Vans’ Introspect series continues with a look at Swiss pipe master Iouri Podlatchikov.

iPod will be a major contender at the upcoming Winter Olympics, in what will be his third consecutive appearance at the games. As a Swiss he didn’t have the very public struggle for a place that, say, the Americans had, so he’s been able to keep a relatively low profile in the run-up to Sochi. When we chatted to Ben Kilner during his recent interview, he mentioned that iPod would be the one to watch, most likely having “something up his sleeve”. With Ayumu Hirano and Shaun White both working on the triple cork, could it be part of iPod’s plans too?

In this episode he has a lot to say about contest snowboarding, and what makes him tick. He highlights the immediacy of doing something in one moment that will potentially be remembered forever – and with nuggets like “your run is like painting a picture”, he proves he’s capable of getting chin-strokey with the best of ’em.

Oh, and he can rip up a skate bowl too.