I’m kicking off my rider review series with one of my favorite halfpipe snowboarders of all time, Louie Vito.
History: Hailing from Bellefontaine, Ohio, Louie has been strapped to a snowboard since the age of 2. Throughout the mid-2000’s, Louie began to break out as a star, leading up to his first medal at the 2011 X Games in Aspen. Since then, Louie has 6 X Games medals, 2 Dew Tour Overall Championships, and has represented both the US and Italy in Olympic competition. Not to mention, he killed it on Dancing with the Stars.
Biggest Strength: Technicality
Louie absolutely excels in the technicality of his tricks. The amount of times I’ve seen this man throw double after double after double on the halfpipe is insane. His double cork 1080 and double michalchuk are some of the cleanest I have ever seen in the game, and he links his tricks together effortlessly.
Weakness: Airtime
This is the part I hate doing, especially for a childhood hero of mine. But with that said, everyone can improve. Louie particularly struggled in the past with getting height on his runs. He simply does not get the air time that a Shaun White or IPod did. With that said, there have been certain moments when he has proven me wrong, specifically looking back to his 2012 Dew Tour Run.
My Opinion:
Louie is one of the most likable and memorable half pipe riders of my childhood. I don’t know if it is his big smile, his super friendly vibe, or the fact that he is also an Ohioan, but I do know that it is hard for anyone to root against this guy. I specifically remember his 2013 X Games Tignes run where he was blasting music so loud in his ears that he was unable to hear his coaches trying to get his attention before dropping. Man proceeded to drop in, putting down one of the best runs of his career and winning the gold. That is when I knew he was special.
What the Future Holds: Louie is still riding half pipe at a very high level, and shows no signs of slowing down. After representing Italy in the 2022 Olympics, he showed that he is still an Olympic-caliber rider. Although he is 35 and a vet in the game, I still see him posting some amazing clips from his training in Switzerland. I can’t wait to see what he has in store for him during the 2023-24 season. I plan to make rider reviews into a series. Let me know in the comment section which rider I should talk about next!