Snowboarding
Red Bull Heavy Metal is back: this is what's bigger and bolder in 2026
Find out why Red Bull Heavy Metal is considered to be one of the most revolutionary events in modern street snowboarding - and discover what's different this time around.
Part of this story
Red Bull Heavy Metal, hailed as one of the most influential events in modern street snowboarding, is making its triumphant return in 2026 with an expanded format and a renewed focus on showcasing the sport’s most progressive riders. Building on the success of its 2025 debut at Boston City Hall Plaza, the 2026 iteration promises to elevate the event with two regional qualifiers leading up to the highly anticipated main event in downtown Boston.
With an unwavering commitment to real street features and the raw creativity that defines snowboarding, Red Bull Heavy Metal 2026 will feature three unique riding zones, offering fans an electrifying experience while pushing the limits of the sport. Whether you're in the heart of Boston or at one of the qualifiers in Minneapolis or Pittsburgh, the stage is set for an unforgettable season of snowboarding action.
It's also the first year the event is going international, with separate Red Bull Heavy Metal events in Montreal, Canada on March 1 and another still to be announced.
01
What is the Red Bull Heavy Metal USA 2026 schedule?
LJ Henriquez slides the ledge
© Mark Clavin/Red Bull Content Pool
- Location: Minneapolis, Minnesota
- Date: January 17, 2026
- Location: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- Date: January 31, 2026
- Location: Boston, Massachusetts
- Date: February 21, 2026
02
Key moments from Red Bull Heavy Metal history
2002
JP Walker nails a Backside 5050
© www.andersneuman.com
In 2002, the first-ever Red Bull Heavy Metal was introduced to the snowboarding world. In years prior, rail jams were becoming increasingly popular, however, they were mostly pre-fabricated terrain park rails and boxes with scaffolding drop-ins. Red Bull Heavy Metal was the anti-rail jam in that it would be held in the actual streets just north of Buffalo, New York at Niagara Falls on video part-worthy spots featuring video part-worthy tricks. The set-up was a combination of hubbas, creepers and rails, and the riders invited to battle it out were a who’s who of modern-day street riding talent. Legends like Justin Hebbel, Zach Leach, Scotty Arnold, Micah McGinnity, Ali Goulet, Seth Huot, Chris Demolski, Nate Bozung, Shane Flood, Jordan Mendenhall, Bjorn Leines, Eddie Wall and judges Joel Mahaffey and the late, great J2 put on a show for the ages and changed the trajectory of competitive street riding forever. Nate Bozung, Scotty Arnold and Seth Huot all walked away with $10,000 USD and their names etched in the canon of snowboard history forever. Red Bull Heavy Metal changed locations the following year.
2003
Red Bull Heavy Metal in Portland, Oregon
© Trevor Graves/Red Bull Content Pool
Year two of Red Bull Heavy Metal went down in Portland, Oregon at the iconic downtown Pioneer Place. Similar to Niagara Falls, it was a plaza-style area made entirely of brick, but rails had to be brought in for the riders to session. Downbars, kinks and other obstacles were temporarily placed in the plaza for the riders to session, and session they did. Thousands of observers piled into Pioneer Place to watch some of the best riders in the world tear the course apart in downtown Portland. Kyle Clancy, Zach Leach, Hana Beaman, Wyatt Caldwell, Scotty Arnold, Danny Kass, Simon Chamberlain, Chris Engelsman, TJ Schneider and Bjorn Leines had the crowd screaming, but it was none other than the legendary Travis Parker who stole the show, while riding in a full football uniform (pads, helmet and all) and providing the most memorable moments from the sophomore year of Red Bull Heavy Metal. The day’s winner was Kyle Clancy, who took home the big win, but even though the event lit the snowboard world ablaze, it was time for a bit of a break. The following year, the event headed to Salt Lake City at the Delta Center (now called Vivint Smart Home Arena), but the lustre was fading as street riding’s popularity skyrocketed and it was time for a reinvention of Red Bull Heavy Metal. However, that wouldn’t come to fruition until the 2020s, when the iconic event resurfaced in northern Minnesota for all the world to witness once again.
2022
Hitting the kink rail in Duluth
© Emily Tidwell/Red Bull Content Pool
Cascade Park, sitting perched atop the small city of Duluth, Minnesota was the site of the 2022 Red Bull Heavy Metal, and by utilising Event Director and Minnesota street riding royalty Joe Sexton, the course was a perfect culmination of natural features that Cascade Park was already known for in the street snowboarding scene. Forty of the world’s best street riders descended on Duluth for a session a decade in the making. Zeb Powell, Benny Milam, Maggie Leon, Miles Fallon, Rob Roethler, Alexis Roland, Nora Beck, Blake Lamb, Draydon Gardner, Ben Bilodeau, Zak Hale, Savannah Shinske, Danyale Patterson, Alexis Roland, Ryan Paul, Grace Warner, and many more went at it for an entire day, sessioning one of the heaviest set-ups the world has ever seen and created more content than anyone could ever consume in a day that redefined what rail jams were, are and should be. At the day’s end, it was Milam and Leon who took the win with Vachon and Powell rounding out the podium for the guys and Hanson and Roland taking second and third for the gals.
2023
Luke Winkelmann tears up Detroit
© Joe Gall/Red Bull Content Pool
Detroit’s Hart Plaza has long been a place that snowboarders pilgrimage to in the colder months thanks to the endless cement ledges and creeper rails. This made Detroit the perfect location to follow up Cascade Park for the 2023 Red Bull Heavy Metal. On event day, this iconic location (normally the realm of stealthy film crews and DIYers) transformed into a bustling arena filled with spectators. Egan Wint claimed the women's crown, while Pat Fava emerged victorious on the men's side.
2024
Grace Warner on rails
© Mark Clavin/Red Bull Content Pool
The 2024 Red Bull Heavy Metal in Saint Paul brought street snowboarding to Minnesota's state capitol with top riders in front of thousands of fans. The event featured three unique zones: a 12m, two-storey gap from the terrace to the lawn below, a set of 7.5m down rails, and a huge 18m down-flat-down pushing riders to showcase their technical prowess and creativity. Standout moments included jaw-dropping tricks from heavy hitters like North Carolina's Luke Winkelmann, Quebec's Sebastien Toutant, and hometown boarder and winner, Benny Milam.
2025
Red Bull Heavy Metal rocked up in Boston for the first time
© Peter Cirilli/Red Bull Content Pool
The 2025 Red Bull Heavy Metal in Boston marked a groundbreaking debut at City Hall Plaza, redefining urban snowboarding with its innovative set-up and electric atmosphere. Thousands of fans gathered to witness riders push the limits across three distinct zones - a 12m down bar and a stair set, a jump and wall ride feature and a massive stair set - each designed to challenge even the most experienced snowboarders. Benny Milam had a huge bag of tricks and Jessica Perlmutter landed the sweetest flip of the day which led to their victories. The event celebrated the vibrant snowboarding community of the north-east and set a new standard for street snowboarding competitions.
Evolution and change are constant in the snowboarding world and Red Bull Heavy Metal comes back this winter bigger and better with qualifying stops in Pittsburgh and Minneapolis that will each send one male and one female rider to the finale in Boston. The level will be upped, the evolution will ccontinue and a new generation of riders will be introduced to the big stage.
Part of this story
