Visual Artist Shantell Martin On Her Recent Collab With Anon For ‘Free Your Line’ Ski And Snowboard Collection

Ask any skier or snowboarder what they love about riding—whether it’s big mountain, park or groomed runs—and most will mention the freedom of choosing their own line. If there’s a stationary feature like a jump or rail, 10 different people can approach it 10 different ways, and it’s what keeps skiers snowboarders progressing and coming back for more.

Visual artist Shantell Martin understands the freedom the mountains can provide, and in her recent “Free Your Line” collaboration with Anon, she’s packaged the creativity and self-expression of snowsports into a stylish line of unisex products.

Martin’s large-scale, black-and-white drawings are instantly recognizable. Her work has been featured at the Oculus at the World Trade Center, the New York City Ballet and the Denver Art Museum. She has collaborated with The North Face, adidas and Puma, as well as Kendrick Lamar and Kelly Wearstler.

Her work, drawn in a series of black marker lines, celebrates self-expression and authenticity and encourages people to explore their identity through play. British-born, Martin now splits her time between New York City and Los Angeles.

Drawing on her years spent skiing, in her collection for Anon Martin showcases an appreciation for “the freedom that being on the slopes can bring to people.”

“A huge part of my practice is making and sharing,” Martin told me. “For this collaboration, there are a lot of these detailed lines that people are taking and sharing all over the world, in an active way, which is super fun.”

The unisex collection offers both lifestyle streetwear and performance equipment, with pieces including a ski and snowboard helmet; two goggles—one based in Anon’s M4 line scaled for smaller faces and the Sync Goggle, which use Anon’s M-Fusion magnetic latch system to secure lenses—featuring Martin’s art on the straps; a lightweight MFI (Magnetic Face Mask Integration) neckwarmer that seals magnetically to any MFI-compatible Anon goggles; an MFI fleece hood; and a T-shirt and hoodie featuring Martin’s designs.

The collection ranges in price from $29.95 (T-shirt) to $319.95 (M4S goggle).

Founded by Burton Snowboards in 2001, Anon’s original raison d’être was to manufacture goggles that would serve not only Burton’s pro team but all discerning riders around the world. Today its proprietary Magna-Tech system makes its goggles an industry standard-bearer.

“Shantell and her art embody the sense of individualism and self-expression that we hope to promote with this collection,” Mark Wakeling, GM of Anon, said. “Our goal is to encourage our new and existing customers to ‘Free Your Line’—to incorporate more play, and to spend more time doing what you love through different modes of recreation—whether it be snowboarding, skiing or creating art.”

The collection’s inclusivity is a welcome offering within snowsports performance equipment and softgoods. Designed by a mixed-race woman and featuring unisex sizing, there’s truly something for everyone, especially those who aren’t usually top of mind for the industry’s designers.

According to data from the National Ski Areas Association (NSAA), in the 2020-21 season, skier and snowboarder demographics were overwhelmingly white (88.7 percent) and male (63 percent). (For the 2021-22 season, the NSAA’s questionnaire will include a non-binary option to reflect a broader gender spectrum.) Additionally, snowboarders accounted for just 27.9 percent of visits to the more than 300 alpine resorts that report to the NSAA.

More than a visual artist, Martin considers herself a facilitator between art, education, design, philosophy and technology.

Her Free Your Line collaboration is a stylish collection of performance gear and lifestyle apparel, to be sure. But it also probes skiers and snowboarders to think more deeply about the ways they interact with the world around them, on or off the mountain.