EP 110 Breaking out the Theraflu with Andre Spinelli

In this one, Cody talks to Andre Spinelli, better known as Dre. In snowboarding, Dre is known for going big — off jumps, off cornices, even a lot of the handrails he used to hit were big. It’s probably because he started riding with old school Alaskan heavies like Dan Coffey and Kovi Linden. They might not have been as technical as other riders, but they were always charging down the mountain and going huge. Then, after Dre had been riding for awhile and filming parts for JB Deuce, Turnagain Hardcore and Think Thank, pro snowboarder Mark Landvik suggested that he and Dre move to Bellingham, Washington to pursue snowboarding as a career. Dre declined the offer because he wanted to stay in Alaska to see how far he could take snowboarding there. He was also in line to take over his dad’s construction business, Spinell Homes.

Even when he was snowboarding all the time and filming video parts, Dre worked for Spinell Homes. He’d work his shift and then he would meet up with a film crew to get a shot. He did this often enough to get enough shots for multiple video parts a year. So, to say that his work ethic was unmatched, is probably a huge understatement. Today, he’s the president of Spinell Homes. He’s responsible for everything from home design to meeting with buyers to hiring employees to land development. That need to excel and go higher has always been there, he says. As a kid, he would jump off everything — playground equipment and even roofs into snow. Nowadays, he’s a weekend warrior, riding whenever he can and introducing his kids to it. In fact, his son, just like Dre, is starting to go big too.