 Welcome to St. Paul Minnesota where the world's best street snowboarders have descended on the Capitol building for a competition that features one-of-a-kind obstacles and lines. These features will not only test the riders technical skills but also showcase their personal style. It's the ultimate in street snowboard competition. This is Red Bull Heavy Metal. How's it going everybody? Todd Richards here with Chris Grenier. Now Chris historically local government officials and snowboarding not the warmest welcome but today they've got the red carpet rolled out for them. Absolutely it's a beautiful thing Todd and we're here in a city snowboarding. Oftentimes snowboarding is found in the mountains at the ski resort but this comes from skateboarding. It's about sliding down rails. It's about features you find at a skate park or in the streets and that's what we're doing. It's gonna be a beautiful beatdown of some steel here in St. Paul. We have trucked in the snow and built three competition zones. Zone one is a gap on the Capitol building's western side where an electric winch will tow riders into a 40-foot gap. Then we move over to the front steps of the Capitol for zone two which is a pair of down rail features and zone three keeps the action on the main stairs but focuses on the Megalodon the single kinked rail. We're doing jam sessions today with the men and women starting at the same time for a 45 minute qualifying period. The riders will drop in as quickly as our cameras and judges can keep up. After that the judges will pick the riders who move on to the finals of each zone and after those 15 minute final sessions end we'll name a men's and women's winner and runner up for each zone all leading to the overall men's and women's champions. Today we have the top street snowboards coming from all across North America and Europe. You'll see a mix of veterans and up incoming riders. We have Olympic gold medalists and local heroes. We got big names like Seb Toots, Benny Milam, Zeb Powell, and Grace Warner. It's a group that will deliver the most progressive railriding in the world. Therefore I'm Melvin Carter, Mayor of the City of St. Paul. Do hereby proclaim today Saturday February 10th 2024 to be Red Bull Heavy Metal Day in the City of St. Paul. Let's do it. Normally if you try to like go skateboard or snowboard at the state Capitol at least skateboarding you'll take your skateboard away. Like the rebel in us that wants to get out and ride stuff that wasn't built for us but looks perfect for us to ride on. Do something illegal. The heavy metal for me feels like street snowboardings main stage. So it's basically just street skateboarding but with snow and on your snowboard. You take any feature that you see in your normal park whether it's jumps, rails, boxes and you try to find it in the streets of like any urban city or town. Red Bull Heavy Metal is quite a gnarly event. It brings I mean they brought out the best street snowboarders in the world to come ride this. You will see a lot of carnage and that's you know people going out there and risking their life. Yeah there's definitely carnage and it's kind of gnarly when you like watch your friends fall and then you're like alright I'm gonna go try it now. We're all sort of adrenaline junkies at heart you know. It's scary, fun. You get all the emotions in it you know exciting, frustrating. I think that's why what makes it epic. I like to push that bar a little bit. It's it's always nice to scare yourself and overcome fear. To overcome that fear and push through till you ride away and get it the way you like it. It's like this euphoric feeling that you can't really explain. Being able to trust yourself and be like yeah I was pooping my pants at the top and now we're here at the bottom and I just had the most fun and by the end of it it didn't scare me at all. Getting to feel that arc of progression just within yourself within a couple hours I think you really surprise yourself and it feels really good. Alright the riders are getting slingshotted into the qualifier for zone one. Remember there are three zones you have to make it through in order to go home with the overall crown here at Red Bull Heavy Metal but first you got to make it into the final if you really want those points to count. Now Chris talk for a second here about how special Red Bull Heavy Metal is and a setup like this and how unique it is for these riders to be competing in a format like this. Yeah well said Todd. Well one thing to notice is that these riders are getting pulled in on a winch so that's a trick in itself just to make it to the jump and then you got to fly over this gap where there's metal and all kinds of things you get mangled on if you don't make it and then you got to survive and then you got to land on some rock hard snow so it's it's definitely a special event and these are the best in the world just trying to make it through qualifiers here Todd. No idea no idea what's going on. And it's cool too because I think it's such like a gladiator pit here there the audience is really a part of this you know they're right up close with the athletes there's snow being sprayed in people's faces it's a very visceral experience and it's exciting people flying through the air upside down right in front of you and it's something special to be holding. It's definitely a head on a swivel situation Todd there's people flying all over the place the filmers even have to keep their head on a swivel as you can see the cameraman almost took one to the jugular right there Todd that is sketchy now you said there's the winch right there Egan winch going across here trying to qualify in you want to make it into that final round because this is the cumulative point event where you want to take your victories from each of the events