meet the founder
Professional snowboarder Erik Leon founded CORE from a belief shaped by his own path into snowboarding.
Growing up in Riverside, California, Erik didn’t have easy access to the mountains but found his way into action sports through skateboarding and BMX.
When he eventually made it to Bear Mountain, snowboarding gave him a new sense of progression and belonging.
CORE began with Erik putting his own resources and relationships behind the kind of access he wished more people had.
Today, it’s a registered 501c3 nonprofit built to help people find community through snowsports and the outdoors.
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Check out some of the videos and interviews below to learn more.
core
Profile
“Erik Leon is a busy man in snowboarding. He founded CORE with the idea that pro snowboarders' gear should be more affordable for people to buy. He built upon that ideology by coming up with ways to get the communities together to have a good time, and raise money for snowboard-related non-profits in different areas within the snowboard culture. And thus, CORE NATION was born. A simple idea of making it easier for people to go snowboarding.”
Top secret video part
“I have not had much time to film clips these last few years.. CORE Snowboarding has been taking up a majority of my bandwidth as I have been establishing it. So it really is a treat when everything lines up the way that is did for Ted and I in the midwest last winter. I hope you enjoy this short lil secret part I filmed from my time in the Midwest last winter.”
This is CORE Snowboarding
“Erik founded CORE on the belief that snowboarding and outdoor access should be available to everyone. Watch as Erik speaks about the positive impact snowboarding has made on his life and how he’s working to make the sport more inclusive and accessible.”
Mark My Bird, Ep. 15
“One of the busiest people in snowboarding. We have been trying to get Erik Leon on the podcast since the first episode and it only took 15 to get him! Hailing from Southern California, Leon gives us a look into a career he has created with some of the biggest brands in the outdoor space (including The North Face and Ford) without an agent!”
The BOMB HOLE,
EP. 170
“What does the future of snowboarding look like? This is a question that this week's guest has on their mind quite a bit. Erik Leon came from humble beginnings and has been paving his way through the industry by putting his energy into having fun and giving back.”