Crystal Globe series: The Birk Ruud Interview

Simply put, there was no one more dominant in the freeskiing world than Norway's Birk Ruud in 2022/23, as the 23-year-old was essentially unstoppable in a record-setting campaign.

Following up his Beijing big air gold medal-winning 2021/22 season, Birk took things to the next level this past winter, hitting the podium in nine-out-of-nine FIS events entered - including World Champs slopestyle gold and big air bronze - and throwing in a X Games bronze medal for good measure. Walking away with the most World Cup podiums and most World Cup points earned in a single FIS Freeski season, Birk earned his first slopestyle crystal globe while also becomming the first athlete to earn back-to-back Freeski overall globes.

Olympic champion, World Champion, 4x crystal globe winner, X Games gold medallist...the list of Birk Ruud's accomplishments is as complete as anyone's in freeski history. So what do you do next when you're at the absolute peak of your abilities, with the world at your feet and the future unwritten? Well, we caught up with Birk back home in Norway to find out the answer to that question and many more, and let's just say the answers may surprise you.

Read on for the first in our 2022/23 crystal globe winner interview series and get the scoop on Birk Ruud's plans moving forward as he seeks to become the first crossover Park & Pipe athlete in FIS World Cup history...

FIS - So how’s life been since the end of competition season?

Birk - I'm at home right now, enjoying the Norwegian summer. I've been working out a lot, doing some trampoline, doing some snowboarding, doing some skiing at the indoor ski dome in Norway, and also been doing some regular strength training at the gym.

I'm going to have my trampoline camps over the next two weekends. I have 40 kids signed up for every weekend. After that I'm going to take some holiday and go to Spain with my family and my girlfriend in July.

It sounds like you've just been grinding ever since the season ended…

Yeah, I have been. Really I'm trying to figure out a bit more with the snowboarding. So I'm basically only grinding on the snowboard since the end of the comp season.

How's that coming? Did you get a chance to do Norwegian snowboard nationals?

Yeah, I did it. I got 6th place in slopestyle and 7th in big air. I had such a fun time.

So what does that mean for you, getting 6th and 7th? Does that get you some points and sort of open up that path that you're looking for?

Norwegian nationals weren’t a FIS event, but I got 300 World Snowboard points in slope and that helps. But apparently you need to have  three competitions for your points to be applied, so I need to do one more. So, I don't get any FIS points I think, but I’ll just have to get those somewhere else.

Will there be any opportunities for you to do some snowboard comps after Big Air Chur, maybe between Stubai slopestyle and the big air in China?

Obviously I’ll be skiing some World Cups next season, definitely hitting Big Air Chur and Stubai and Copper Mountain, but I’m not going to China because I’d rather shred on the board. That’s at least what I feel like doing now.

But yeah, it’s going to be very interesting to see how I can combine the skiing and the snowboarding this season. It's gonna be a test year basically, where I'm gonna try to snowboard more than I ski. But also I'm going to ski as much as I I need, to try to be better than I was last year and keep up with my previous level.

Yeah, actually I've got some questions about just that, on where the level is at now and keeping up with that level. Just for instance, 1800s have kind of become standard in big air over the last three to four seasons, and then from there they’re becoming almost standard in slope. Obviously you’ve been a big part of bringing those like smooth, clean, stylish 18s into the everyday contest scene, and then all of a sudden at the Bakuriani 2023 World Champs this past season we see Troy Podmilsak (USA) and Lucas Muellauer (AUT) both drop 2160s in a FIS comp for the first time.

I know you've got a 21 in your pocket and you've got guys like Alex Hall (USA) who have got it as well. But what are your thoughts on where the level can go next season or two seasons from now?

Well, I I don't see it stopping, because there’s always going to be people that are hungry for more and that is always going to keep pushing things forward. But also I think you’ll see different rotations and different ways of doing tricks, better or faster, probably. But I think we’re going to be see 23s, 25s and stuff like that, up to 7 spins, and then at some point it's gonna stop rotation-wise because there’s not gonna be enough air time, unless the jumps are getting bigger.

But I think we'll have to be very strong, have very good air-awareness and have really good techniques to be able to do those tricks.

I think we’ll see a lot of different tricks too, though. Not just more spins, but it's going to come to a point also where there's going to be some new rotations, maybe some bios with pretzel, stuff like that. There’s always new stuff to do. Somehow we always manage to push the limits.

