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  <img src="https://imageproxy.lbkrs.com/https://specials-images.forbesimg.com/imageserve/60526a4093b6c2866c63f201/960x0.jpg/query-Zml0PXNjYWxl" alt="Snowboarder Zeb Powell rides at Suicide Six, Vermont, USA in March 2021." original-src="https://specials-images.forbesimg.com/imageserve/60526a4093b6c2866c63f201/960x0.jpg?fit=scale"/> 
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   <p>Snowboarder Zeb Powell rides at Suicide Six, Vermont, USA in March 2021.</p> 
   
  <small>Brian Nevins / Red Bull Content Pool</small> 
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</figure><p>Zeb Powell has respect for the impact snowboarders based in Colorado or California have had on the sport’s progression and style. Powell himself considers Colorado’s Copper Mountain a home away from home. </p><div></div><p>But the 20-year-old Burlington, Vermont, resident isn’t planning on leaving the East Coast in search of fluffier pow anytime soon. And he’s here to show the rest of the world that he can progress the sport—on and off the mountain—while being based in one of its most overlooked hubs.</p><p>If you’re looking for big-mountain riding and trick-laden competitions, head West. But while Powell could steer his career toward competition riding if he wanted, at this point, he’s much more interested in making a name for himself in street snowboarding and filming. </p><div></div><p>“Between winning X Games and filming my first street project in a week, basically, I’ve proved to myself that I can easily compete as well as film a street part in the same season,” Powell said. “I definitely like the idea of competing and I have the means to pursue that side of snowboarding but I think I’m more attracted to street snowboarding at this point in my life because I know I have a lot more to explore and prove to myself on that side.”</p><p>Originally hailing from North Carolina, Powell cut his teeth at Cataloochee Ski Area. And though he initially hated snowboarding after an instructor forced him to ride regular, the goofy-footed goofball known for his heart-shaped shades (never goggles) found his way once he was able to do his own thing. </p><div><div id="recirc-unit"><div>MORE FOR YOU</div><div><div>It’s Time To Be Concerned About Giannis Antetokounmpo’s Knee</div><div>30 Under 30 Europe Sports &amp; Games 2021: Marcus Rashford Fights Child Hunger, Others Lead In A World Under Lockdown</div><div>WWE Confirms Upcoming Returns Of Ronda Rousey And Becky Lynch</div></div></div></div><p>After relocating to Vermont in junior high to attend Stratton Mountain School and tearing it up at Carinthia Parks, Powell dreamed of going pro. But he never thought it was possible until he won his first major contest, Red Bull All Snow, at 15, against some local pros.</p><p>“I began to realize that I might have a shot,” he says. When he was 17, he was a camper at High Cascade and was invited to the Bode Merrill Invitational. He got to compete against some of the top pros and ended up finishing fourth. “I knew then that I could hang,” he says. </p><figure> 
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  <img src="https://imageproxy.lbkrs.com/https://specials-images.forbesimg.com/imageserve/607067300e87bfd098c1875b/960x0.jpg/query-Zml0PXNjYWxl" alt="Zeb Powell snowboards at the Red Bull Slide In Tour at Stratton in Manchester, Vermont" original-src="https://specials-images.forbesimg.com/imageserve/607067300e87bfd098c1875b/960x0.jpg?fit=scale"/> 
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   <p>Zeb Powell snowboards at the Red Bull Slide In Tour at Stratton Resort in Manchester, Vermont, USA <span class="plus">... [+]</span><span class="expanded-caption"> on 8 March, 2019.</span></p> 
   
  <small>Brian Nevins / Red Bull Content Pool</small> 
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</figure><p>It wasn’t just the winning that had him hooked. There was something special and unique about how the crowds at both events reacted. </p><p>Powell says his mom decided he was “the crowd-pleaser” at the snowboarding events he competed in, because even if he didn’t win or place at an event, people always went crazy watching him. At one of Powell’s first events, a man in the crowd asked his mom if Powell was her son. She said yes, and asked him how he thought Powell was doing. His answer: “Man, I don’t know anything about snowboarding, but <em>damn</em> he’s fun to watch!” </p><p>In January 2018, Powell posted a video on Instagram of a new trick he came up with called the coffin slide (which then spurred the #coffinchallenge), which quickly became the most viewed video on Snowboarder Magazine’s Instagram. Powell couldn’t have known it at the time, but the stylish trick was tailor-made to wow at the X Games Knuckle Huck contest that would debut in 2019. </p><p>Soon after his coffin slide went viral, Powell had the opportunity to film for Shredbots, one of the most followed YouTube channels in snowboarding and one of Powell’s favorites to watch growing up. </p><p>“Having this opportunity lit a fire within me to really push my riding to the next level,” Powell says. “In all honesty social media was really the tipping point for me becoming a pro snowboarder.”</p><p>By the end of the year, he had more than 25,000 new Instagram followers and snowboard companies started reaching out to him. Fast-forward to 2021, and Powell is sponsored by Red Bull, Burton, ThirtyTwo, Etnies, Smith and Recess.</p><p>ESPN invited Powell to compete in Knuckle Huck at X Games Aspen 2020, and what transpired on that cold night at Buttermilk may be one of the most memorable events in Winter X Games history. </p><p>On his first run, Powell gave the crowd what it came to see—the coffin slide—and tacked on a backflip and a blink-or-you’ll-miss-it method grab just for a few extra style points. </p><div> 
  
