Danny Kass – Air to fakie, Winter Olympics 2006

Just as in 2002, Danny Kass had to settle for silver at the 2006 Olympics. Not that he was that bothered, though; he famously flummoxed the mainstream sporting press when he admitted to rooting for the Italian rider, as it would mean one hell of a party.

You don’t see many riders go for the air to fakie on the first hit, but Danny had it dialled and ensured his run got off to a stylish start. He gets extra points for doing it on the frontside wall – which means flying through the air backwards- and for boning out the tailgrab at the apex.

An honorable mention goes to Torah Bright, who put down a good – if not quite as clean – version at X Games 2011.

See more from the Olympic halfpipe here

Kent Callister – Method, Burton US Open 2014

Kent Callister was one of the best discoveries of the 2014 Olympics. After the world got a look at his method, this Aussie’s days of flying under the radar were over.

The following month he was spotted again at the Burton US Open, where his beautiful tweaked first hit set the tone for a run that helped him crack the top five.

Watch Kent’s full run here

Shaun White – Alley-oop rodeo, X Games 2009

Yep, this guy again. The 13th Winter X Games were unlucky for anyone going up against Shaun White – he won gold in both slopestyle and halfpipe in 2009, just as he had in 2003 and 2006.

This floaty-as-hell rodeo kicked off the run that gave him victory in the pipe, the second in a run of six consecutive stunt ditch victories at X.

Like much of his career at that time, the win wasn’t without controversy; many felt that Kevin Pearce‘s run should have taken the top spot instead.

Watch Shaun’s full run here – as well as Kevin’s – and decide for yourself.

Antti Autti – Cab 1080 tailgrab, X Games 2005

Not many folk had Finnish rider Antti Autti down for victory at X Games 2005, but he managed to get ahead of Andy Finch and Danny Kass by landing the first ever back-to-back 1080s in halfpipe competition.

Not only that, but he did it right out of the gate – his cab 1080 tailgrab may not have the style that some other first hits on this list have, but it’s bloody impressive. That was as big as anyone was spinning in those days, and his landing needed to be good enough to set him up for a frontside 10 on the opposite wall. Nails.

Watch Antti’s full run here

Chase Josey – Backside 720 transfer, Red Bull Double Pipe 2014

An unconventional one, this; given the nature of the Double Pipe setup, the riders weren’t dropping in from the top deck like they would at a regular event.

For Chase Josey, that meant an opportunity to fully embrace the nature of the comp. He promptly launched a sizeable back 7 into the pipe to begin the run that would eventually earn him 2nd place overall. It’s among the best evidence we’ve seen for mixing up the halfpipe comp format.

Watch Chase’s full run here

Taku Hiraoka – Frontside 540, X Games 2015

A relative unknown when he won silver at Sochi, Taku Hiraoka was a top contender for X Games gold in 2015.

The diminutive Japanese rider had to settle for 2nd place again on this occasion, but his first hit – a mind-bogglingly massive front 5, stomped with almost superhuman precision – meant that someone would have to do something pretty special to beat him…

Watch Taku’s full run here

Danny Davis – McTwist, X Games 2015

The one to take down Taku was the Dude himself, Danny Davis. Successfully defending his X Games gold, he brought the style with his trademark switch method and perfect back-to-back 1080s. Before all that, though, he kicked things off with a tweaked-out McTwist fit for the gods.

Who says style in pipe riding is dead?

Watch Danny’s full run here

Did we miss any? Tell us about your favourite first hits in the comments below.