RIPZINGER
Tomonori "rip" Tanaka (Tokyo, Japan)
Born in Tokyo in 1974. A freelance photographer with a freestyle approach.
Continuously putting thought into the preservation of the present moment.
He excels in a wide range of photography and documentation of cultures.
From anything with movement like skateboarding and snowboarding; to abstract, portraits and landscapes.
INTERVIEW - PODCAST
LOOKING SIDEWAYS PODCAST
“ A board is a device that connects humans to nature."
I’ve been lucky enough to interview a massively diverse range of people since I started the Looking Sideways podcast. And one thing unites them all: the activity might have lured them in; but it was the lifestyle that eventually hooked them.
Yet few guests, if any, have taken their dedication to this chosen lifestyle to the same extreme asRipZinger, a self-described travelling monk who has turned couch-surfing into an artform. Rip is from Tokyo and is, in the title of a blogpost written about his lifestyle, ‘a most interesting man’. A skater, snowboarder and, latterly, surfer, he left his home in pursuit of the lifestyle he loves about – and he’s still on the road.
ALL SWELL INTERVIEW IN WHALEBONE
[MIXTAPE] LEGENDARY SNOWBOARDER, PHOTOGRAPHER, AND TRAVELING MONK, RIPZINGER
By Laura Rubin
I first met Rip Zinger—this crazy-sweet-fun Japanese snowboarder, skateboarder and photographer—in the Bend, Oregon airport. Our mutual friend Leah Dawson introduced us via text. He needed a ride and I had a rental car. So I thought I was doing him a favor, but it turns out my luggage didn’t make it. Rip managed the whole scenario like a pro; bag rerouted for same day arrival. Then he offered to drive because he knew exactly where we were going, cranked tunes and turned the whole situation into an episode of a show called Funtown. So it’s more like “Mr. Good Vibes” was doing me the favor.
