Up and coming snowboard pros

If you keep your eyes peeled in the world of global snowboarding and the competition circuit, you will begin to spot the rising stars, the prodigies, the up-and-coming snowboard pros. These are the young and ambitious, talented riders who hit the big jumps hard, pull record-breaking tricks, and take on any seasoned professional in the industry. 

We love to see innovation in the sport, the limits being pushed, and the riders smashing our beliefs of what we thought was possible. As such, we have compiled a list of the most exciting pro snowboarders to watch. This way, you’ll know which riders to keep an eye on. 

While we may not shred as hard as these rising snowboard pros, the great news is we can still match their style. Check out our snowboard jackets for women / snowboard jackets for men to create your dream look that rivals the pros on the slopes.

Female pros to keep an eye on

Ever heard of Mia Brookes or Kokomo Murase? You can watch these ladies excel at halfpipe, slopestyle, big air and even backcountry. Let’s get to know them a bit more..

Mia Brookes

Born: 19th January 2007

Hometown: Sandbach, England

Discipline: Slopestyle

Mia Brookes is the first name you should know. This young slopestyle sensation first strapped in at just 18 months old and learned to snowboard indoors before taking her skills to real snow in the Alps. She joined the GB Snowsports programme at the age of 10 and, at 11, competed in the 2018 British Snowboard Championships in Laax. In December 2020, she made her international debut, finishing second in the Europa Cup event in Piz Corvatsch, and then had to pump the brakes as she wasn’t old enough to compete in FIS events!

In 2022, she won the FIS Snowboarding Junior World Championships big air and snagged second in the slopestyle. Hampered by her age once more, she wasn’t able to compete in the 2022 Winter Olympics, but she’s been racking up wins around the world regardless and was named 2023 Young Sportswoman of the Year by The Times, as well as BBC Young Sports Personality of the Year. Needless to say, she’s just getting started. Keep an eye on this young dynamo as she continues to light up the big air and slopestyle scene, pushing women’s progression with her laid-back and fearless riding style.

Tess Coady

Born: 2nd November 2000

Hometown: Melbourne, Australia

Discipline: Slopestyle 

Tess Coady is the Australian sensation with a host of medals to her name, including an Olympic bronze medal from the 2022 Beijing Games. She also represented Australia in the 2018 Olympics at just 17 years old. Tess has been a strong competitor at every event she’s appeared at, characterised by her strong riding style and desire to go bigger than anyone else. Though her career hasn’t been studded with golds, Tess is always ready to throw down the biggest tricks and push progression, especially on the rails, which is what earns her a spot on our list here.

As some of the more dominant senior riders transition out of the competitive scene, Tess Coady is going to be hitting podium after podium for the next several years. With a silver at the Winter X Games in Aspen in 2023, we expect big things from Tess this coming season and can’t wait to see what she’s got in store. If her Instagram is anything to go by, it’s more fearless rail tricks, more big spins and deep landings, and plenty more jewellery around her neck.

Kokomo Murase

Born: 7th November 2004

Hometown: Gifu, Japan

Discipline: Slopestyle

Kokomo Murase is a name that’s been flying around for a while, making waves in the X Games, the Olympics, and everywhere else. So you might be surprised to learn she’s just 20 years old … and it gets even wilder. There’s not much about her formative years, but we know she spent plenty of time on snow. So much so that she caught the eye of the Japanese Snowboard team and made the trip to the 2018 Winter X Games in Norway, where she snagged a gold medal in the Big Air at just THIRTEEN years old, throwing down a 1080 double cork and a 1260 double cork, making her the first woman to land a 1260 in competitive snowboarding EVER.

And from there, it’s just medal after medal: silver at the 2019 X Games, two silvers and a bronze in 2020, bronze at the Olympics, bronze at the 2023 X Games, and two back-to-back golds and a silver at the X Games in 2024 in Aspen in Big Air, Knuckle Huck, and Slopestyle. She’s a powerhouse who always comes to win, and we shuffle forward on our seats every time she’s at the gates. Kokomo Murase has a long career ahead of her, and if she keeps going like this, she’ll be a name etched into the annals of snowboard history before she knows it.

Maisie Hill

Born: 12th February 2001

Hometown: Cheltenham, England

Discipline: Slopestyle

Maisie Hill is a British female snowboarder born in Cheltenham but raised in Morzine, France. And with Avoriaz, the French snowboard capital, just a gondola ride away, snowboarding was a huge part of her upbringing. Her almost lazy style is reminiscent of Dusty Hendrickson’s, and the way she throws rail tricks has us peeking through our fingers, hoping to hell she lands them. With a bag of tricks that other riders wish they had, Maisie is a creative powerhouse who’s just pure joy to watch.

