Never really strapping out with Sparrow Knox

Sparrow Knox lets us in on the impact parenthood has had on his life as a snowboarder.

Interview Stella Pentti

Photos Theo Acworth

Sparrow Knox. The snowboarder who’s going at 100 miles per hour – every hour. This is the guy pulling off the most creative and gnarly tricks at spots that would intimidate most, all the while keeping the mood light and making sure everyone’s having fun and feeling welcomed. But what happens when the board comes off?

When not strapped in, Sparrow is living the family life back at home in London, with his wife and two daughters – but it certainly isn’t quiet. He brings the same positive energy to his home that he does to the snowboard scene, navigating two very different worlds. So, how has becoming a dad changed Sparrow’s outlook on snowboarding and life?

This interview tries to make sense of it all. This is Sparrow: on and off the board.

Hey Sparrow, how’s it going? Thanks again for taking the time to sit down with us.

I feel great! It’s been a wholesome yet loose summer full of quality family time. I work with the Art Department, shooting commercials in and around London. This year was bizarrely slow, but this allowed for priceless time spent with my little ones, which I wouldn’t trade for the world. You can always work; I’ll be grafting till I’m a hundred and ten! But the memories of the kids this young… Truly priceless. 

I had a happy thought the other day when I remembered filming with Kuske and the Yes Snowboards crew last winter, so that’s a nice vibe to reminisce on. As soon as it started to get cold, I was like, yes… I had this memory in the street with the crew, and I liked the tingles it sent through my body. 

Sounds like you’re all ready for winter to come. How’s the 24/25 season looking?

I’m buzzing as fuck to get shredding and filming. It’s crazy how all summer I don’t really think of snowboarding at all, yet once the leaves start falling and the days get a bit nippy, you get that feeling of the hype brewing. I’ll follow the same rough schedule as I always do: keep it loose, do as much as I possibly can on every trip and spend enough time on snow without my Mrs losing her mind – which she never really does as she’s the best!

Any highlights to look forward to?

Honestly, I look forward to getting that feeling, you know… It could be in a dusty car park with a tiny bit of snow, on top of a hill, or even sitting in a car for hours, hours that are well spent searching for the right spots to ride, which in turn will give me that feeling. Fuck I’ve got “can’t stop the feeling” now stuck in my head… bloody kids’ playlist! Haha. But yeah, I’m pretty easygoing and satisfied with the simpler things on the grand scale. Put simply: if I’m on a trip to snowboard, and I get to snowboard… I’m fucking stoked. If I’m stoked and we’re shooting, it’s productive, which gives me more inner satisfaction – even if these clips/photos never see the light of day. It’s the ‘doing’ that gets me hyped. YES Snowboards are also making a film, and these boys and girls are a great bunch: very warm and wholesome with some insane riders. I’m looking forward to these adventures! 

You always share lovely content of yourself and your kids on Instagram. Did you always know you wanted kids at a young age?

I always wanted kids young. I’ve got two girls, Iris and Indie, ages five and three. It’s beautiful. I guess seeing my six siblings and me growing up with young folks was perhaps a subtle nod towards the beautiful reasons to start young. When I’m 50, I get to party and celebrate Iris’ 25th birthday. That’s mental to think, but the years are creeping up, and I’m very much enjoying each step along this path. It’s a knackering life no matter your age or circumstances, but I’m trying to truly take time to appreciate the days while they [the kids] are still so young. Little sponges that we’re giving our life skills and lessons to. I want to have more, but I think three could possibly be mayhem.

Going from two to three, you’re outnumbered, and the car will be crammed to the max?! 

Haha, true, but I’ve got a 17-seater minibus, so keep the kids coming. I love doing festivals with the bus stuffed with all the buzzing little bodies all excited. I remember going to the Glastonbury Festival as a kid and picking up hitchhikers along the way. It was always such an experience. I’d love for the next generation to get some old-school-ish ways. Get them asleep in the buggy with some ear defenders and dance ya tits off until they wake, then call it a night… 

How has having kids at a young age affected your snowboarding and your relationship with it?

I love to snowboard, and I love everything about this crazy passion-friendship-travel excuse. I’d say it’s like a job, I still daydream about riding and always want to do my best to impress myself and get the most excitement I can from each day on snow. But I’m less inclined to try gnarly stuff because I’ve got a lot on my shoulders. Then, once you chill it on the crazy style riding, you naturally lessen your skill set or at least your ability to get into the mindset of ‘hammer time’ riding. I want to send it as much as I can, but I want to look out for what truly matters in life. I’m excited, scared, unconfident, yet completely down to go for things that give me purpose once strapped in. Perhaps this answer didn’t make much sense. But sometimes, neither does snowboarding, but we still do it…

Do you think you’ve become more cautious with your snowboarding after becoming a dad?

Honestly, in some ways, I’ve become looser as I’m more aware of my body. My life experiences have taught me what I can and can’t get away with. I’m cautious, but fuck, we’ve grown up wanting to send it off anything possible, like skateboards, trampolines, cliffs into water etc etc, so it’s an adaptive process of responsibility. Still, I want to be mindful towards life in general. l snowboard to be a good role model by being myself, being respectful, and being considerate to myself, my kids, and the friends and family we have and have made along the way.  

Would you say becoming a dad changed you?

I’d say it shaped me more than changed. You know, it’s the first time anyone is a parent for the first child. You grow up as an individual while learning to care for another mini-human, yet you are still growing as an adult and learning each step of the way. In short, yes, it’s changed me, but where is the adventure if you’re not growing and changing? 

What superpowers does being a dad give you, and how does that translate into your snowboarding?

Long days shooting street, or dawn-to-dusk backcountry days ain’t nothing on a standard day of parenting. A solid ‘superpower’ I’d say that comes in very handy is the up-and-out early lifestyle that is almost certain within parenthood and helps massively on trips to get everyone in the van on time. Maybe not much of a superpower but more an ongoing normality that benefits everyday productivity.

Do you feel like you’re balancing two worlds?

Completely. And the two worlds never really merge, which is both beautiful and annoying. There’s always been London and then snowboarding. But to be honest, this is the only world you want to be in when you’re in it, and when your home that’s the only place you want to be. These are very separate worlds for me, but I truly love my family and also love to snowboard. Leaving for a trip is always hard, but it’s shaped who I am. Grace my wife is an absolute legend who knows how much it means to me. They are two completely different worlds but still the same Sparrow.

Is the Sparrow the snowboard world sees the same Sparrow the kids see at home?

I’d say yeah. But I’m more energized naturally on trips because in this short amount of time you meet so many different people, and it’s an intense rush of snowboarding, friends, new and old meetings from all over the world, experiences you may never have done before, banging parties etc. Is it the same me? Yes. Exactly the same. But here, we’ve got snow, so let’s snowboard, and at home, we’ve got a skateboard, a car, kids and family, so let’s dad it up.

How do you think your kids would describe you in one sentence?

“I love Daddy because he jumps with me on the jump-o-leen” 

“He cycles with me to school, which is fun.”

What’s the best piece of advice they’ve given you?

Stay off your phone.

And finally, what are the most valuable lessons parenthood has taught you?

It was your parents’ first time as well. Give them the credit they’re due, and know they’re trying their best. And that women make the world go round.