and move on to the final. Absolutely they got a whittle it down pick the best of the best so you're gonna want to stay on your feet to make it into this final with an athlete roster this stacked let's see how it lines up. The judges have advanced four women and eight men to the zone one final the men's side Benny Milam Sebastian Tutant and Luke Winkelman on the women's side defending heavy metal champion Egan winch along with Veda Holland Jalen Hansen and Iris Pham a panel of three veteran judges are scoring our athletes on four aspects of street snowboarding style trick difficulty the execution of those tricks and the overall impression of how all those ingredients come together. Okay finals are underway we're gonna kick things off with Benny Milam a Midwest Ripper start things off with the backside 720 over this 40 foot gap couldn't quite find the landing gear there Todd. Okay next up we got Austin Viz launching a backside 720 nose grab over this massive gap the pride and joy of Spokane. Does it feel good to make it into finals you got four runs do you have the tricks in mind? I sure hope so you know I'm hitting a street jump can't believe I made it stoked to be here you know go to back serve hopefully we can put it down for the rest of the events. I have faith in you dude looking good out there. All right up next coming out of North Carolina we got Luke Winkelman he can do it all folks slope style rails jumps started off with the frontside 540 stale fish on this gigantic gap and then right into Pete Crosdale coming in quick 180 into a 540 right there for Pete so a lot going on before the takeoff of the jump and he's with Stan. I'm joined by Pete Crosdale kind of a Midwest legend I'm just curious do you feel like you're getting any home court advantage here today? Honestly yes this jump is pretty much exactly like Highland is just icy and sketchy. It's my daily life. Okay so you're primed you're ready you got the next three planned out? No. Good. Smart. Cool. Thanks Pete. Up next we have an absolute weapon Vada Hullen launching over this gap with a beautiful indie poke love to see it. That was insane and next we're going into Egan Wynne and she's got some hopes and dreams for this gap jump. I'm like embarrassed to say it because it's like kind of a faux pas in rail jams. I'd love to do a backflip. All right so Chris usually if you're upside down at a rail jam something has gone drastically wrong but thrown a beautiful punch side 360 over the gap. Love that toe pop launching into the stratosphere that's just good fundamentals there from Egan Wynne we'd love to see it. Now she loves it the crowd loves it up next we got Sebastian Tutan coming from Quebec Olympic gold medalist stomping that frontside 540 indie grab. All right straight into Benny once again he's setting this up here coming off of his toes backside snaps into a back seven nose grab perfect landing on that one. Check it guess that nose grab releases and then it's all about setting a heel edge to not fly into the audience. Okay here we got Irie Jefferson putting up a backside seven couldn't quite find the landing still manages to jam 180 off that barrel. All right Jalen Hansen is in now let's go of the rope and goes with a nice stale fish over the gap and throws the brakes on. Well Jalen is a bit of a hometown hero she's from the Midwest as well now up next here comes Luke Winckelman for his second run from the finals he's coming in switch switch frontside 720 getting upside down launching off the barrel this is electric. Joined by Luke Winckelman street snowboarder contest snowboarder this is kind of a combination of the both what's the strategy in an event like this. You know just another World Cup big-air brother. No I'm just cruising doing the tricks I know I can land and trying to vibe. Good thank you yeah. Austin Vizz getting the snap into the gap goes off of his toes toto flip 540 landing perfect. That was clutch right there Todd here comes Iris Pham up and coming rider absolute destroyer goes big old method that's a fan favorite from Iris. Egan Wint getting the snap into this gap and goes straight up and over there's the backflip she wanted it just barely got away from her she talked about it then she let the backflip bark here comes Denver or he's riding switch stance which is backwards from his normal stance going switch backside 540 over that 40-foot gap wow. I reach ever since here he comes this is the first time he's ever used a winch today and that is one of the hazards Chris talk to talk about that and how you know just using the winch is can be scary on its own. Well that was a game-time decision he had to put on the brakes we would have fallen in that gap and gotten mangled now here comes Benny Milam switched with a switch under flip seven couldn't quite find the landing gear takes a faceful of metal into that railing there Todd. Not only that but the audience can get a snowboard right in the face you don't really experience that at many snowboard events. Vada Holland now getting ready for her whip into this jump remember it's 20 feet down 40 feet across to make it to the sweet spot and she throws a beautiful frontside 360. Yeah timeless style on that frontside 360 she stomped it you can see the impact Austin Viz has been on a tear all day long can you find the landing gear shot out of a cannon with that sloth roll a bit of a bounce situation see if you can clean that up on his next run we call that trick a sloth roll. Pete Crosdale he's getting his whip in here sets his edge coming off of his heels frontside 720 tail grab perfect he's been on a tear on this jump this is a huge event for Pete Crosdale up and coming rider looking for some shine now here comes a veteran in the game Benny Milam coming in switch launching backwards into that switch under flip 5 40 