11-year-old from Minneapolis makes cover of snowboarding magazine
Snowboarding can be tricky, especially if your board is designed for something else. It's a challenge 11-year-old Mickey Watkins embraces as he tries to stand on a plastic tote bin lid while sliding down a small but precarious hill near his home.
"It does not work," he said with a frustrated smile after another failed attempt nearly sent him falling.
The tattered, flimsy lid is all he has to work with, along with the desire to emulate what the pros showed him last winter.
"He just gravitated towards us and started hanging out and watching the guys snowboard," Mike Yoshida, a professional photographer, said. He's traveled the world capturing incredible shots of snowboarders shredding mountainsides and soaring between manmade structures.
One stop included north Minneapolis back in February. Yoshida was there for a photoshoot that involved snowboarders doing tricks along a set of stairs and railing next to an apartment complex. Watkins, ever curious and never shy, was their up-close audience. He then grabbed a nearby tote bin lid and showed them his style of urban snowboarding. Yoshida happily snapped a photo of Watkins sliding down the hill.
"It's cool to be able to see his face," said Yoshida of Watkins' picture. "In snowboard photos, a lot of times people are wearing goggles and are covered up."
But not in this picture, as Watkins' eyes and smile reveal emotions snowboarders know well: a blend of excitement and apprehension as the "board" starts to slide.
"I think pretty much any snowboarder can relate to, like, that first time they stood up and just slid down. It's a very simple process, but it just feels so good," Colin Wiseman said. He's the content director for The Snowboarder's Journal.
The monthly publication dives into the culture of sport. Photos that make an issue's cover are often a mix of majestic settings and exhilarating stunts.
But for December's issue, he wanted to go in a different direction. Wiseman's team decided Yoshida's picture of Watkins would grace the cover.
"It was a bit of an ongoing discussion because it does break the mold. And I don't know, I just felt that one in my gut. In my heart, I was just like, 'This one just feels good.'" said Wiseman. "Thankfully, people reacted to it the same way as me."
The journal posted a picture of the cover featuring Watkins on Instagram, leading to a flood of comments praising their decision, some calling it their best cover yet.
It even caught Yoshida off guard. Watkins' photo wasn't part of his initial submission to the journal, just one he posted to his personal Instagram. Wiseman saw Yoshida's post and requested he take the photo down so the journal could potentially use it in the future. Now, it's capturing the hearts of the snowboarding community far and wide.
"I want to say this is probably one of the more important photos that I've ever shot because of the places it's going and the attention it's getting in a positive manner," Yoshida said.
Watkins' mom, Bathsheba Burks, learned of her son's newfound fame through social media as the cover photo was getting shared in local Facebook groups. She somewhat remembers her son talking about how he was hanging out with snowboarders last winter, but didn't think much of it at the time. She's proud of what that interaction and picture has led to for her son.
Wiseman's team sent Watkins a package loaded with The Snowboarder's Journal swag and several copies of Watkins' issue.
"That's amazing. He should cherish that. He's going to cherish it," Burks said.
Watkins said he had fun flipping through the issue's pages, marveling at the snowboarders pulling off thrilling jumps.
But it's the image of a kid smiling on the cover with nothing but a tote bin lid that Wiseman hopes will inspire others to give the sport a try.
"I hope it sends that message that snowboarding is for everyone, and you don't have to be doing it in some far-off exotic place. Just grab what you can and slide down a hill," Wiseman said.