It's not easy bein' green...

Have so far only found one other source reporting this and only one or two people in the comments have even got the facts close to right, but Nicolas Müller, he of multiple Rider of the Year awards, the star-crossed and wittily–but disingenuously–named Green Mountain Project, and lines boosted straight from decade-old Salasnek video parts, has decided against the lifer/sponsor path that his friend and mentor, Terje Håkonsen, chose so long ago. His destination is of course the only logical company for any rider hoping to clean up snowboarding and the planet, that bastion of responsibility and environmental stewardship...Nike.

Truth be told, if anyone deserves to cash in/out and grab his share of the Beaverton bucks, it's Nico. He's come a long way from being one of many Euro stepchildren, all the way to a position of fame and respect, loved by the public and his peers equally. Though it's still a bit vague as to what his future plans are (there was a Nicolas-focused biopic movie treatment being floated around to his sponsors last year...) what's clear is that the gulf between his interests and those of Burton's (and specifically, if rumors are true, Burton's murketing department) had widened to an uncrossable distance. One recent tale has him calling a higher-up on the carpet in front of a group of other Burtonites for lies and half-truths said senior person was spreading about certain sustainable issues.

Speculation continues on what brand of snowboard Nicolas will end up riding. Many wags in the Pacific northwest are hoping and mongering on about him taking up residence at Gnu or Lib Tech and given the presumed size of his Nike paycheck he can probably afford to gift himself to either of the Mervin brands. Perhaps Nike will pull a Volcom (and Rockstar energy drink...) and start making shred sleds with swooshes on the bases? Or maybe, as some are suggesting, he'll add himself to the YES! roster. Jones Snowboards and a spot next to Blauvelt? An interesting new school backcountry superteam would certainly mix things up...

With Christian Rüf's recent departure, murmurs that one or two of their Next Big Thing™ Love-mounted youngsters are unhappy, and now, another of the companies true favorite sons flying from the nest, one has to wonder what the folks back in Burlington are thinking. Dreaming of the switch BS 180 melon from this perhaps? Probably not...