tuck knee tweaking it his back's probably gonna feel that tomorrow. Austin Viz once again this is coming rapid fire at this point goes into another one of those sloth rolls an inverted backside 360 this time. Okay that's a new generation trick we called a sloth roll Todd you're pretty old people probably didn't do that back when you were snowboarding. No I for sure did that but usually it's because I hooked my toe off of the jump. Egan went into the next attempt here will she stop the back lift this time and she gets it perfectly. We love to see it the crowd is fired up people are going bonkers Egan's fired up she showed up today and she put on a show there Todd up next we got Sebastian to talk here he comes switch backside 5 40 let's go down to Stan who's with Egan Wint. Alright Egan you're kind of a you know a renaissance rider when it comes to these contests just something happened within you when you get out here you just turn into an animal. Yeah I like black out during these things I black out I like get totally manic and crazy and come to at the end and at the award ceremony and see what I did. Well I think we're going to be seeing you win some money after this event that was looking great. While she wanted it and she got it after the first of our three zones defending champion Egan Wint is on top of the leaderboard Jalen Hanson and Vita Holland are closely grouped behind her followed by Iris Pham on the men's side it's even more closely grouped together with a pack that includes 2022 Red Bull heavy metal champion Benny Milam and US national team snowboarder Luke Winkleman chasing Austin Viz. I mean what do we feel in are we going to be rubbing this in Pat Fava's face later what's going through your head. Definitely rubbing it in Pat's face can't even believe it on the jump yeah crazy haven't even hit a jump all year feels great man so stoked. Yeah street cred is through the roof we're at the Capitol building less pressure more pressure going into the zones that you feel a little more comfortable in I'd say the steel yeah I'm excited I think pressure is kind of off I'm just like so stoked to be here it's gonna be a good evening for sure. The results for zone one the gap jump are in and for the women Vita rode great all zone one with that front three Jalen Hanson with the backside 360 landing here in second and of course our winner Egan Wint launching a backflip into the stratosphere and the men went technical over the gap that's Benny Milam with that cab under flip Tuckney Pete Crosdale local hero landed in second place with that frontside seven and our winner of zone one Austin Viz with a beautiful backside 720. We move over to the Capitol steps for zone two that's next as Red Bull Heavy Metal continues from St. Paul Minnesota. Welcome back to Red Bull Heavy Metal and the start of our first rail section joining the competition after sitting things out in zone one is Grace Warner a stylish and fearless snowboarder who can threaten for a podium position. I like to push that bar a little bit it's it's always nice to scare yourself and overcome fear I'm a bit of a thrill seeker and I like to battle something until it's completed I look at it more so as an art form and the spot aesthetic and the way something's filmed means a lot to me I think snowboarding for me has always been a way of self-expression it's kind of like the only way I've really felt like myself I truly feel like me when I'm on a snowboard that's why I feel that I've fallen so deeply in love is because I have like this special connection to it which might sound weird like I might be obsessed but I'm obsessed with snowboarding it's so insane. Alright Chris so zone one done and dusted a third of this competition is over we move over here into the hand rail portion we have two rails on either side of the set of stairs it is not soft it is not cuddly at all and these riders are throwing down. Now let me tell you something Todd I was walking around the course earlier today the snow is firm there's concrete everywhere this is high consequence and believe it or not these snowboards are sliding down these handrails Todd I know you use them for walking because you're so old. That is very true Chris both up and down the stairs when you get to be my age they come in very useful now Chris we talk about rail riding and how accessible it is to people that don't have huge mountains tell me a little bit about that. Well the beauty of rail riding is all you need is a couple inches of snow and a rail and you can do it anywhere especially here in Minnesota a lot of the best rail riders in the world are from this area and you can tell that the crowd is alive and well look at how many people came out to support snowboarding it's alive and well and we just love to see it. Yep Saint Paul has definitely showed up a packed crowd to watch the likes of Joey Fava Grace Warner coming out and throwing down now this is the qualifier to make it into the final of zone two accumulative process of stacking points to get you to go home as a winner. You want to make the tricks look good you want to make them look effortless that's what it's all about crowd favorite Gabby Maiden well she's not moving on but all the other zone one finalists are back for the zone two final plus we're adding in Grace Warner half of the men are making it to their first zone final Garrett McKenzie Mace Osjik and Ryan Paul are all in there all right zone two finals underway right now is the drone gives us a great view it's those two rails on either side one has a gap in the other is just a straight down bar and there's a little bit of a bonus feature on the stairs Luke Winkleman will start us off now Luke he's coming in backwards which is his switch stance with a switch frontside 270 you'll also notice Todd that these riders are