2012-02-24 13:39 von Admin
SNOW - Confirmed team #5 Homies Crew
One of the most recognized crews across Europe, the Homies have been putting it together and putting it on the ground for years now, producing a sublime French Connection across the Southern Swiss Alps and well into France. This year saw the release of their latest video ‘Homies Grounds’ which is yet another chapter in what is always an impressive output.
Homies manager and all round good guy, Nico Droz, took a bit of time putting the team together this year with the cunning and guile of a fired up José Mourinho looking at a Real Madrid squad. His preference for this year was to lean on experience and team work, rather than other options of fresh faced raw talent in the waiting.
No surprises in his choice of Homies Team Captain, Anthony ‘TonTon’ Holland. Apart from being recently married, he has been fired up all season claiming a qualification spot for the World Snowboard Championships and fine tuning his skills in the best snow season at his home resort of Leysin, Switzerland. TonTon’s knowledge of the Wängl Tängl, it’s set up and system, is second to none having competed at the even more times than any other rider outside of the Ästhetiker organization crew, and in many cases more. Last year he Captained the ‘Welsh Airforce’ team who were will on the way to claiming a possible podium position, before an injury cut their team to two, but they powered on anyway just for the love of riding the supersized Vans Penken Park.
If there was any proof that age is simply in the head, TonTon, for shits and giggles, landed all four 10′s in a relaxed training run recently at home. He told us by phone, “Dammit, I’m going to be the first rider to do a switch b/s 10 at the age of 40!”… Knowing TonTon’s determination and love of snowboarding, we can only wonder if he will go 12!
Teaming up with the cheeky dark horse of Jules Reymond, they have a spark in their forward line not many teams will boast. Absent from the contest scene for a couple of years while on filming duties with Absinthe, Jules’s command of the unexpected, his propensity to surprise, and his ability to pull off the impossible – all the while with an infectious grin broadly across his face – regularly leaves the defense bamboozled with his Ronaldo like footwork and subtle skills. There is no doubt with Jules Reymond, you are going to learn to expect the unexpected with daring and bravado… and a polite shake of the hand. Jules’s personality is infectious, which is translated into his riding style. Smoke and mirrors, tastefully counterpointed the stomp and thump… He would scare most people if he just could get that smile off his face!
Making up the third rider in the Homies team is former ‘Welsh Airforce’ ripper, Nico Tile. Never the one for glory or fanfare, Nico is the business – point. Similar to a Paul Scholes, you hardly notice the control and command that Nico puts down all over the field in a quite yet dominant fashion, there is one thing we can tell you – he’s as hard as nails! Nico spends almost as much time at home in Leysin sitting in a cat building the very structures he is going to hit once he exchanges the pisten bully for his board, often exchanging them again once he’s tested what he’s built to fine tune his latest kicker creation into the perfect launch zone. The communication between his lifelong riding partner and Captain, TonTon, is all but telepathic, and that is reflected in their almost mirror like ability to adapt and control the timing and tempo of any combined feature they hit. Substance, not flowers is the name of the game, and Nico is about as solid as the Great Wall of China!
If this line up is not formidable enough, sitting in the wings ready to dust off his riding gear is the legendary Nico Droz who is enjoying a season riding with no commitments. “I’ll let the boys warm it up…” said Nico when announcing to us his team, “But, if there is any injury… well… let’s just call it a come back!” he concluded with a cheeky smile…
2012-02-24 12:45 von Admin
Hip Hop Night - Free Open Air - Lylit
Simply Austria´s best soul voice combined with a shining stage presence, Lylit makes clear that it ain´t where you are from it´s where ya at! She started her musical career at curch as an organist and founder of a gospel choir before honing her voice into the sculpted siren it is today. R&B, Soul, Jazz and Hip Hop are her main influences. After her show with 60 Minits of Funk, this will be her second appearance of the week; this time presenting her present solo project „Unexpected“ alongside some of her homeboys from S.K. Invitational. Get ready to fall in love!
2012-02-23 13:32 von Admin
SNOW - Quali team #4 Real Family
Hailing out of Carinthia bordering Slovenia in South East Austria, the Real Family formed as a crew no more than a couple of years ago, totally focused on the core values of snowboarding: the sport, friendship and party. After about a year, they thought they had what it took to be taken seriously with the other big crews out there that they had grown up watching and respected. That decision lead them to pull out an old Hi-8 Camera and start shooting all of their trips to different locations resulting in the production of their first crew video.
Much to their surprise, not only did it turn out well, there were even people who liked it. Liked it enough at least for them to continue working on new productions each year where both the riding and the production improved. As the popularity of facebook exploded they jumped at the opportunity of making a Real Family fan page that took the idea to another level, creating a chance to become known and seeing the Family grow at the same time.
Today the real family has Pro Riders, some sponsored kids, and almost as importantly a bunch of non-sponsored buddies. True to the core, the Real Family is all about the fun, not the business.
2012-02-23 11:34 von Admin
SNOW - Quali team #3 Natural Born Chillaz
The Naturalbornchillaz crew, in short NBC, are based in a small Swiss resort called Hoch Ybrig and are charging the backcountry and streets for over 12 years. Since the resort is relatively small, there is no way that riders can’t notice each other. Since the terrain is full of bumps and windlips it didn’t take long for a small scene of freestyle enthusiasts to evolve. Many crews came and left, but the NBC crew is like a big family, a bond that can never be broken.
Around the year 2000, the NBC crew started running their own park making some of the members professional diggers during winter. In Switzerland, the NBC crew is well known for organizing unique events such as the SNOW JAHZEE or NBC TRAININGDAYS, not to mention all the epic festivities.
Three of the top NBC riders, Roger Schuler, Deniz Cinek and Mike Knobel were chosen to represent the NBC family.
check their website here: www.naturalbornchillaz.ch
2012-02-22 13:41 von Admin
SNOW - Confirmed team #4 The Italian Connection
Last year, due to impending weather about to hit Mayrhofen and in the spirit of the “It’s On when it’s On (only it’s on a day earlier than we expected!)” ethos of the event, all crews were informed we intended to start the event a day earlier. Then, as now, captain of The Italian Connection, Stefano Munari. put out the battle cry, only to find a couple of his team were stuck without transport and therefore were unable to make it. Fortunately this year, Stefano does not have that problem as of “The Italian Connection” is powered by the FIAT Freestyle Team guarantees. So the transport will not be an issue!
Just like in the Football World Cup, “The Italian Connection” squad combines a talented, power and style in a balanced team. With Captain Stefano controlling play in the midfield, he can draw from the experience and sublime skills of Fillippo Kratter, with power striker, rookie Marco Grigis always unpredictable and dangerous. It is the sort of team that has it all, which looks dangerous on paper and always surprises come match day. One thing is for sure, they are backing their formidable offense to make their way through the knock-out stages!
The perfect team for the perfect set up? We will have to wait to find out, but when you look at the Vans Wängl Tängl set up for 2012 and see the all new design for the Red Bull End Section, the combination of pipe, park, rail and backcountry skills may well see the FIAT Freestyle Team of “The Italian Connection” driving home in their usual style, with a wad of cash and more importantly their first Tängl Title trophy…