Snowboarding
These riders shaped snowboarding and continue to inspire the culture today.
Let’s get one thing out of the way: snowboarding is too diverse to claim any specific snowboarders as ‘the most’ influential. After all, in its purest form, snowboarding is as individual as each rider regardless of skill and that’s the beauty of it. But at different times – in different ways – these riders influenced as the direction of snowboarding as both sport and subculture. In no order – because that would be insane – these are the riders who made snowboarding what it is today.
01
Terje Håkonsen
Arguably the greatest snowboarder in the history of the sport, the legacy of this stoic Norwegian goes beyond mere athletic prowess. He is a leader and a voice for snowboarding to this day. As a rider, he pushed the progression of tricks and terrain during the sport's fastest-evolving period. As a competitor, he dominated freestyle contests throughout the '90s. As a video star, he was a major player in taking technical freestyle moves to natural backcountry terrain. And, by boycotting the biggest sporting event in the world and boldly resisting the International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS) in the sport, he is one of snowboarding's strongest idealists.
02
Travis Rice
Hailed by critics as the best all-round snowboarder in the world, Travis Rice is snowboarding's legit modern-day superstar. Raised on the steep slopes of Jackson Hole, Rice found early success melding speed, big mountain awareness and cutting-edge tricks. Few do it with as much confidence in heavy terrain.
His ground-breaking films like That’s It, That’s All, The Art of Flight and The Fourth Phase have transcended the sport and inspired countless people to strap on a board. A true backcountry master, he founded the Red Bull Supernatural contest in 2012 to push competitive freeriding in natural terrain. After years spent away from competition while he filmed The Fourth Phase, he returned to the contest scene in a huge way, winning the pinnacle big mountain comp Natural Selection Tour in 2023. One of the best to ever do it; one of the best still doing it.
03
Jamie Lynn
One thing that makes snowboarding appealing is its fundamental aesthetics: style is everything. The wonderful thing about style is how difficult it is to quantify (hence the problems snowboard judges face in rewarding it), but when someone has it... well, it's obvious. In the past, when snowboarders struggled to combine progressive tricks with clean style, Jamie Lynn arrived on the scene with his good looks, artful vibe, no gloves, and a buttery-smooth skate style. Known for his impeccably stylish method – but able to do so, so much more – Lynn has set a benchmark in style that riders still aim for.
04
Tom Sims
The Jake Burton versus Tom Sims rivalry is a tale woven deep into the fabric of snowboarding's folklore. Both pioneers have a solid claim to being on this list: between them, they took a niche hobby and transformed it into a mainstream sport. Of the two icons, we must look to Sims role as the West Coast surfer-skater in pushing the sport towards freestyle. Sims organised the first-ever halfpipe contest in 1983 when snowboarding was in its infancy. He was even a stunt double in a 1985 James Bond film. While his influence in the sport was mostly felt early on, Sims is responsible for showing the world what can happen when you stand sideways on a mountain.
05
Craig Kelly
Alongside Terje Håkonsen, Craig Kelly is widely regarded as the greatest snowboarder of all time. When snowboarding emerged as a popular sport, Kelly rose out of the ranks as its first superstar, winning multiple world championships in multiple disciplines and scoring countless cover shots. After years of dominating the contest scene, Kelly walked away from lucrative sponsorship deals to dedicate himself exclusively to backcountry freeriding, creating a new pro career option in the process. Even the world’s greatest freeskiers look to Kelly as an influence. For some, Kelly’s video parts are his greatest contribution to the sport – his silky-smooth mastery of big mountains looks as good today as ever – but for others, it is simply that his was a life lived for a love of mountains that represents his true legacy. Read Eric Blehm’s incredible book to learn all about the life of Kelly: The Darkest White: A Mountain Legend and the Avalanche That Took Him
06
Scott Stevens
Above all else, snowboarding thrives on two things: fun, and progression. Without fun, the only reasons left for doing it wouldn't be good reasons. And without progression, there's only stagnation, boredom and, eventually, the death of fun. More than any other rider in the past decade, Scott Stevens and his unique brand of creative, sometimes-silly snowboarding has shown us what is possible beyond the high consequence big mountain lines and senders. He does the impossible, with improvisational one-footers, truly skateboard-inspired style, and employing weird tactics like somersaults. Anybody can be progressive and creative, and that’s what Stevens has taught snowboarding, which all goes to get him on the list of most influential snowboarders in the world today.
07
Anna Gasser
You can't compile a list of influential snowboarders without including the woman who has more medals and world firsts than we can remember. If you can name it, Austrian queen Anna Gasser has done it: world's first female Cab Double Cork 900 just three years after she started snowboarding, first women to land a Cab Triple Underflip, gold medals from every major slopestyle and big air contest out there, including the Winter X-Games twice. There's no more decorated female riding today and Gasser has pushed women's contest snowboarding to incredible new heights, inspiring generations of riders to put air between their board and the snow.
08
Shaun White
Love him or hate him, Shaun White changed the game and was almost untouchable during his storied snowboarding career. Do the math: five-time Olympian, three-time halfpipe Olympic gold medallist, world record for the most X Games gold medals. He may have “gone Hollywood” but his influence and skill are undeniable.
09
Sébastien Toutant
Canadian Seb 'Toots' Toutant is one of the most stylish and technically perfect riders in history. The Quebecois shredder is an Olympic gold medallist and owns heavy hardware from the X Games. Way more importantly, his style is impeccable. Technically superior to almost anyone ever – while still flowing with mad style – Seb makes snowboarding look so smooth you think you can do it as well as he does. But you can’t. No one can.
10
Mark McMorris
Another day, another Canadian shredder. Mark McMorris comes from one of the flattest regions on earth: Saskatchewan. That didn’t stop him from honing his skillset so finely that he took over the world of terrain park snowboarding: three-time Olympic bronze medallist, first person to land a Backside Triple Cork 1440, a record-setting 22 X Games medals. He does it all with style and precision. The best part? He’s extremely polite and humble. Canada FTW.