always fighting to get speed so you see Austin Biz getting slingshot it into this gap rail where he does a hard way frontside 270 now the judges out here are looking for technicalities spinning onto the rail they're taking consideration of what angle you approach the rail will you complete the entire slide and very very technical aspect is your style how your poise is on the rails is equally as important as to the technical merits of the trick now you want to do hard tricks and make them look easy a lot like Benny Milam does he is a technician the blend of style and technicality Garrett McKenzie's got it too he's been riding great all day look at that spinning 360 landing in a 5050 total precision now here we have Vada Holland did great on the jump now she's serving it up on the rail with the frontside blood slide 270 out she's looking like a contender here Todd and look at how many people have come out to celebrate snowboarding in Minneapolis Saint Paul usually if you were out here riding rails on the Capitol steps you would be booted in 30 seconds but they have rolled out the red carpet for these riders here today okay we have a fan favorite a crowd pleaser Ryan Paul he's got a technical backside 270 ready to that nollie front flip down the stairs the crowd loves it they're going ballistic never underestimate a front flip and what that will do to a crowd's enthusiasm Ryan Paul makes it over the bonus stairs at the bottom now we have zone one winner Egan Wint blood thirsty for the win going for that nose slide pretzel and she pays the piper there so Egan goes down Austin viz also a big contender his domination of zone one was not something to take lightly and he's looking just as strong over here on the rails remember three zones this is two of three now we got Garrett McKenzie coming in with a tail tapped a blunt slide switch back 180 down the stairs that's going to check the creativity box for these judges okay here comes Pete right here switch backside 270 goes down the snow is not soft at here there is a switch backside lip slide from Luke Winkleman Garrett McKenzie you're someone who's got a deep bag of tricks how deep can we expect you to go here in this zone two it's not always deep you know it's like it's a circumstantial depth some days it's shallow okay and today how does it feel i don't know i don't know how much do you have to save for this third crazy kink rail are you saving something uh yeah i'm ready this is what i'm here for okay cool well we're excited to see that thanks carrot well you know that rail that's in the center there is looming ominously for these riders but they have to get through these two down bars in zone two before they get to take a crack at that now this event has been a spectacle so far and benny mylam has been consistently landing tricks a lot like a conveyor belt a machine one would say of a grades benny we saw you in zone one looking incredible zone two you were just warming this thing up i've got it i've got to ask do you save something for zone three do you leave it all on the line what's the strategy honestly just wing it like i'm kind of just winging it getting juiced up off people doing crazy stuff like rp back to front flip yeah kind of just going with the flow i guess all right well i'm excited to see where that flow leads that's good work benny okay stand yeah all right iggan went taking another crack at this nose slide pretzel out and doesn't get it again now that rail is steep it puts you into the ground it's a straight up pile driver into this rock hard snow now here we have ryan paul a true showman he knows how to work the crowd now he's dropping in switch what's he got for us Todd switch back to 70 into a switch nollie front flip i mean he is a local boy here cutting his teeth on the local hills the rope toes he's not scared of throwing himself over this cement snow look at him using that nose like a diving board the crowd's fired up he's crap he's fired up we love to see it and these riders you know they're keeping the energy up they've been pounding it out here all day long remember this is only zone two of three there's still that giant kink rail in the middle yet for them to tackle now one of the beautiful things about this setup is it's a long event and it really shows how deep their bags of tricks are how good these snowboarders truly are Todd yeah and the judges they don't want to see you just repeat the same trick over and over if you're a rider that can adapt and do a whole bunch of different moves you're going to be rewarded by the judges oh my god Benny Milam that was not gluten-free snowboarding right there that was a full feast of gluten i'm sorry now that is just buttery smooth right there that's that i can't believe it's not butter fabio situation here we have sam kline going for that gap back 350 oh it's it's sketchy when you miss on a backside 360 250 you will end up on the stairs now luke winkelman putting on a show all day long you can see the riders are kind of starting to slow down a little bit fatigue perhaps getting to him yeah this is uh these guys are athletes here they are trained professionals and iris fam is one of the best in the business she's known for dominating rail jams like she's doing here in this zone two section well you definitely have to talk about that it is a marathon not a sprint you've got another full section to go after this one each one of these sessions would be an ender for me as we see egan get bucked over that last set of stairs well we all know that your physical fitness is not great todd but these riders fortunately they do have great fitness it's a lot like rocky running up the stairs that's what these guys are doing here's a switch lip 270 benny just can't be stopped today benny is putting on a demo out here grace warner getting