The Athletes

About

Born in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, and son to a ski patroller, Travis Rice has the snow in his blood. He is hailed by critics as the best all-round snowboarder in the world and is one of the most globally renowned riders to date. With over twelve years of elite competition experience and over thirty grand slam titles in his possession, ‘Trice’ is a veteran of the slopes.

However, unlike most pro snowboarders who started competing from an early age, Travis didn’t enter his first major competition until he was 18. In 2001, the young outsider entered Snowboarder magazine’s event, Superpark. There he attempted something that others wouldn’t dare: a handful of backside rodeos over a 100-foot-plus kicker. He left a star.

Travis’ career skyrocketed as he not only won a place to compete in the Winter X Games that following season but he also landed a part in the snowboarding film, Transcendence. It is perhaps on film that Rice has made the largest impact. In 2005, together with his business partner, Curt Morgan, he co-founded Brain Farm Digital Cinema. Brain Farm is responsible for making some of the highest-selling snowboarding films in history, such as That’s It, That’s All in 2008 and The Art of Flight in 2011.

In 2012, Travis founded his own event, Red Bull Supernatural. The competition combines freeriding in natural terrain with freestyle tricks to create an event that favours the all-round rider. Jumps are created in the summer so that they become part of the mountain when the snow falls in the winter. The event has been a huge success and is set to get bigger, better and badder – for 2013, the event was renamed Ultra Natural and is fast-becoming one of the most prestigious events in the world of snowboarding.