a bunch of my friends live, and there were 3 dudes in the front yard yelling at random kids walking by. I told them that they should find somewhere else to hang out and yell just trying to keep them out of my friends yard. They kind of argued back and saying If I don’t live there it’s not up to me what they do on the property, which in hindsight would have turned out better for me to just ignore them. Haha. One thing leads to another, and this great drunken idea pops into my head to swing the case of beer I was holding, which had like 3 beers in it, and hit each one of them in the face with one swing. Great idea, I know. The handle of the case ripped and the case went flying across the street. The didn’t take kindly to that, shoved me on the ground and started beating the shit out of me. Kicking me and stuff. My buddy, Matt, heard what was going on or just happened to walk outside at that moment, and got on top of them trying to break it up. I had no idea what was going on, all I was doing was attempting to throw punches, and ended up punching Matt in the face twice. The guys thought that was pretty funny and dipped out. Not to mention, it was Friday the 13th.

So you’re saying you’re not very good at fighting.

Pretty much haha

Halfcab 5-0. Photo: Erik Ralles

How did you knock your teeth out?

Fighting. Jk. I knocked them out hitting a jump in the Beartooth Pass, Montana in like July of 2010 I think. We built this hip type jump, that was probably a terrible idea in the first place, but I was trying a front 3 off my toes, and I popped way to far out, over rotated, and landed flat in a stopping position. My mouth directly hit my knee and that was that. It took us like an hour and a half to get to the hospital. I got 1 tooth pulled, the other ended up needing to be pulled a few weeks later, and I’m pretty sure one of them is chilling in the pass.

What’s Bomb Squad?

Bombsquad is the house I got jumped at. It’s probably safe to say it is one of the only shred friendly houses on the St. Cloud State University campus. They like to party and get pretty crazy.

Is that the setting for “College The Movie”? What’s the movie about and will it ever be hitting the web?

Yes, that’s the spot! The movie is just a bunch of party footage from last season along with some snowboarding and skateboarding… In the house, off the house, at powder ridge or the skate plaza here. It’s awesome, and we all hope it hits the web. No promises. Crossing my fingers! Haha.

What’s riding at Powder Ridge like? You don’t hear about it as much as some of the other midwest spots it seems.

It’s sick! They have a tow rope and set up a terrain park that you can lap all day. Powder ridge is an hour an a half out of Minneapolis so it doesn’t get as crowded as the hills there, and The Youth Shelter Supply supports a really cool scene in the area, holding contests and keeping kids stoked on shredding so that Powder Ridge will keep improving. Me and some friends worked on the park crew for a few years and got some cool new rails built, and got to set everything up just how we wanted. You gotta check it out if you’re ever in MN.

Do you think you’d be where you are in snowboarding if not for Youth Shelter Supply?

Probably not. They have helped me out a ton, as far as creating opportunities for me do to competitions and get recognized, and being a huge part of Bald E-Gal. They sponsored all the dudes I looked up to growing up and were always supporting the sport and keeping me and my friends stoked on it. They are such a sick shop!

What it’s like having a steady girlfriend and being a known dude in the biz… Are girls throwing themselves at him after your latest part?

Haha it’s awesome. My girlfriend is the bomb, and am happy she supports what I do. It’s nice to have someone to kick it with that gets my mind off of snowboarding. She would be the first to say I talk about it way too much, haha. And they haven’t yet, probably cause they know she’s a better fighter than me haha.

Superparking. Photo: Blotto

How does it feel being an uncle?

Being an uncle is really exciting. It’s crazy knowing my sister has a little guy that she gets to raise. I never really thought about it so closely before because I don’t have any younger siblings. But it has been real fun getting to hold my nephew and hear him laugh and stuff. I’m excited!

Is it true you saw people fold their slices of pizza to eat them for the first time this summer? Has the fold changed your life forever?

Hahaha no not this summer, I saw my friend, Bobby, do that a few years ago, and yes, it was a life changing experience haha

Yeah, it’s all about the grease in the corner of the crust.

Yeah definitely the best part. Saves you from a mess with those big slices too.

Haha yep. How was your Demo Center experience this summer? Was this your first time at Hood?

Not my first time at Hood, but it was my first time for an extended amount of time. It was such a blast. Met a bunch of rad friends got to ride the camps a ton. I am going back next year for a couple sessions for sure. Big thanks to the dudes at the demo center, and all of the camp diggers and employees!!

Switch back 5-0. Photo: Cole Martin

Did you remember to punch out of work?

Haha yes. Unfortunately.

What do you do to pay the bills?

I assemble granite routers. They are machines used to cut the edges of granite countertops. My friends dad owns the business and hooked me up with a job.

You like it?

Yeah it’s sick. I am basically the only on assembling the routers while my friend answers the phone and emails in the office. There are some other family members of his working in other areas around the shop. It’s a fun job, flexible with my snowboarding, and pays the bills so I can’t complain!

Do you think you’ll ever be able to make ends meet off of snowboarding? Is that even the goal?

That would be so tight! I would love to be able to travel and shred more without having to put in as many hours at work, or whatever it would entail. It is still a goal of mine, but for now I just have to keep a balance of work and shred I guess!!

Photo: Matty B

Sponsors and shout outs?

Thanks to Zach, Billy, Frankie, Bobby, and Burton. Massie, Bistro, and Dylan. The Youth Shelter Supply, Pettit and T. Bjorn and Celtek, Ashbury, Neff, Bald E-Gal, Lance, Pete, Derek, Drew, Krister, Austin, T.j. All of my family, my girlfriend, and friends that help me out! Thanks guys!!