a little bit better every time that she hits these rails egan looking for a re-up there's that frontside 360 and sits down this is the frenzy towards the end of this event and here we have pete crossdale a k sneaky pete dropping in switch back to getting annihilated wow that will conclude zone two unbelievable the zone two victories go to veda holland and luke winkelman veda's 92.7 score edged out grace warner's 90.9 and winkelman's 94.5 is nearly four points better than benny mylums on the overall score board after two zones veda holland surges into the lead a slam one point edge over egan wint and on the men's side luke winkelman his victory also vaults him into the lead one point better than austin viz veda unreal performance zone two open up that rail section you are stomping that's got to feel good what was the strategy how we feeling oh i'm so happy to be out here with all my homies kind of had a hard morning this morning i took a bit of a bail in practice so it's good to just put my feet down and get some stuff under my belt so i'm really stoked this is crazy i don't know how to feel luke winkelman absolutely surgical out there also a solid contender in zone one now a winner of zone two you got your eyes on the overall podium what's that vibe i'm looking for it i'm looking for it all right so yeah we'll be we'll be grinding literally all right zone two done and dusted the women they put on a show iris fam consistent all day long grace warner put on a show road smooth excellent style and of course our winner veda could not be stopped and the men they crush these rails ryan paul the crowd pleaser himself and we have benny mylum the conveyor belts of technicality and our smooth as silk operator luke winkelman got that top spot all right all eyes are now on that third kink rail welcome back to red bull heavy metal the red bull people come in and bring it all and bring trucks of snow and set it up and bring the rails and set it up like it's crazy to watch red bull heavy metal celebration of street snowboarding began in the early 2000s shining a light on a style of riding that makes use of features that wouldn't look at a place at a skate park rails gaps stairs hubbys anything that you would find at your local skate park that you would session the series was revived in 2022 at the iconic cascade park in the loose minnesota in 2023 the world's elite street snowboarders made the pilgrimage to heart plaza in downtown detroit this year the minnesota state capital is the home for three intimidating challenges a 40 foot two-story gap jump a set of 25 foot down rails and a massive 60 foot down flat down rail in front of the capitals entrance no other contest has winches and do a big step down or is dropping out of the state capital which is pretty insane thing that we get to we get the blessing of doing any other day of the week we would be kicked out of that spot so it's really cool to get permission and actually be able to snowboard in front of something so beautiful it's honestly an honor all right chris so here we go this is zone number three and arguably the most nerve-wracking feature that we have out here for these riders to take on a gigantic down flat down kink rail this thing is absolutely huge and it's going to put the riders to the test let me tell you Todd this kink rail is like a bucking bronco once you hit that flat it wants to eject you and just making it to the end of this balancing act is a sheer feat oh i uh i kissed some stairs earlier right on the face yeah they didn't even take me out to dinner cruise let's go on with sam kline kids but first one to kind of take that challenge rail that's gotta feel good crowd went crazy feels great i'm here to entertain hell yeah anything big planned for this sub from board front board you heard it here folks wow okay uh front board heavy claim on this big kink rail chris i mean these riders have to be looking at this thing just being like oh my gosh what did i sign up for hey globin kind of a big performance just went absolutely crazy on that kink rail again you are the qualifier that's gotta feel good to show up make the crowd go crazy it feels great just having a chance to be here so fun yeah and uh you got some hometown pride going on in that advantage helping you out here today it's helping me out a lot because i like i don't know so many people in the crowd just doing it for them heck yeah man we'll get back up there that was incredible that's one of the beautiful things about this contest Todd we have local heroes like beck and we have olympic gold medalists like seb toots and of course we have egan wint who's hungry for the win i mean here's the way this thing has to shake down you have to make it to the end of this rail to even be considered to move on to the final round for zone three i said it earlier i'm gonna say it again it's a balancing act it's hard to put into words how difficult it is to make it to the end of this quote unquote challenge rail and i mean you've got to be able to be in control enough so you can handle that speed as you get spit out of where that kink is in the middle of this rail and then you can be like sam cline you can opt to skip the entire kink bunny hop over that thing and just take it out of the equation now chris i would never step on to this rail even if you paid me a large sums of money but i have to imagine that once you jump on you've got to be concentrating on the end of this rail or else you're just going to slip off the side 100 and coming off early there's a lot of consequence with all that concrete with all the impact but here we have joey fava early getting into the back lip setting the tone Todd joey fava locking into the backside lip slide the crowd goes absolutely mental was that a fluke was that like just the luck of the lock right there