Speaking about different spins and stuff, you’ve been one of the leaders on that front as well. You you won Big Air Chur last season with that trick that I think I still don't know what to call it, A-Hall won gold at the Olympics with the bring-back on the last jump. Those tricks really actually seem to like capture people's imaginations when they see them.

We have such big response when when stuff like that hits the social media channels for FIS. It starts conversation where there are people who love it and blows their mind and people who are arguing that they don't like it like for whatever reason. How important is it, do you think, to be able to do stuff like that that sort of expands peoples's concept of what's possible?

I think something that is different is a good thing. It's important, not just the sport, but in general, to have different people doing different things, because otherwise life will be boring. And it’s cool that people have different opinions on new tricks and progression. Some people think it's not cool, and some people love it. Some people think it’s cool and some people don't. I think that's completely fair. It's good that there are different opinions on stuff. That’s just human. Some people are not always comfortable with stuff that’s different, and that's just how it is.

And I think anytime you get people having these conversations, it's ultimately good for the sport.

Of course. Yeah, it is. And now there’s going to be some kind of rule with the poles on the freeski World Cup. There’s been a lot of discussion, people saying it's not legit to ski without poles and, “This isn’t aerials aerials…blah blah…” Those discussions are good, too. And I'm excited. I'm excited to see how this is going to effect things. But I think if you want my honest opinion on it, it’s not going to change anything. It's just gonna change the technology on the poles.

Okay, I wanted to talk about your last couple of seasons and just go through some of the things that you've accomplished. I'm just going to go through the list and let me know if I miss anything…

So on my list here I’ve got: most Freeski World Cup podiums in one season; most Freeski World Cup points in one season; most consecutive Freeski World Cup podiums; most Freeski wins in in FIS history; first winner of back-to-back FIS Freeski overall crystal globes. And you can threw an X Games bronze in there, and of course an Olympic big air gold medal from Beijing 2022 not too long ago. I think that you're pretty aware of how good you’ve been, but does it sound insane to to hear all that stuff achieved in just just a couple of seasons?

Yeah, I mean, while it was happening I didn't realize that I was having one of the best seasons, competition-wise, and probably also skiing-wise for myself. But, you know, you just go out there and do your job, and then when it all comes to an end, It's like wow, sh*t, that was a pretty crazy season.

But it's very normal for me to just move on and be like, ok, that was great, but now it’s on to the next stuff. I'm gonna go home, chill, do some work, go snowboard and try to explore that world a bit more. I’m never really too satisfied. I’m satisfied with the results, but I always just want to learn new stuff. I love the feeling of learning and mastering something new and that gives me a lot of happiness in my life. That's basically just what it's about for me and that's why I keep working, because I want to learn and I want to get better all the time.

A lot of this success came after probably the hardest time of your life, losing your dad at a very young age back in 2021. But after that you were able to return to skiing and actually come back stronger than you were before that period in your life. You kind of raised yourself to another level in the last couple of years and it was since that difficult time losing your dad. Do you think that your mentality has changed at all? Can you talk about that maybe?

Yeah, that's a good question.

I got a huge perspective on life after my dad got sick, a new perspective on what’s important to me in life. The competitions didn't even matter when my father was sick. I did not even care about the competition or the results or anything. it didn't matter at all.

So that just gave me a perspective and a new mindset, that I’m doing this because it's fun. It's a job that I love and the result doesn't really matter. Of course you want to do well, but now it's more about I want to do the best that I can do. Before maybe I would think about winning the competition, but now it's about landing my run as good as I can, because that gives me the best feeling. Then that again will hopefully give me the results that I’m working for. I think my focus is more on the tasks, and the joy I get is more important than the results. I think that’s something I learned.

If you could think back on the last couple of years, what moment really stands out to you as being the most special - competition-wise, or even outside of that?

I would say...when I think back the Olympics was obviously really special, but winning the World Champs this year was also really special, because I had only one chance left to land my last run. It all came down to that last run and a World Champs gold was something that I did not have yet. I had won the Olympics, I had won the X Games, but to win World Championships, when it all came down to it, that was a really big moment for me. That was special.

How have things in your life changed since the China gold? I know we've seen you in a tuxedo at a fancy gala at least once, but…

(Laughs) I don't know… I've always wanted to make a decent living in general, and to make that form skiing is special. I have the ability to afford everything I need and I think winning the Olympics and becoming a bigger influence has given me more opportunities.

With me personally, I don't really know too much about what’s changed other than that I’ve gotten some more opportunities. I am not gonna lie though, after Olympics, I was super tired of skiing and working out. I just needed a break for a month to get my mind clear and find some peace.

