Last summer, Lucas Beaufort shared his vision to travel the world—painting on snowboards, visiting core shops, and hosting gatherings that celebrate the snowboard community—our immediate reaction: genius. As a culture and an industry, we couldn’t agree more that it’s time to come together more often to show love for each other and for snowboarding.
A few months later, that vision has become reality with The Common Line Tour. We chatted with Lucas himself so he could tell you what it is all about.
thecommonline.org
What does The Common Line mean to you? What’s the meaning behind the name?
When I started this snowboard project, my first intention was to create something that brings people together. That was my main motivation.
When you look at snowboarding through its prism, you can look at any brand—what unites us? It’s that shared line. That desire to start from the top and make it all the way down. In the end, the passion is the same. Whether you ride a Lib Tech, a Capita, or a Nitro, the love is the same.
That’s what we have in common. That’s where it all started. Behind this name lies the will to unite a whole community, a whole industry. As if, in the end, we all shared the same love.
From Whistler to Oslo to Nanshan — these are very different snowboarding cultures. What excites you most about weaving them together?
Since the beginning, I’ve wanted The Common Line to bring together an entire culture and industry—not just one place or region. It couldn’t just focus on France, where I was born, or even just Europe or the U.S. It had to move in a global direction. I want to include everyone.
This first edition has nine stops: Whistler in Canada, Seattle with Summit, Japan with Asahikawa, Nanshan in China, and Europe with Avoriaz, Laax, Mayrhofen in Austria, Levi in Finland, and Oslo. The idea was to show that the love for snowboarding can happen everywhere.
For the second edition, I’d love to explore places like Morocco, Chile, New Zealand, or Argentina—destinations that are a little less common—to bring even more people together.
You’ll be painting boards to raise money for local shops. Why does supporting core shops matter to you?
Behind The Common Line is the desire to shine a light on the core shops that raised me—the ones I grew up in. I’m part of the ’90s generation, a time when there were snowboard shops everywhere, 100% dedicated to snowboarding.
For me, walking into those shops meant entering a whole world. Today, there are fewer of them, but they still exist—and it’s important to keep supporting them. I want to inspire the new generation to visit these shops, meet passionate people, and get real advice.
Through this project, we’re creating artistic events where local artists paint on snowboards, with funds going directly to support the shops. The industry has backed this fully, donating boards—twenty at each stop. It’s incredible to see how much support and involvement this project has from the entire snowboard world.
What are some things you hope to talk about during the round tables?
During each stop, we’ll hold round tables—big discussions with the industry. For me, it’s a dream to sit down with the people who make snowboards, who film, who shoot photos, everyone who contributes to the culture.
These conversations are a chance to go beyond just “this is cool.” I want to talk about where we are now, what’s next, what’s the purpose, and how we can make snowboarding more inclusive. What are the challenges? The opportunities? What does the future look like?
I also want the audience to ask real questions—with honesty and transparency. I love the idea of people putting faces to the brands they love. That’s super important to me.
If people walk away from this tour with one feeling, what do you hope it is?
I want people to feel included—to feel like they’re part of something, like they’re family. The worst feeling in the world is to feel rejected.
The Common Line is built on the idea that if you want to be part of it—if you love snowboarding, or even if you’ve never stepped on a board but you’re curious—you’re invited.
I want people to leave inspired, knowing that together we can create a movement. I feel so thankful for the support from the entire industry. Everyone gets it. Everyone wants to be part of it. That means everything to me.