that was just unbelievable to see this trick happening so early in the competition this is just monumental for snowboarding the amount of danger of sliding backwards taking your heels into that kink there's so much consequence here unreal looking in there locking into it making it perfectly total control and joey's just like what just happened that's what you dream about when you're dreaming about doing a back lip and your mind snowboarding that's what you envision that joey fava back lip now we got back going for the back three there is no regard for safety you could get annihilated on that trick yeah and joey just basically set the rest of the competitors on fire the bar has been raised and that's just qualifiers we haven't even started finals but a lot of these snowboarders might be out of a job after that back lip Todd well they're gonna be doing their best to make it into the finals for zone three there's mace half cab 50 50 coming off just a little bit early yeah this thing again we've said it before i'm gonna say it again it's a balancing act joey is still recovering from this monumental move in snowboarding something that is actually will go down in history that backside lip side is one of the greater tricks ever done on a handrail iggan wince coming off a little bit early the rider is just trying to make it through to the end of this rail and that right there is what we call a stair massage yeah if you want to win the contest you can't be afraid of eating some concrete and mace certainly isn't he's hungry he's getting a lot of drops Todd he's been attacking this king trail all right grace Warner locking into that 50 50 and making it to the end that's how you get it done and guaranteeing your spot into the final and that was square off the end no questions asked that's what the judges want to see they want to see you come off oh we got the joey fava crab walk look at this Todd taking the internet by storm if you haven't seen his crab walk check out joey fava's instagram well here comes his brother pat fava let's go down and talk to joey fava right now about that back lip all right joey fava just back lips uh in what i can only call an unthinkable moment uh did you go just blank brain for that were you thinking about that what happened there i tried to practice a couple times i had a feeling i could do it and then that one honestly it worked out i surprised myself and just insane i surprised myself dude yeah your brother who's kind of been on a winning tear in these rail jams you kind of just put him on notice yes that's good yeah i got to put him in his place sometimes but that's my dog i freaking love him so much dude so happy to be here snowboarding just one after that thank you joe let's go thank you and again this is just a qualifier not even the finals and things are heating up eagan wint she is like a shark circling right now and there's blood in the water i gotta say you know if you're joey fava right now what is your technique for the rest of the event because it's hard enough to make it down this to the end never mind throwing a back lip do you think that his strategy now is going to be try something different or keep practicing a back lip to maybe take it to finals it's hard to say i think consistency is key in this event making it to the end is going to be absolutely crucial a lot like garret mckenzie just did on that tail press but consistency is going to be the key to success here all right well you don't want to peek too early benny oh wow benny slamming his shoulder right into that rail it looks like his elbow is out of place right now and he's casually popping it back in these guys are gladiators this is serious serious stuff wow benny and that's benny one of the best in the world i mean it's just shows you how tough these streets can be if you've got someone that needs to give your elbow a little yank to get you back out there that's what it takes a hundred percent and it shows how gnarly it is that's a little out of character for benny mylum the technician to take a fall like that it puts in perspective how aggressive this kink rail is yeah and i mean look you've got to be so on it here this rail giant kink rail down flat down is the equalizer here today it's definitely going to really influence what happens going into the overall standings of red bull heavy metal yeah and for this just to be the qualifier i can't imagine the finals so there's austin viz he's looking like a contender for the top spot and you got to remember when you come off early on this kink rail it is a hell ride down these stairs yeah not only you know are you disappointed in not being able to make it to the end for the judges but also now you have to contend with just getting ragdoll down some cement steps okay we've wrapped up zone three qualifier christ how did it go down well here we have luke lund with a beautiful 5180 out iris fam's locked and loaded on that board slide eagan wint showing up all day long in zone three and grace warner locking it right off the end of this gigantic kink rail luke winkleman rode really great in qualifiers as did mace with the half cab 50 back one and of course austin viz a contender all day long king of style another style got himself luke winkleman but it was really all about joey fava's backside lip slide that was the star of the show all the riders in contention are moving on to the finals of zone three the current overall leader for the women veda holland is followed by eagan wint iris fam jalen hanson and grace warner on the men's side of things luke winkleman advances to the final followed by his five closest competitors mace ojik and sam kline round out the field the final competition to determine the red bull heavy metal champion is next it's the final round for street snowboarding's premiere event