Published in Whitelines Magazine Issue 94, January 2011

Mikkel Bang is one of those riders who doesn’t need to throw double corks to challenge at events like the X Games; he is just style personified. No other snowboarder can make a switch backside 1260 look so easy – if you didn’t watch closely you’d think he was doing a seven.

Some people say that style is something you develop; in Mikkel’s case, it’s something he was just born with. Even at 13years old, when he and the Burton groms scored their first part in the Standard movie White Balance, this blonde-haired Norwegian kid rode with the steez of a seasoned pro. And that’s the coolest thing: Mikkel has always had so many tricks in his bag it would have been easy to make a career out of being super tech, but throughout his progression he’s kept that eye for being smooth.

This sequence from Whistler is a classic example. We were at the start of three full days of sun and the riders were keen to get some shots in the can. Instead of going for the big spins though, Mikkel busts out this perfect frontside 360 – an absolute classic trick, slowly rotated and styled out to perfection. Triple corks? Forget it! That is snowboarding right there.

– Scott Serfas, Photographer