KZ: Hi Valentino! Do you have a personal favourite discipline to compete in?

V: I love them all for different reasons but couldn’t pinpoint just one. I love halfpipe for the feeling of adrenaline when pushing myself to go higher and to do bigger tricks, the room for error is very small in Halfpipe, so it’s very scary compared to the others, but extremely rewarding at the same time. Slopestyle is a bit more chilled and laid back which is fun because you can just enjoy and express yourself. As for Big Air, I love the crowds and atmosphere that those events bring.

KZ: You won your first Winter X Games medal in half pipe in January! As you travel the world to compete, what would you say is the best thing about competing, and the hardest part?

V: The best thing about competing is the process. The training days, figuring out what run you want to do and how you want to do it and then executing that plan in the competition, obviously there is a high possibility of not landing your run and getting a bad result, so the feeling of landing a really good run in competition is super rewarding.

KZ: Do you remember the first trick you tried? How long do you think it took you to get it right?

V: I remember learning 180s on jumps. The first time I tried I caught an edge off the jump and grazed my upper lip on the snow because I crashed hard haha, I went back the next day and landed it.

KZ: What would you say to K-Zoners who want to compete in snowboarding, but aren’t sure they have what it takes?

V: If you truly want to be great, you will put in the time and effort to become great. Having what it takes is something you learn and earn, it’s not something you can be born with or just have.

KZ: What is the best advice or knowledge you have gained from anyone in the snowboarding community?

V: To enjoy the journey always!

Want to read more of our interview with Valentino? Grab the June 2023 ‘Swing Into The Extreme’ issue of K-Zone, out now!