this is red bull heavy metal luke winkleman is on top of the leaderboard right now heading into our third and final zone a daunting 60 foot down flat down rail and it's a feature that winkleman will have to attack with precision style and an infectious attitude if he wants to get the job done i guess my like essence or energy when i'm snowboarding is just i'm just trying to smile and have fun like i get to do this as my job is like pretty rad so i'm just always happy i get to live my dream and i just want to also show people how fun it is for me i'm just gonna try and hit every feature i can as much as i can and just lay as many tricks out there i want to ride consistently so i want to be landing lots of stuff which is much easier said than done street snowboarding is kind of a way that we can like express how we want our snowboarding to be seen or even just like our creative lifestyle it's crazy like going out to the cities and trying to film like real spots like handrails and gaps roof jumps like wall rides all kind of stuff it's a good way that you know we can kind of express our style i guess all right let's get this party started all right so luke winkleman will start us off here in this zone three final remember all the scores are carrying over from zones one and two not only do you want to win this but you also want to win that overall and luke is in the running this is the thunderdome this is the final welcome to the show and one thing about a rail gym is you always want to end on a bank people remember the bangers at the end like garret mckenzie putting down that 50 50 back 270 to board slide and you know we were talking about it earlier how the qualifier for this kind of was running like a final in terms of the energy and the tricks that were going down will the riders be able to bring it to another level here in this final is the question yeah where do we go from here Todd that is a big question it's hard to go up from that joey fava backlip but gary mckenzie looks locked in he wants it look at that board slide 270 reverting back the back one he's in a flow state rocking the boat trying to keep his balance iris fam probably one of the best styles once she gets locked down to a rail of any of the women no stranger to a rail jam final she's won a lot of money in her career dominating the steel and here comes luke winkleman in this final luke there he goes 270 off the end i mean it's really kind of a battle of trying to build as much technical tricks as you can while you know concentrating on making it to the end let's look at this board slide blunt slide 270 out that's perfection that's what the judges want to see straight off the end no questions asked are we going to see another backlip from joey fava i want to know what are the odds of him being able to do it again it's a two to make it oh my god he did it once did that occur he did it again well wow joey fava i mean i go buy yourself a lottery ticket right now that was insane i can't believe that he put it down but that just shows you how good joey fava is on riding rails give this guy a raise so you go up over the top with that backside lip slide high risk locks it in comes off the end this is just all i can say is this give this guy a raise wow i can't believe it his brother pat going crazy that was insane here comes his brother pat fava looking for the no slide pretzel he's still excited about his brother doesn't even care he didn't make it oh luke lawn does enter the chat this is insane you know it takes a second for the riders to heat it up and get warmed up on this rail but then it just starts to be a stoke train people making tricks one after another now that's nader looking for that switch front side 270 he's betting big to win big but sometimes it doesn't pan out well you're gonna have to bring something extra special as iris fam just comes down perfect style all the way to the end that's what she does when it's time to show up she clocks in punches her card and she wants the money she wants the respect she wants to dominate iris just absolute perfection of a board slide on that what is that feeling crowd went crazy i'm so happy i just wanted to do something i was stoked on today and that was it that was stoked for all of us incredible work uh what's left out there now i don't know me i don't know i'm just happy thank you iris wow i mean it's it's hard to deny how happy she must feel after perfect board slides but this final is on fire right now it's like a train engine once the train gets rolling it gets going good it takes a minute to get going once the straight train gets going it can't be stopped and another thing to notice too this is a jam session as fast as the riders can get back up to the top they can just keep going and going there is no minimum amount of times or maximum amount of times these riders can hit this down flat down now that's one of our european riders mace with a switchboard slide 270 out another perfect move down the kick joey faaba nose cuss back one joey quietly dismantling this rail he is on another level right now yeah his special meters up he can't be stopped he can't believe that he went to the end on that nose press back 180 again a nose press is very technical this is a replay of mace not of joey but that was a perfect switchboard slide 270 and then here's joey's nose press leaning over the nose into that kink rail is extremely high consequence if it goes wrong all right back up to the top pat fava is trying to build on some of the stoke his brother is delivering right now he really wants that backside 270 on and not landing solid on the rail that's just not safe todd they don't care there is no nothing they won't do to win this contest back oh inches from glory i can't tell you how big for snowboarding that would have been that would