But this last season was different. Now I just haven't really taken a break from working out or practicing because I’m so stoked and motivated - especially with the snowboarding part of things. I'm not chilling because it's so much fun.

Yeah, that's sick. Just firing at a super high level and really feeling it and keeping the momentum rolling. Back to snowboarding - is that something that you’re making goals for? Like, you want to see if it's possible to do both snowboarding and skiing at Milano-Cortina 2026, right?

Yeah, I want to. I'm going to figure out if I can do it. You know, if I can't do snowboarding, fine, I'll just do skiing. But I would at least like to try. Really, I want to be at the level that I can be able to reach for a medal in both of the disciplines. But first I need to try to get into the World Cup circuit (for snowboarding).

You're trying to do something that no one's ever done before by riding on the Freeski and Snowboard World Cups at the same time. Does it cross your mind how huge that is, or are you trying not to think about it?

Oh yeah, I think about it, for sure.

I first tried snowboarding during the Covid season, like 2021. I think it was the first or second day snowboarding I managed to do a backside double 10 and a frontside double 10 and I made this Insta video, and when I posted the video I got a lot of comments - good comments. Some people like, ‘Oh, you should try to go pro,” and stuff like that. I kind of got lost thinking about all the opportunities, but I didn’t really think too much about if I wanted to go through the process to reach those opportunities.

I talked with my family and I talked with my dad, because he was alive at that time, and he said, “It's important that you do the stuff that you do for yourself, because that's what you always have done. And if I were you, I would just see how it feels in a couple of months. Give it some time.”

So I just let the thought go. And I went back to skiing and then the next season the Olympics happened. But after the Olympics I wanted a break from skiing and did some snowboarding for a couple weeks between the last World Cups.

Then at the beginning of this season I did a lot of snowboarding in Australia in August and September, preseason. But after that I just got so motivated for skiing and so stoked that I put the snowboard away and I had the best season of my life and I really enjoyed it.

I’ve won a lot of competitions and to get a better season than I've had this year…yes, it's possible. But let’s say last season was 80% perfect, to get to 100%…I'll never get 100%. Maybe I could make it to 90%, but there’s not going to be that big of a difference.

With snowboarding I’m at maybe 10%, and there is just so much to learn and so much that I don’t know. That journey is just looking so exciting. To learn like that, there's so much fun in it. That's what I just want to try to do, just explore. try to get at 80% in snowboarding too.

I love what you're talking about, being on the edge of really, really discovering something that you know is there and really being able to figure out what's possible for yourself. I think that's so sick and so much fun.

At least I want to try. You know, I really want to try, and I'm not scared to. Sometimes I have a day where it’s like 'Birk. What are you doing?’ But if I don't try, I’m not gonna succeed with it. And I can’t live with that ‘Maybe.’ I’ve gotta try.

How’s your rail game? How different is it on the rails?

It’s a pretty big difference. And to be honest, the only thing I've been working on is the rails lately.

You're a bit more limited because your legs are stuck together, so some variations are a lot harder. But I'm so happy that I have the skiing background because there are so many tricks that I think would be cool on a snowboard that are kind of skier tricks, although I know that maybe snowboarders are not necessarily too big fans of. I think it will be fun to just try to bring some different tricks that are not too common to the table.

I'm sure I can make it to the World Cup circuit. But as you know with me, you know I'm not necessarily satisfied with just being on the World Cup. I also want to have a good chance at taking podiums there. But it’s a two-year project, so next season I would have to at least be riding in World Cups by the end of the season.

Yeah I mean, if you can make this happen it’s going to be one of the biggest stories in snow sports next winter. Can’t wait to see how it plays out.

Last question - tell me about being part of such an incredible season for the entire Norwegian Freeski team, where you saw so much success for everyone on the team. And with Christian Nummedal retiring you’re going to be the veteran on the team now moving forward, at just 23 years old.

It's been crazy and the team spirit has been really good, probably the best that it's ever been.

It's been so inspiring to talk with Nummis about his retirement, and his honesty on it. He’s been really open that it's a tough choice - he’s not really sure how long he can continue to do the sport, but also knowing that he don't really have a clear idea on what he wants to do after the skiing career.

But to follow him and see how he's been dealing with it, after managing to deliver an amazing silver at the World Championships to end his career…it’s been a really strong finish for him. He's been figuring stuff out, and I'm excited to see what he does as a good friend and to follow him on his new journey.