# Who is your favorite snowboard athlete?



## BobbyGrand (Jan 3, 2014)

Gotta go with T Rice simply because of what he has done for the sport with Natty Select, not to mention he's an old dog throwing it down still.


----------



## Etienne (Apr 2, 2021)

Xavier de Le Rue maybe? Really love is whole approach, mixed of laid back, calculated and absolutely nuts. And lately his whole "You can learn safety and have a blast" is just perfect.

Gigi, Frederik Kalbermatten, Kazu are in the place as well. Really love Zeb Powell lately, he's so fresh! And wana see Rene Rinekangas in 5-10 years…

If I could magically get someone's skill, that would be Gigi or Danny Davis I think.


----------



## weather_nerd (7 mo ago)

Grilo is/was always my fave 

Zeb Powell is probably the most exciting freestyle rider to watch. Rene Rinekangas is also super fun. Love seeing Elena Height tear it up in the backcountry. I was a fan of hers growing up.

I mostly watch carving, so Ryan Knapton is an obvious choice. But there are a ton of Japanese carvers who are incredible. Kazunori Hirama comes to mind.

Edit: oh yeah, and Hans Mindich, specifically because of his wall ride in Corbet's.


----------



## Mike256 (Oct 13, 2013)

Stale, kleveland, trice


----------



## AC93 (May 1, 2020)

Muller, T Rice and Gigi


----------



## WigMar (Mar 17, 2019)

Watching snowboarding isn't nearly as much fun as snowboarding is. The rider that gives me the most joy is myself. Therefore, my favorite "snowboard athlete" is me.


----------



## DaveMcI (Aug 19, 2013)

Scott Steven's, I can watch his stuff all day


----------



## t21 (Dec 29, 2010)

Terje, Craig Kelly, TRice , Xavier and Jeremy J.


----------



## robotfood99 (Mar 19, 2016)

All these pros throw down tricks I can barely wrap my mind around, let alone do, so I like Devun Walsh and his stylish slow back 180s, which is my ol'faithful, too. Of the more recent batch, Longo also has that effortless smooth style. Not that I can boost sidehits as savagely as he does.


----------



## Etienne (Apr 2, 2021)

Dunno how Longo has this so smooth style, he was already riding like this when he was 12 years old... 

Envoyé de mon H8324 en utilisant Tapatalk


----------



## Kez (7 mo ago)

Definitely have to throw TRice into the mix, he’s always doing some crazy shit and doing big things for the sport. Big fan of Bryan Iguchi as well, seems like such a chill, laid back dude who just loves snowboarding and I feel like he’d be sick to ride with. Longo is definitely up there as well for me, I feel like he rides the same way we all ride in our dreams, would love to have his skills (and anti-gravity mods).

One of the biggest inspirations for my riding style though would have to be Nicholas Wolken and the Korua crew in the Yearning for Turning videos. Deep turns, deep powder, and chill vibes!


----------



## Luffe (Apr 5, 2021)

I really enjoy watching Blake Pauls style, how effortlessly he makes it look to do cool tricks in resort type terrain.

Mikkel Bang is also up there, as a big guy going big and often makes even ‘easy’ tricks look really good.

Longo is also one of the guys I like to watch the most. It’s allways exciting to see what he comes up with when he rides. How he takes flight and have that unique style of riding. Too bad he didn’t get a wildcard to the NST Alaska event.

And of course you can’t deny Travis Rice. His insane shifty on the NST Alaska event really showed me that there are levels to snowboarding. In big mountain terrain, I don’t know of anyone else at his level.

Nicholas Mueller is also unique, doing really cool stuff and makes it look easy. I wish he would come back on the snowboarding scene.

Zoi Zodowski is also a groundbreaker at the moment, taking womens snowboarding to the next level and pretty much rides like the guys.



mctendies said:


> Do you use their videos as inspiration on the mountain for doing tricks?


I wish. Even if I had started riding full time from when I was a kid, I would likely never even be close in skill level. What I take from them is the focus on style, even though I most likely look pretty average myself.


----------



## Eivind så klart (Aug 30, 2020)

robotfood99 said:


> All these pros throw down tricks I can barely wrap my mind around, let alone do, so I like Devun Walsh and his stylish slow back 180s, which is my ol'faithful, too. Of the more recent batch, Longo also has that effortless smooth style. Not that I can boost sidehits as savagely as he does.


Love watching those slow b.side 180 spins with a simple indy.

Ohh. And MFM’s no grab spins! I spend hours every year on YouTube watching him spin.


----------



## nt973 (9 mo ago)

Nicolas Muller, Jake Blauvelt, Austen Sweetin, Arthur Longo, TRice


----------



## unsuspected (Oct 26, 2015)

Johan.


----------



## bheise225 (12 mo ago)

I'm digging Scott Stevens, Nate Haust, Stale, Klevelan, and whoever that cat was that did those crazy contorted flips on hood halfpipe that rides for salomon that kept coming up on my instagram last week. Holy heck that was a sick as hell. Looked like Mt Hood anyhow...


----------



## MountainMystic (Apr 24, 2019)

Avran Lefeber.

And maybe that T.Rice guy.


----------