have been one of the heaviest tricks we've ever seen in the history of street snowboarding now eagan needs to land something to get this overall she's looking good in zone one and two can she seal the deal in zone three yeah there's a lot of pressure on austin viz as well he needs to put down something solid but someone that's making a real move right now is joey fava that's him getting bucked off of that kink if your weight isn't perfect it will eject you like it just did joey these guys are tired there's only a few minutes left they're heated up pat wants the backside too i can't tell you how unsafe that move is it's so scary that's the ultimate commitment as soon as you leave you spin on there and all you're trying to do is balance perfectly but you've got a lot of factors working against you now mace is coming with a late push with that half-gap 50 to no slide pretzel he's showing up late he looks like he wants it can eagan seal the deal she needs to make something on this eagan will she make it she comes off early wow now we're starting this is the push towards the end here the riders the crescendo this is the end of the fourth of july celebration the fireworks are going absolutely nuts this is what we call the final countdown right now cue the music here comes goop sir if he landed a trick earlier that was really heavy he's really fine in his flow he's locking in at the end of the contest can sam anerson serve up a cab 270 you can see the frenzied activity up there in the draw this is the final moments of this competition these hungry hungry hippos are just attacking this kink rail with no regard for safety can back get the backside 360 oh my i'm having a hard time breathing every time i see him try that nerve-wracking so scary the amount of precision it takes a austin viz needs to land something big and comes off just a little bit early joey getting the crowd stoked the crowd wants more they want to see him keep going joey fava brother pat fava leases that mute grab at the end there to seal the deal icing on the cake can eagan do it eagan makes it to the end finally with the backside 360 will it be enough to put her in contention for the overall win that's how you end the contest that's how you end the contest shut this down joey fava's trick of the day gives him the zone victory earning a score five points higher than runner-up luke lund iris fam takes the zone on the women's side earning a five-point win over grace warner show us the hardware show the camera the hardware anybody want to dedicate this win to this podium position's got to feel good on this massive rail i think my dad my dad's always helped me do this snowboarding so him and eagan for being like my new homie that supports me all the time and cheers me on and it makes me feel really stoked joey insane performance on uh you know the statue of gibberney it was called the cheek ulizer you went back lip back nose press back one out taking home the win in that third spot that's got to feel good dude yes unreal thank you red bull this is insane i think i kind of surprised myself i did it in the qualifier i kind of was thinking of not doing it again and somehow did it two times in a row and walked away with this i'm so thankful and just happy to be here so this is how it went down for zone three and our champs eagan went locked it in right to the end as did grace warner king krill specialist and iris fam sealing the deal with that board slide and here we have mace with the switch blunt slide 270 out pure perfection luke lund who had a late push showed up surgical with the steel and the man who dominated the king krill joey fava we'll crown the 2024 red bull heavy medals men's and women's overall champions next here in st paul we've seen an electric winch sling riders over a 40 foot gap athletes throwing down complex tricks on a pair of down bars and elite snowboarding on a daunting 60 foot down flat down over cement steps defending champion eagan wins final run earned her a third place finish in zone three giving her enough points to repeat as the women's red bull heavy medal champion you said before you've never come back to a contest that you won to come back and win again how's that feel it's terrifying but really really good i'm gonna be hurt tomorrow but you know sorry my cheeks i'm smiling so much this is so sick feels good to surprise myself i wasn't expecting it and i'm excited to see what i do next wit just edges out zone three winner iris spam for the overall title veda holland finishes in third followed by jalen hanson and grace warner who finished fifth despite not competing in zone one on the men's side luke winkerman taking home his first red bull heavy medal overall win after excelling in all three zones luke winkerman showed up all three zones today made every single final now you're walking away with a big piece hardware walking away with a big check this one's got to feel good the crowd today was unreal like so loud so interactive with all of us like it was really rad and i just think like the general population anywhere should see something like this you know and can understand like what snowboarding actually is and the community and all of us smiling or getting body you know the carnage we talked about so thanks mama thanks my dad shout out north carolina shout out north carolina luke congrats on the win 20 24 red bull heavy medal champion luke winkerman congrats buddy what an unforgettable day of snowboarding here in st paul history was made progression happened one for the record books time it was incredible and a huge shout out to st paul for rolling the red carpet out for these riders to put on this epic performance so on behalf of chris grenier stan levier i'm todd richards and i'm saying see you later we'll see you at the next red bull heavy medal