“Snowboarding has always been about more than tricks or terrain,” Johnny O’Connor says to a crowd of nearly 100 snowboarders gathered in the terrain park at Windham Mountain Resort, NY. “Our community is the backbone of this sport. We push each other forward, celebrate each small win, and turn setbacks into stories we laugh about years later.”
From left to right: Mike Ravelson, Naima Antolin and Johnny O'Connor. These three cooked up the idea to host Ignite the Light, a progression session tailored to have riders of all skill levels snowboard park features together in a positive, encouraging environment at Windham Mountain Resort, NY. Photo: Ben Shanks Kindlon
Smiles abound. The riders he’s addressing range from fledgling groms to silver foxes, beginners to pros, and everything in between. We’re here for the inaugural Ignite the Light, an event put on by Johnny and his good friends, Mike Ravelson and Naima Antolin. Ignite the Light is a freestyle-focused progression session designed specifically to be an inviting, inclusive space for snowboarders of all skill levels to ride together, family style. As if the vibes aren’t already heartwarming enough, Ignite the Light’s entry fee was a modest $20 donation to Onboard Initiative, a local organization that Johnny founded in 2024. Onboard Initiative is known for hosting community programs and events that utilize skateboarding and snowboarding as an avenue for self-empowerment and fostering connections with likeminded individuals. One of their primary goals is to build a skatepark in the area.
Throughout the day, more than 100 people came to spend time at the first ever Ignite the Light progression session. Photo: Brian Burke
Johnny continues, “Ignite the Light is a reminder that when one person progresses, we all do. When we help someone learn a new trick, ride their first rail, or simply find the courage to show up, we cast the light forward. And that light spreads stronger, brighter, unstoppable. Today, we ride with purpose. Lift each other up and share what you know, because the greatest legacy we leave isn’t how good we became, it’s how many others we helped rise with us. This is our mountain; this is our community. Let’s ignite the light together!”
There's a party on the dance-floor box and it's impossible to kill the groove. Melissa Penate demonstrates some impressive balance on the fun-for-all feature. Photo: Ben Shanks Kindlon
Sophie Bille (featured in "GLITTER") wasting no time going sideways through the kinks. Backside boardslide on the down-flat-down before the clock has even struck noon. Photo: Ben Shanks Kindlon
Kevin Hummel hitting a proper switch nosepress on the down bar situated at the top-right side of the park constructed for the Ignite the Light progression session. Photo: Leigh Labrake
With that, the session is officially kindled. Riders swarm the setup, which consists of a dozen features including boxes, rails, tubes and a side-hit style hip that offers up a short but sweet second of hangtime. On the far left of the park sits the most inviting features, in the middle are intermediate obstacles, and to the far right stand the most advanced hits. Unsurprisingly, the ride-on, dance-floor box is a crowd favorite—something that everyone can get down on. A handful of attendees are sliding and pressing jibs for the first time in their lives, lining up and dropping in alongside snowboarders who’ve spent years doing this. Those with more experience take time to help those with less. Despite all the metal, Ignite the Light’s communal atmosphere reminds me a lot of banked slaloms.
From left to right: Amanda Vaughn, Sefra Alexandra, Kiley Boehlke, Maggie Charbonneau. Photo: Leigh Labrake
From left to right: Kiley Boehlke, Paul Aloisi, Derrek Aloisi, Corey Parks. Photo: Leigh Labrake
“That’s so important, feeling that energy,” Ravelson says. “I love riding with people. It's like going to a concert as opposed to watching and listening to a song on a phone or a TV. When you’re up close and feel somebody ride past you, you get other pieces to the puzzle. That's something a lot of the world is missing right now: real interaction that makes you feel something that a cell phone or a movie cannot… When we were talking about what we wanted this event to represent, we talked about feelings of freedom and fun, and John said the word ‘lighthouse.' From a distance, a lighthouse helps bring people to shore. We wanted to create this place that people could meet.”