</div><p>But he continued to blow X Games commentators Brandon Graham’s and Craig McMorris’ minds with the rest of his laws-of-physics-defying runs, which prompted Graham at one point to say, “At no point does Zeb look like he’s in control of his body!” </p><p>The entire package, from the shades—(Powell says “the only way you could get me to wear goggles is if it was snowing and I physically couldn’t see and even then I would probably still try to wear speed shades instead”)—to the progressive, impossibly stylish tricks gave Powell the well-deserved golden knuckles in his rookie debut. </p><p>Though Knuckle Huck is an “unofficial” X Games contest, it may be the most popular among fans, who respect the style and creativity the riders imbue the riding with. Granted, the skill level may be through the stratosphere, but this is the kind of riding a lot of people do with their friends at their own home mountains, and they love to see the pros pushing the limits. </p><p>“I definitely have a lot of respect for the competition riders that are pushing the limits of our sport,” Powell said. “But I feel like we’re at a point in snowboarding where we also need big events like the Knuckle Huck to help shed more light on the stylish and creative side of snowboarding and also bring forth riders like me who are more fit for these type of events. I love the idea of these events because they bring back and highlight that fun and lighthearted approach to snowboarding.”</p><p>Though he’s more focused on street riding and filming, Powell says if he were to enter more contests (he wasn’t able to defend his golden knuckles at X Games Aspen 2021), he would love to to Knuckle Huck again, as well as rail jams and possibly some big air events. </p><p>Snowboarding at its core is not a serious sport, but with the level of competition at events being off the charts and many riders trying to accumulate points to qualify for the Olympics, the competition season can feel a bit heavy. And ultimately, that’s not what Powell is here for. </p><p>“I have a better time and ride better when I bring some levity to snowboarding,” Powell says. “Hence the heart-shaped glasses. It appeals to everyone. It doesn’t matter what level you ride at, it’s just having that lighthearted approach to the sport. When I get too serious while snowboarding, I always end up bummed and in my own head, but when I keep it light and fun I tend to naturally progress and learn more. I think everyone has more fun when they take a lighthearted, goofy approach.”</p><figure> 
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  <img src="https://imageproxy.lbkrs.com/https://specials-images.forbesimg.com/imageserve/6070687b2649361489b3cff2/960x0.jpg/query-Zml0PXNjYWxl" alt="Zeb Powell poses during the Red Bull Slide In Tour at Loon Mountain in Lincoln NH" original-src="https://specials-images.forbesimg.com/imageserve/6070687b2649361489b3cff2/960x0.jpg?fit=scale"/> 
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   <p>Zeb Powell poses for a portrait during the Red Bull Slide In Tour at Loon Mountain in Lincoln NH, <span class="plus">... [+]</span><span class="expanded-caption"> USA on 11 March, 2020.</span></p> 
   
  <small>Brian Nevins / Red Bull Content Pool</small> 
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</figure><p>Just as Powell’s career was taking flight after winning Knuckle Huck, Covid-19 ground everything to a halt. Powell doesn’t have a regular training routine, he says, but instead trains by pushing his limits and snowboarding as much as possible. </p><p>“Once Covid hit, it made pushing my limits a little bit harder,” Powell says. “All the mountains and parks shut down. I was actually about to travel to Europe and Russia, but Covid regulations canceled that and pretty much stopped the entire snowboard industry dead in its tracks so I came back to my home base in Vermont where I spent the first few months of quarantine staying active and laying low.”</p><p>Early on in quarantine, with Stratton Mountain as his backyard, Powell stayed active by hiking to the top of the peak and snowboarding down with a close friend. Toward the end of 2020, Powell relocated to Burlington. “My daily routine still consists of finding ways to stay active and improve my snowboarding. I always make sure to bring a Red Bull along to keep me motivated and energized throughout.”</p><p>As Powell bends the limits of what’s possible on the mountain, he’s also embraced the opportunity he has to progress the sport in a broader sense. There are very few Black professional snowboarders. “I feel like the more Black kids we get to pursue snowboarding in general, the more that will naturally want to pursue it professionally,” Powell says. </p><p>Powell attributes the underrepresentation of Black snowboarders to “how hard the sport is to access and the general belief that Black people don’t really snowboard, let alone professionally,” which Powell didn’t really experience until after he won Knuckle Huck.</p><p>“Ever since, I’ve had a lot of Black people reaching out to me, telling me how amazing my performance was and how it inspired them to get out and progress their snowboarding,” Powell says. “But what stood out to me the most was that they had no idea there were other Black snowboarders until they saw my performance.”</p><p>After hearing this, Powell, some friends, and some other Black snowboarders decided to go into low-income areas to put on a live clinic for anyone to watch and join in on. “More or less, I just want to expose snowboarding to these areas and give them a chance to see and try it out,” Powell says. </p><p>He would also like to get involved with organizations like Hoods to Woods and Vermont’s Chill Foundation, which specializes in exposing kids to boardsports. In summer 2019, he took a job coaching at Windells Ski Camp at Mt. Hood, and realized he has just as much fun teaching and watching kids land new tricks as he does filming and riding with pros. That’s “something special” he wants to build on in the future. </p><p>“Being a role model means a lot to me,” Powell says. “I think between being Black and winning X Games I have a lot of different people who look up to me, so I feel like it is really important for me to make a good impression and point the next generation in the right direction.”</p><div id="lightbox-inline-form-e32d3393-9879-4dab-82d2-081d4b9de65d"></div><div></div>

<p>Brian Nevins / Red Bull Content Pool Zeb Powell has respect for the impact snowboarders based in Colorado or California have had on the sport’s progression and style ... Zeb Powell poses for a portrait during the Red Bull Slide In Tour at Loon Mountain in Lincoln NH, .. ... Powell attributes the underrepresentation of Black snowboarders to “how hard the sport is to access and the general belief that Black people don’t really snowboard, let alone professionally,” which Powell didn’t really experience until after he won Knuckle Huck.</p>

East Coaster Zeb Powell Is Progressing Snowboarding—On And Off The Mountain