Congrats on becoming the latest addition to Rome’s Pro Team! How do you feel about that?
Thanks! I’m super stoked on it. It was a great trip all in all, and they organised a hell of a surprise party. Thank you again guys [Rome Snowboards]!

Last year was quite hectic for you. Anything specific you were really stoked on?
Yeah, last year was really eventful, I feel like I was just running around constantly. There was a lot of new comps and other events that I’ve always dreamed of taking part in so that was pretty sick. As for my personal highlight, I’d say it was the X Games. It was my first time in the Aspen X Games and I got lucky [no Rene, you’re just really fucking good] and got 2nd in the slopestyle comp, so was pretty stoked on that. And on top of that, I got to play with my brother and his band, we had a concert on top of the mountain that same evening.

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Another prick on the wall :-D Video: @jarssi 🙏

A post shared by Rene Rinnekangas (@renerinnekangas) on Jan 20, 2020 at 8:42am PST

What got you into snowboarding in the first place? Who’s been your biggest inspiration?
My brother always kept on dragging me along with him when we were kids. He’s always been a really big inspiration for me and still is. I’m really happy that we still can keep on pushing each other, just in everyday life too. So, a big thanks for this goes to my brother Riko!

Of course, there’s plenty of sick riders too that I’ve always looked up to. It feels unreal that I am now good friends with a lot of them, and that we spend a lot of time riding together. Thank you snowboarding!

What set up are you riding right now then?
I like to switch between different Rome boards quite a lot. I like to ride somewhat different boards, and my stance is noticeably more directional too. I’m really stoked on old school riding and a lot of my inspiration has come from there.