Mike Ravelson (featured in Issue 19.1) planting firmly next to the on-course lighthouse. In his regular, irregular fashion, Rav has been unlocking lines all day long, constantly inspiring nearby riders to approach features in ways they might not have thought to themselves. Photo: Brian Burke
Ravelson points out that, serendipitously, Ignite the Light just so happened to be greenlighted for December 21, the 2025 Winter Solstice. The Winter Solstice is when the Earth’s tilt is furthest from the sun, which makes this day an even more fitting time to bring this metaphorical light to Windham Mountain Resort. “Not only that,” he says, “but the event officially started at 10 o'clock. The exact moment of the solstice was at 10:03 a.m., and Johnny’s first drop was right around then. So, right when the event started was the moment that the earth started heading back towards the sun, towards the light.”
Mike Ravelson with a quick tweak on the side-hit style hip towards the end of the setup. Photo: Ben Shanks Kindlon
Johnny O'Connor is world renowned for his rail riding abilities and beloved as the hometown hero of Windham, NY. With style like this, it's easy to see why. Transfer to tailslide same way 270 out. Photo: Brian Burke
New Jersey's finest, Justin Kipilla, 450 disaster on the down-flat-down. Filming him is New York City based videographer and photographer Elias Parise. Photo: Ben Shanks Kindlon
The conditions are hardpacked but edge-able, and considering it’s late December in New York, we really couldn’t ask for more. The day flies by in a flash, though it’s due much more to the amount of fun we’re having than any lack of sunshine. Several standout riders are awarded with new gear provided by the event’s sponsors, as well as small plaques that were handcrafted and painted by Naima. But that’s as far as it goes for awards. There's no podium, because that isn’t the point of this gathering. As Naima reiterates, the primary purpose of Ignite the Light is to bring people together, get them stoked and hopefully learn some new tricks with the support of friends old and new. To draw snowboarders towards a communal light and then provide them with the opportunity to have their own light ignite—or reignite—within themselves.
Andrew Stark, frontside 5050. Andrew was taking after Ravelson and linking all sorts of top-to-bottom lines together at Ignite the Light. Photo: Ben Shanks Kindlon
When Naima Antolin (featured in Issue 22.3) isn't busy teaching groms how to use their edges or giving words of encouragement to riders readying to try a new trick, she's practicing what she preaches and pushing her own progression--by way of positivity, of course. Photos: Ben Shanks Kindlon
“We all remember having a moment when we were first getting into snowboarding, seeing a snowboarder do something cool and having that spark something within us to be like, ‘Oh my God, I want to be a part of this,’” Naima says. “We just wanted to create an environment for those moments to occur.”
They did, plentifully. Some boarders followed Ravelson through his untraditional line choices, illuminating fresh takes on the features that they likely wouldn’t have opted for otherwise. When she wasn’t shredding herself, Naima could be found coaching groms on how to use their edges or, conversely, how to stay flat base as they slid their first box. But both Ravelson and Naima say that Johnny is the real hero behind Ignite the Light, dubbing him “The Lighthouse Keeper” for being the spark that got it all going and the consistent force that helps drive the snowboarding community in his hometown of Windham.
“I still can't get over how much passion Johnny has for cultivating something like this in his community,” Naima says. “He just has so much love to give. It’s so beautiful to see him in his environment, really lifting up the people around him. He’s putting building blocks down, creating this foundation that's going to transcend the years, and it will only continue to grow.”
Brinley Aloisi was both throwing down on her snowboard and bringing up the vibes at Ignite The Light. In doing so, she unexpectedly earned herself a brand new snowboard from Gnu. Photo: Brian Burke
From left to right: Melissa Penate and Erin Goeke. More like Erin's Stoked. Ohhhh. Photo: Brian Burke
The Lighthouse Keeper, Johnny O'Connor. Photo: Leigh Labrake
Special thanks to Johnny, Mike Rav and Naima, as well as the folks at Windham Parks, Windham Mountain Resort, and Onboard Initiative, who came together to put on this incredible, community building event. That gratitude extends to everyone who was in attendance and created such an incredible atmosphere at the inaugural Ignite the Light progression session.
Mike Rav spreading the light. Till next time. Photo: Ben Shanks Kindlon