In 2022, she got into a major accident in Switzerland. While training for the upcoming season, she collided with an ice wall and ended up breaking her spine, ribs, and pelvis, as well as suffering a fractured lung, a bleed on the brain, and a lacerated liver. She lost over 20% of her blood volume in the accident and nearly died. But she overcame insane odds to not only get back on her feet but also back on her board. And if you check out her Insta, you’ll see it hasn’t dampened her spirits. She says it changed her life and her way of thinking, but it made her more determined to train and work harder than ever before. Maisie is an inspiration on and off the snow, and she’s someone you’ll definitely want to keep an eye on to see just how far she can go.

Bea Kim

Born: 25th January 2007

Hometown: Palos Verdes, CA, USA

Discipline: Halfpipe

Uh, you mean Chloe Kim? No, actually, we don’t. And they’re not even related, either! Beatrice Kim is the 17-year-old 2026 American Olympic hopeful and new kid on the block who’s already making big things happen. She came out of the gates swinging and grabbed her first World Cup podium in 2024 with a silver at Laax, which took her to third in the FIS women’s halfpipe World Cup for the season. While she’d love to focus all her time and energy on riding, she needs to finish high school first. But she’ll be done with it by the time the 2026 Winter Olympics rolls around and she heads to Cortina in Italy.

Heading into her second season on the US Snowboard Team alongside her heroes Chloe Kim and Maddy Mastro, she’s already got plenty of podiums and places to her name. A silver in Leysin in 2022, a bronze on the Dew Tour in 2023, four career podiums on the Rev Tour, and a spot at the invite-only Secret Garden event in China all add up to her being a rider with a long career of golds ahead of her. She goes big, spins fast, and she’s still just learning the ropes. But so far, we’re loving what we’re seeing.

Up & coming male snowboard pros

Next up the gents! Get to know the most talented male riders and find out who did the first backside 2160-quin-cork and who became the first snowboarder in FIS Snowboard World Cup history to finish on the overall podium for Slopestyle, Halfpipe, and Big Air in the same season.

Guseli Valentino

Born: 1st April 2005

Hometown: Canberra, Australia

Discipline: Halfpipe, Slopestyle

This Red Bull athlete has a pretty storied career behind him, despite being just nineteen years old. He entered the scene at the tender age of just 13 years old, scoring second at the 2018 US Open Junior Jam in Vail, Colorado, before coming back in 2019 to snag the gold with a final run score of 96.99 points, more than four points clear of silver. In 2021, he made his World Cup debut at Laax at just 15, taking the top score in qualifying and placing eighth in finals against the best riders in the world. And then, just to top off that year, a day before his 16th birthday, he broke a record held by Shaun White (yes, that Shaun White) for eleven years for the highest air out of a halfpipe at 7.3 metres — 24 feet. And that’s clear of the top of the 22-foot halfpipe, making it a 46-foot clearance off the ground. Yikes.

In 2023, he became the first rider in FIS Snowboard World Cup history to finish on the overall podium for Slopestyle, Halfpipe, and Big Air in the same season and secured the Park and Pipe overall crystal globe for doing so. He also became the first rider in World Cup history to podium in all three events in the same season, finishing it with two Big Air golds, two silvers in Halfpipe, and a silver in Slopestyle. Not content with just that, he also went on to break another air record, hitting a whopping 11.5m (37.7 feet!) off the big-air hip jump at Swatch Nines. Oh, and he also represented Australia in the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, too. And he’s just getting started.

Hiroto Ogiwara

Born: 19th July 2005

Hometown: Ushiku, Japan

Discipline: Slopestyle

Hiroto Ogiwara is a relatively new name on the snowboard scene, but for this 19-year-old, snowboarding has always been a way of life. Picked up by both Red Bull and Burton, this kid has a big future ahead of him, and he showed everyone that when he landed the first backside 2160-quin-cork at The Nines in Switzerland. That’s five inverted flips combined with six full horizontal rotations. Yeah, let that sink in. But let’s back up. He grew up in the pow capital of the world — Japan — and always loved riding. At nine years old, he made a challenge video showing off his skills which went viral, and then at just 12, he made his professional debut in a ranked competition.

