Wintersports
Snowboarding
What went down at Red Bull Heavy Metal Boston
Find out the results in the three differentiated competition zones that took place in heart of Downtown Boston on the steps of City Hall Plaza.
It has been almost a decade since a major snowboarding contest has been held in “Titletown,” but the drought officially ended as Red Bull Heavy Metal went off in the heart of downtown Boston. Cheering fans in Celtics and Bruins jerseys surrounded City Hall Plaza and Faneuil Hall, creating an atmosphere that looked more like a championship celebration than a snowboarding event. An estimated 20,000 people showed up to watch the 38 riders hit the dream location for street snowboarding, which was quite shocking to most of the competitors. Talk about it being the largest crowd anyone has ever rode in front of was the biggest conversation the day amongst the competitors.
Red Bull Heavy Metal in Boston, Massachusetts, USA on February 22, 2025.
© Colin Kerrigan / Red Bull Content Pool
“This is a major conventional sports city. It is good to see snowboarding getting some love in the best sports town in the nation,” said Chris Grenier, pro snowboarder and host of the popular Bomb Hole podcast who also happened to be announcing the event to his hometown crowd. And thanks to Red Bull Heavy Metal and Mayor Wu, police in attendance were there to keep the crowd safe and the location cleared for snowboarding instead of cleared of snowboarders.
The area itself is already ideal for riding with plenty of features to hit, but to make sure things went off without a hitch, the event team brought in the local terrain park crew from Loon Mountain to make sure it was pristine. There were 300 tons of snow trucked in the days leading up to the contest and three zones surrounding City Hall were set up with lips, drops and caps on the handrails for the competitors to ride without damaging the iconic architecture. Kicking off at 2:30, each zone held two heats and a final for the riders to put down their best tricks and ride away with a podium spot and a cash prize.
Jess Perlmutter at Red Bull Heavy Metal 2025 in Boston, Massachusetts
© Peter Cirilli / Red Bull Content Pool
The first zone consisted of a 40 ft. down bar and a stair set where crowd-favorite Zeb Powell put on an absolute show. Spinning on and off the first feature, jumping into the course unstrapped, flipping down the stairs and hyping up the crowd, Zeb walked away with the first podium spot of the day alongside 15-year-old Jessica Perlmutter. Notable standouts also went to Lucas Magoon for opting out of the actual contest features to instead slide the wooden support walls right in front of the crowd and Jaylen Hanson for putting down stylish hit after hit to everyone’s delight. The day was just getting started and the crowd packed in the square so full that people were climbing trees to get a better glimpse of the action.
Benny Milam at Red Bull Heavy Metal 2025 in Boston, Massachusetts
© Brandon Payne / Red Bull Content Pool
As riders moved on to the second zone, they focused on the jump and wall ride feature on the famous brick platform encircling the government building. The airtime allowed for a better viewing for the crowd and Snowboarding legend Todd Richards joined Grenier on the mic with entertaining banter and constant amazement of what the riders were pulling off. Sam Klein kept going for double backflips as Kaden Rusinko, Jake Aaronson, and LJ Henriquez opted for sliding on and on top of the massive wall ride. Maggie Leon brought her trademark style to wall as well but when the heats were over, Jessica Perlmutter and Benny Milam stood alone at the top. Benny put down a barrage of tricks on both features while Jessica landed the cleanest flip of the day in front of the roaring fans.
Red Bull Heavy Metal 2025 in Boston, Massachusetts
© Peter Cirilli / Red Bull Content Pool
The migration to the third zone was a bit trickier. Located on the opposite side of square facing the historic Faneuil Hall, roads were shut down to accommodate the attendees. Riders stood atop the massive stair set as fans surrounded the makeshift arena for the final section of the day. As the crowd grew, people started to fill up a neighboring parking garage to get a look at the battle about to go down. “To witness this in real life is a whole other thing than seeing it on Instagram,” said pro snowboarder and judge for the event, Luke Winkelmann. A 68 ft. kink rail on top of 40+ stairs was the only thing standing in the way of the riders chance for the top of the podium and some new hardware for their trophy case. Attempt after attempt sent riders sliding down stairs on their backs, boards, and elbows. A smaller creeper rail off to the side and another wall ride feature offered another route but as the main attraction heated up, Mees Oostdijk, Joey Fava, Lucas Magoon, Grace Warner, LJ Henriquez, Brantley Mullins, Irie Jefferson and the rest of the field battled to land their tricks with most coming out on top.
Benny Milam at Red Bull Heavy Metal 2025 in Boston, Massachusetts
© Peter Cirilli / Red Bull Content Pool
With words like “gladiators” and “heroes” being repeated over the speakers, the crowd understood that it was a special moment to witness. At past Heavy Metals the final feature may only be conquered by one or two riders, but in Boston with the will of the masses fueling the riders, a large group ended up getting the full rail and throwing their arms in the air as people celebrated at the bottom. Benny Milam and Jayva Jordan ended up as the respective men and women’s champ of the final zone which catapulted Benny on top for the overall champ alongside Jess Perlumutter who also took two zones on the day.
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Red Bull Heavy Metal Boston Results
Jess Perlmutter and Benny Milam at Red Bull Heavy Metal 2025 in Boston
© Brandon Payne / Red Bull Content Pool
- Overall Winners: Benny Milam and Jess Perlmutter
- Zone 1 Winners: Zeb Powell and Jess Perlmutter
- Zone 2 Winners: Benny Milam and Jess Perlmutter
- Zone 3 Winners: Benny Milam and Jayva Jordan
Having attended countless snowboarding contests over the past 15 years, we don’t think it is a stretch to say this one was a massive success. Between the atmosphere and sheer size of the crowd, this city not only deserved the event, but more than deserves a repeat. Whether they change the venue or the course, it is easy to see that as long as the riders show up to Boston, Boston will show up for the riders. Huge thanks to everyone that showed up to compete and watch! Can’t wait to do it again soon!
