Behind the Lens - Matt Georges
2025-11-17
Matt Georges is a creative tour de force in the world of snowboarding, a name that has been integral in supporting, curating and defining European snowboard culture over the past two decades. Cutting his teeth in the darkest of dark rooms, Matt’s career took off in the early two thousands as a magazine intern where he also honed his skills as a graphic designer and all round Swiss Army Knife - underpinned by the love of snowboard culture above all.
Now residing in Montpellier, Matt is one half of Club Sandwich, an independent publishing house that is committed to the promotion of snowboard through curating exhibitions, create campaigns and offering an organic home for high quality snowboard photography publishing high quality books telling stories in Snowboarding.
As part of our ongoing series of behind the lens, getting to know the creatives that define the culture Vans is proud to be a part of, we gave Matt a preseason call to find out more about the man behind one of snowboarding’s most influential lenses…
For those of us that don’t know you, please introduce yourself?
My name is Matt Georges. I live in the South of France with my wife and our three daughters. I picked up a camera for the first time when I was about 15, without ever imagining it could turn into something serious So I went on to study Graphic Design and Art Direction instead. It’s now been almost 20 years that I’ve been shooting snowboarding — and the flame is still very much alive!
How did you first get into Photography?
My best friend’s dad had a darkroom in his basement, and I got curious about it. He showed me how it all worked. Funny story — everyone thought he was into landscape photography, but in reality, he was shooting nudes. One day, his wife found out… and that was the end of both the darkroom and my early photo lessons. She literally tore everything down.
And how did it progress from there?
That’s when I really caught the photo bug. Around that time, we started traveling around France and Europe for skate contests. I was still competing in the under 14 category — skating alongside guys like Bastien Salabanzi and Lucas Puig. Needless to say, I quickly realized I wasn’t going to make it as a Pro Skater... But that actually pushed me to find another way to stay part of the culture I loved. So I started documenting everything — the trips, the sessions, the parties, the friends, the family. I was still super young and had no idea this could turn into a career. I just knew I wanted to stay close to that world. Then I started to get publications in skate publications in Europe, eventually got a job as art director at Freestyler Magazine and the adventure really began from there.
How do you enjoy the mix of shooting analog and digital?
When I started out, everything was still shot on film. I’m really glad I got to experience that transition at such a young age — from analog to digital. It feels like it gets trickier to adapt as you grow older and your work habits are already set. Back then, it was amazing to suddenly have more tools and new technology to play with, while still getting your hands dirty with the analog processes. It’s so rich, there are so many techniques to explore. I love it!
What are the challenges involved in that?
At some point the film, paper and chemicals got more and more expensive and harder to find. The big brands didn’t see the commercial sense in keeping analog alive — which is fair, because it became pricey. On the other hand, the early years of digital all looked the same: we had to learn post-production properly, find a consistent look and refine our shooting style. Both worlds have their challenges — and today it’s even tougher because photography is so accessible to everyone.
At the end I just end up carrying more gear just to be able to play with different tools. My bag usually holds seven or eight different cameras, which is a workout in itself!
What have been some of your most memorable trips?
A few years back we worked on a project called ARCTIC ROSES, wandering around Norway in winter time to surf and snowboard. When you manage to do both in the same day — especially riding down a mountain with the sea all around you at 4 a.m. under full daylight — that’s the kind of scene that is impossible to forget
Craziest moment you have experienced on a trip?
We’ve had our fair share of sketchy moments. One that sticks out happened in Slovakia recently: we were shooting a rail near someone’s house in a mid-size town when the owner — an elderly man — stormed out with an arm size kitchen knife and started running around to stab us!! Thing is, if you knock him out with your snowboard or tripod you might kill him straight, so you definitely want to avoid this scenario and end up for the rest of your life in a rotten Slovakian jail…. I’ve always found the diplomatic way is the best whenever possible, even if it’s complicated to talk to someone with a large knife!
Favourite locations to shoot?
I really love shooting in the streets, but it can get hectic pretty fast sometimes. If I had to pick one place though, I’d say Japan — for the culture, the snow, the people, and that unique sense of calm you feel when you’re out in the wild.
Favourite athletes to shoot?
Maybe someone with a creative bag of tricks. I honestly don’t mind whom I’m shooting, as long as the vibe is good and the crew is fully committed. That’s what really makes the difference.
How important is the crew that you travel with?
It’s way more important than the athlete itself. You can be the most talented person out there, but if you’re a pain to travel with, nobody cares. The best memories — and the best work — always come from that mix of hard work, good vibes, and mutual respect within the crew.
What are some of the challenges you have faced on the road?
There are so many! Traveling for snowboarding is never light — you’re always overloaded with gear and constantly trying to trick the airlines, which gets exhausting. You just want a smooth trip, and it almost never happens. Then there are all the other parts: dealing with police, trespassing issues, avalanche risks, and all kinds of mountain dangers. It’s definitely not a walk in the park — but that’s what makes it so good.
Without a bit of chaos and challenges, it would all be pretty boring.
What have been some of your favourite Vans trips you have been on to date?
Once in London, after a Vans movie premiere at the House of Vans (RIP), the venue closed and about 30 of us were still in party mode. So we jumped on the first red bus we saw, gave a few coins to the driver to look the other way, and completely took over the top deck. We turned it into a rolling party all the way to the last stop. Definitely one for the books. I’ve also worked on a project called TRIPLE where we explored the 3 snowboard fields: Street / Backcountry / Park. That was pretty sick!
Any photographers you look up to that have inspired your work?
Tricky question, there are so many — and my taste keeps evolving with age and experience. But within our world, a few names really push me to do better: Carlos Blanchard, Cole Barash, Silvano Zeiter, Brian Gaberman, Sem Rubio, and Aaron Schwartz.
Talk to us about Club Sandwich?
A few years ago, I was getting frustrated with how magazines were going — too many ads, cheap paper, bad printing. It just didn’t feel like the right way to showcase photography anymore. So together with Perly (Julien Petry) , another photographer, we created an independent publishing house called Club Sandwich.
The idea was simple: make collectible, high-quality book-objects that present our work — and that of other photographers — in a more meaningful way than a few pages in a mag. Each release features a guest artist who designs a custom box that includes a couple of zines or books (one per photographer). Each box is numbered, limited to 500 copies, and kept affordable. It’s already expensive enough to go to the mountains — I wanted the project to stay lo-fi but with the best ingredients.
We release one edition per year with a new lineup each time — that’s where the name Club Sandwich comes from: same recipe, different ingredients. Since then, we’ve also expanded into publishing coffee table books and turned Club Sandwich into a creative studio. We collaborate with brands, curate exhibitions, create campaigns — balancing the commercial side with a non-profit passion for publishing art we love.
With Club Sandwich you guys have always done an amazing job of bringing trips and photography to life through exhibitons, premiers and real life happenings. How important is that sense of community in snowboarding for you?
We do our best to keep the flame alive by bringing people together. Everyone’s scattered around the world during the winter, so exhibitions, premieres, and events are the perfect excuse to reconnect, share ideas, and meet new people. That sense of community keeps the culture alive — and it pushes us creatively to grow and do better.
Any last words for the internet?
Thanks for having me. Get outside, put your phone down for a while, and go live some real-life adventures! (But keep your phone on you to take photos of that…)