Snowboarding took center stage in the Twin Cities this past weekend as 32 snowboarders descended on the Minnesota State Capitol Building for a showcase of no-holds-barred, progressive riding at Red Bull Heavy Metal.
Deemed Red Bull Heavy Metal Day by both statewide and city-wide proclamation, the stoke was unparalleled as Saint Paul Mayor, Melvin Carter, welcomed a roaring crowd to the proceedings.
This year, Red Bull Heavy Metal offered up even more opportunity for notoriety by crowning two overall champions, as well as winners and runners-up in each of three distinct zones, a hallmark of the Heavy Metal competitions from the early 2000s. Winkelmann and Wint emerged as the overall winners by dominating the competition throughout the entire day.
Zone 1 opened up the contest, sending competitors soaring over a 40-foot, two-stories-tall gap. Things further heated up for Zone 2, which featured a set of 25-foot down rails, one followed by a mandatory stair gap. As the sun set and golden light glinted of the windows of the Capitol, Zone 3 was the culmination of the day: a 60-foot down-flat-down handrail running the center of the Capitol’s stairs.
Wint, winner of Red Bull Heavy Metal Detroit in 2023, was a force from the start, putting down a frontside 360 as well as a lofty backflip to win Zone 1. She remained consistent with creative lines in Zone 2, including a frontboard on the down rail to back 180 over the stairs. In the final minutes of competition on the down-flat-down, she rode away from a boardslide, clenching the overall title for the second year in a row.
“Everyone was absolutely shredding,” said Wint, extolling the entire field. “It feels good to have the public be so welcoming and stoked on street snowboarding. Hopefully when they go home, they’ll see what’s up with the riders they saw. We’re bringing street snowboarding to the people!”
On the men’s side, Winkelmann’s all-terrain abilities stood out in each zone. He landed a perfect frontside 360 crail in Zone 1 and then doubled down in Zone 2 to win the stage, landing a barrage of creative tricks and lines, including a big cab 270 onto the gap rail. A backside bluntslide in the final zone cemented the overall win. “I never thought it’d be possible to legally snowboard a place like a state capitol building,” said Winkelmann. “This was awesome for street snowboarding. Thank you to Minnesota state officials for having us and supporting the vision.”
Iris Pham and Joey Fava both landed show-stopping tricks on the down-flat-down rail to best the field in Zone 3. The crowd erupted when Fava landed a backside lipslide, one of the most consequential tricks of the day. Pham left an equally lasting impression with a proper backside boardslide. “It’s exciting for all of us to be here,” she said. “We all support and push each other.”
Red Bull Heavy Metal Saint Paul marks the third iteration of the event since its revival in 2022 at Cascade Park in Duluth, MN. In 2023, it took over Hart Plaza in downtown Detroit, MI. Contest director and Minnesotan Joe Sexton has watched the progression each year. In addition to acknowledging that it was “a pretty surreal feeling” to hold a snowboard contest on the steps of the Capitol Building, Sexton said, “This event shows people how hard street snowboarding is, how technical it is—and it’s so exciting to watch. I think the riders feel the opportunity that is here and they feed off each other. It’s a really special event.”
The contest was emceed by legendary pro rider & Olympic commentator Todd Richards, and pro rider & host of The Bomb Hole Chris Grenier. Said Richards, “Being able to bring this caliber of riding to urban areas that don’t necessarily get the shine on their significance to the progression of the sport is the best thing ever.”
“The future of rail riding is very bright,” added Grenier. “The riders here have a great blend of technically sound snowboarding with unbelievably good style. Red Bull Heavy Metal is a great platform to showcase their talent.”
Slush the Magazine’s Justin “Stan” Leveille and The Bomb Hole’s Julia Spadaro kept the pulse as field reporters alongside a renowned judging panel comprised of Mikey LeBlanc, Tommy Gesme, and Mary Walsh.
FULL RESULTS
Overall Winners
Egan Wint and Luke Winkelmann
Zone 1
Winners – Egan Wint and Austin Visintainer
Runners-Up – Jaylen Hansen and Pete Croasdale
Zone 2
Winners – Veda Hallen and Luke Winklemman
Runners-Up – Grace Warner and Benny Milam
Zone 3
Winners – Iris Pham Joey Fava
Runners-Up – Grace Warner and Luke Lund
The event will be broadcast on ESPN2 on Saturday, February 25 at 9PM Central. Red Bull will also release video content to recap and support the event on the Red Bull Snow YouTube channel. More info on the event can be found at https://www.redbull.com/heavymetal
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