In 2021, he went on to win the All Japan Junior Ski Championships and the All Japan Ski Championships consecutively, and then rode in the World Rookie Finals for juniors in Austria. He won that at just 16 and then, in 2022, won the All Japan Ski Championship and the World Rookie Finals again. From there, it’s just been a blur of spins and tricks. Going forward, he’s got his sights locked on World Cup gold, X Games gold, and, of course, Olympic gold. And we wouldn’t be surprised if he does all three. Maybe in the same year. You heard it here first.

Liam Brearly

Born: 27th February 2003

Hometown: Gravenhurst, Canada

Discipline: Slopestyle, Halfpipe

Another “ATV,” Liam Brearly isn’t content with just dominating one style and rides Slopestyle, Halfpipe, and Big Air to great effect. At just 17, he burst onto the scene at the 2020 Youth Olympics, where he took home medals in all three events (Slopestyle, Halfpipe, and Big Air), scored two World Cup podiums, and took 2nd spot overall in the FIS Slopestyle rankings. Oh, and then he went on to compete as a professional wakeboarder that same summer. A self-professed sophist, he’s very interested in the idea of ‘flow state’ and has worked with neuroscientists to try to tap into it. Honestly, it seems to be working.

He focused on honing his skills, working closely with the GOAT, Mark McMorris, to develop his style and competitive mindset. In the 2023/24 season, he became Canada’s first crystal globe winner with two 1st place World Cup podiums in Laax and Silvaplana, earned 4th place on the overall points list for the season, and also walked away with a Dew Tour Streetstyle gold and an X Games Knuckle Huck gold. All of which adds up to a rider who not only knows how to rip but can put it down when he needs to as well. Watch this space: Liam Brearly is going to be a force to be reckoned with.

Patrick Hofmann

Born: 24th April 2001

Hometown: Lodrino, Switzerland

Discipline: Slopestyle

Patrick Hofmann might not have quite the achievement-studded career of some of the others on this list, but that doesn’t take away from the pure joy you get from watching him ride. With an effortless, jib-heavy style, you’ll see the kind of creative riding you’d expect from the likes of Danny Davis and Dusty Hendrickson. Nose-pressing over knuckles, late pull-backs and insane pretzels, and the filthiest, most extended methods in the game. Oh, and some one-footed tricks that would give Bode Merell a run for his money. Every time this kid straps in, he’s having the absolute best time on the mountain.

But that’s not to say he doesn’t have competitive capabilities, either. This Nitro-sponsored rider can throw big tricks and big spins, and his ability to approach features with total unpredictability and inhibition is always exciting to watch. He’s taken plenty of podiums as a result, with a pair of bronzes and a silver at World Cup events in 2018, his first gold in 2019, and a good few medals since! He’s now a lock for The Nines every year, and we expect his name to start popping up in the X Games and Dew Tour, too. Oh, and the 2026 Olympics, of course. It’s in his backyard, after all!

Yiming Su

Born: February 2004

Hometown: Jilin City, China

Discipline: Slopestyle

The final name on our list is the Chinese superstar Yiming Su, who staked his claim on this list when he snagged a silver at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, putting down an 1800 in the Slopestyle finals. Everyone was crying out that he should have won, with the finals mired in controversy as the gold medal winner, Max Parrot, didn’t grab his board but rather his knee on the final trick of the run. Pros, judges, and viewers around the world maintain that Su was robbed and that he was the true gold medal winner. This didn’t dampen his spirits, however, as he then went on to win the gold in the Big Air soon after. And all before his 18th birthday!

Since then, he’s been a stalwart in the X Games and, in 2023, took bronze in the Big Air in Aspen. He’s now been picked up by Red Bull, as well as the likes of Cartier and Adidas, making him the first Chinese pro snowboarder to really break into what has historically been a Western-dominated sport. Thanks to all of Burton’s hard work to increase the profile of the sport, plenty of Japanese and Chinese riders have broken through in the last decade. But now, Yiming Su leads the charge from China, and we can’t wait to see what his example is going to set in motion. He goes big, he goes hard, and we can’t wait to see him continue to compete and win in the future.

Wrapping up

You heard it here first; after keeping our ears to the ground and having a keen eye to spot the best of the best, we would put good money on these up and coming snowboard pros to lead the industry and change it. These riders will shake up the world of snowboarding with their ambition, creativity and flair, and we can not wait to see it! Although, it does make us question what we were up to at 14 years old and how we could have maybe done things a little differently… 

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