SLUG Licks the Cat!

Matter o’ fact, Michael Wick was there last summer to document the first and only LTC tattoo ever done to date. “So we were at the Ark [Mt. Hood’s finest employee housing compound—so musty that employees would rather sleep outside in tents] in Johnny [Lazz] and Riley [Nickerson]’s tent, aka The Club, and we’d been drinking Fireball all day, and Staxx [Sam Taxwood] got a tattoo—it was tight. I mighta poured a little bit of tequila on the needle before it went in—you know, get a little more buzz in there for him,” says Wick.

If I had to pick a favorite about Lick the Cat, it’d be their carefree attitude in all things. More recently and most notably, the group released their first full-length movie, Project LTC, created by Jeremy Thornberg in the style of laidback fun. What sets this stuff apart from just about everything since maybe Team Thunder or DOPE ll is, well … the fun. Not to say that everyone else isn’t having fun doing what they’re doing, but with LTC, no one’s worried about that 15-second lifestyle intro shot of them sucking the man’s dick, fish-eye lenses, “the perfect song,” or trying to please while trying to making it look natural. These guys started with themselves, underdeveloped frontal lobes and some shitty filming before they upgraded their camera and kept the same routine, and that’s goddamn admirable. “Last year, we all just made the movie out of our own pocket,” says Siebert.

As for video coverage this year, a good secret handful of cat lickers will be headed toward the Snowboarder Mag season compilation, while the underdogs will lick their own destinies into forever and all eternity. Just about every one of these riders is busy configuring parts for their individual industry movie edits this winter, and a Project LTC Vol. ll is still up in the air based on how much video footage Thornberg can pool together for LTC use. Regardless, most of the fun happens in between the mega bangers, and LTC web edits have enough entertainment to keep the public asking what will be next.

While street rails are where most of the real work is done, the consensus for favorite resorts seems to be “Brighton when it snows, Park City [Mountain Resort] when you want to ride the obstacles or get in the air,” says Siebert. Bilodeau adds, “I really like Pioneer Peak [at Brighton].” That’s not too surprising, in light of the variety of terrain up both of the canyons—LTC have local options for the amateurs and the pros. Lick the Cat also like to give love to the locals who love them back, including businesses like their main board shop, Milosport and Oregon-based Cobra Dogs, who contribute the recipe to their own Hotsnake Hotdog Pizza every Sunday at the Spedelli’s lounge on Foothill Drive, where LTC like to hang out.

As the season continues to build momentum, Lick the Cat live on. With a new year of snow come endless opportunities for the crew to find new adventures that are sure to find their ends in Fireball, frat parties, Sheilas and bleached hair. For those in the neighborhood on any given winter Wednesday, try Willies Lounge for DJ Matty Mo nights to spot yourself an original cat licker. To those not fortunate enough to witness the coolin’ wrath of Michael Wick in person, make your way to snowboardermag.com for the newest of the new video edits, like the November recap of opening day at Park City Mountain Resort. You can also stalk them down on Instagram by following them @LICKTHECAT, and especially @mtn_babes or #girlsthatdip. Oh yeah, Sam Taxwood is getting a pro-model snowboard.