Absolutely next level audio design on this Vimeo Staff Pick awarded video by Richard Permin. The sound alone conveys his insane rate of travel. Speed, tension and rhythm…brilliant:
France’s Richard Permin has become the symbol of a new generation of skiers – those who use the art of acrobatics to enhance all freestyle sports. Smitten by skiing from an early age, he joined a ski club so he could go to the slopes every weekend. At age 15, he decided to become a ski instructor and convinced his parents to enrol him at the CESNI training centre in La Plagne. In his free time, he explored the resort’s freestyle facilities, and spent all his leisure time experimenting with the pipe and big air. As a relative latecomer to the sport, Richard had the courage to develop his own acrobatic style. But a spot in the Freestyle.ch contest was a springboard to the international stage, including an invite to the X Games. A high point of his early career was his win at the 2007 King of Style in Stockholm, when he took the top spot with a beautifully executed Switch 720 Double Tail. At 22, Richard made the move to powder skiing, which led to an invitation to the 2008 Big Mountain Pro – a competition that pits the world’s top freeriders against each other. He pulled off an impressive performance and, by 2009, Richard was celebrating on the podium when he took third place at that year’s Big Mountain Pro. Richard has also taken a podium place at Red Bull Linecatcher – exclusively dedicated to backcountry – the contest launched a new take on freeride skiing competitions. “Backcountry is my favourite discipline because it really mixes freestyle and freeride. It’s a perfect form of fusion,” Richard explains.
