Akira Back

Akira Back was born Sung Ook Back in 1974 in Seoul, Korea. He was given the nickname "Akira" by a family friend from Japan ("Ook" translates to "Akira" in Chinese characters) and the name stuck. Back was raised in Sinsa Dong in Seoul. He took a serious interest in baseball at a young age and decided to move to Japan to pursue it. Back's baseball career ended very shortly after when his father's business took their family to America in 1989, eventually ending up in Aspen, Colorado. At age 15, Back took a liking to snowboarding in Aspen, CO. He spent his early years as a professional snowboarder, showing off his talents in extreme movies, and garnered praise by industry magazines like Snowboarder and Transworld. Back spent 7 years on the...