Alex and Arthur, both members of the New Hampshire Art Association, were already making art in the same circles. Alex—a novice surfer just starting to get into skating and snowboarding—was looking to push her art beyond canvases while diving deeper into the board sports scene. She hit up Arthur, a lifelong skater, with an idea.

“Wanna collab on a skate deck?”

At the same time, their friend Theresa—also a Board Member at the New Hampshire Art Association—was launching Terre Creative Studios, a brand redefining sustainable living through media and making conscious choices second nature. 

Her first project? Terre_It_Up, a campaign about sustainability in skiing and snowboarding, featuring upcycled snowboards to spark conversations about sustainable art and winter sports. She was on the lookout for artists to take part.

Little did she know, Alex and Arthur were already brainstorming a project with the same energy.
Things started picking up speed.

A friend of Alex’s—a sponsored snowboarder—had a stash of boards he wanted gone. So, instead of letting them go to waste, Alex saw an opportunity to turn trash into treasure.

“Mind if I take them for the project?”

It gets better.

Alex’s friend Luke had been in the same scene as Arthur for years. They went to the same college, skated the same NH spots and even had senior thesis projects centered around skate art. Arthur’s mom also was also a teacher in Luke’s school district. Yet somehow, they had never met.

After hearing all the details, Alex was convinced they were destined to cross paths.

“You want in?”

“Also, if you paint on the boards and come on this trip for Terre_It_Up to film and promote them, we’ll give you free food, room and board,” she said.

“Well, if there’s one way to get a snowboarder on board, it’s free food,” he said, offering a handshake.

And just like that, Back Alley Boards was born.