When it comes to shredding the slopes or sticking a killer landing, snowboarders and skiers are the best at completing the job. No matter the stakes, these athletes tackle snow and frigid winter climates with confidence, setting the bar for future generations to come.
As the Winter season rapidly approaches, VMAN gathered up a list of the up-and-coming snow sports athletes who are breaking the ice with every jib or gnar run, originating from countries from Norway to Japan.
Dusty Henricksen
At only 20 years old, Dusty Henricksen has made tremendous strides in snowboarding. As the first U.S. male snowboarder to win an X Games medal since Shaun White, Henricksen won gold medals in Slopestyle and Knuckle Huck during the 2021 X Games and was the first person to land a quadruple cork in a slopestyle contest.
Valentino Guseli
Valentino Guseli is an Australian snowboarder on the rise, already achieving greatness at the young age of 18. Guseli competed in the halfpipe event at the 2022 Winter Olympics and actually broke the big air world record when he flew 7.3m into the air on his World Cup debut at the LAAX Open in Switzerland back in 2021.
Red Gerard
23-year-old Redman “Red” Gerard is the youngest gold medalist to win slopestyle at the 2018 games at only 17. With years of experience on his belt, Gerard has also had four other top-five game results. In 2022, Gerard led Team USA in Big Air Snowboarding with a top-five finish.
Yuto Totsuka
Japanese snowboarder YĆ«to Totsuka has a handful of achievements up his sleeve, including taking home the silver medal at the 2020 Winter X Games in Aspen, Colorado. With a stellar performance, Totuska reached Olympic gold at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing.
Bryce Bennett
31-year-old Bryce Bennett made his World Cup debut in December 2013 and secured his first World Cup victory in the Val Gardena, Italy downhill. He is widely known for being one of the tallest men to ever hit the slopes at 6’7.
Marcus Kleveland
Norway’s Marcus Kleveland was the first-ever snowboarder to complete a quad cork 1800 in competition. The 23-year-old has 10 X Game medals up his sleeve and does not appear to be slowing down anytime soon.
Zeb Powell
Snowboarder Zeb Powell won gold in the 2020 XGames Knuckle Huck, making history as the first black snowboarder to win. His smooth style on and off the snow has created an iconic persona for Powell. With a focus on diversity, he pushes for more inclusion in the sport in partnership with Hoods to Woods.
Logan Pehota
Logan Pehota follows in his father, Canadian skier Eric Pehota’s footsteps, as his first win on the Freeride World Tour circuit came in Haines, Alaska, back in 2016, and scored a ‘home’ win at Kicking Horse in 2018.