When snowboarder Pyry Posio’s run goes exactly as he wants it to, snowboarding feels incredibly easy. It feels natural. He enters his own little bubble, where everyday worries fade away.

– It feels easier than walking. And more comfortable. It takes me to a place where my worries and everyday concerns just fade away. It gives me a feeling like I’m right at home.

Posio, who recently turned 17, is still in high school, but he has already racked up quite a few snowboarding achievements. In the spring of 2026, he returned from his first trip to the U.S. with a silver medal in the rail event at the Junior World Championships, a sixth-place finish in slopestyle, and a 14th-place finish in big air. 

Snowboarding features several different competition disciplines. Among the disciplines focused on tricks, the Olympic events include slopestyle, which combines rails and jumps, big air, which focuses on spectacular jumps, and halfpipe. Posio enjoys slopestyle and rails the most.

– Right now, it feels like I get the most out of myself on the rails. That’s where I can really show off my own style. On the slope, though, the rails are combined with jumps, and then it’s all in, Posio says.

Posio’s eyes literally light up when the conversation turns to the dream slopestyle course. It’s been thought through. It’s clear that it has to start with a rail, followed by three jumps, three rail sets, and maybe “a corner at the end”.

– I get my inspiration from the Laax park. I’ve always wanted to go there to snowboard.

Snowboarding “stuck with me”

Posio took his first steps in snowboarding in the yard of his cottage neighbors. The slightly older boys next door tried to get Posio to ride mini skis down the hill in the yard, but he wasn’t interested. Even on mini skis, the little boy saw an opportunity: to stand sideways on one ski.

– That’s how it all started. I started snowboarding when I was 2½ years old. I guess it just stuck with me, Posio says with a smile.

Posio’s athletic background is interesting, to say the least: he fluently lists soccer, artistic gymnastics, and mountain biking, and concludes by saying “I also like to ski.” When it comes to mountain biking, Posio even has a full set of Finnish Championship medals from the summer of 2025: gold, silver, and bronze.

Behind his diverse athletic background are Posio’s parents, who have encouraged him to try new things, but also, undoubtedly, his own strong desire for exercise. Posio clearly sees the benefits of his athletic background in snowboarding.

– I see a lot of benefits in artistic gymnastics in particular. It’s given me a certain kind of body control, and I know how my body moves. And of course, thanks to cycling, I’ve always been in good physical shape. It’s still a really good workout.

All Senses Engaged

On race mornings, music blares from Posio’s headphones. It’s perhaps not so much a matter of superstition as it is a ritual, since Metallica’s “One” must be listened to from start to finish without interruption every race morning. But only once. On the slopes, the music isn’t really a factor, even though it’s played on race mornings.

– When I listen to music while skiing, it feels like one of my senses is turned off. It’s important to me that I can hear the wind and use that to judge my own speed. I don’t just feel my speed in my body – I’ve noticed that, for example, when approaching a jump, I can hear my speed from the wind and the track.

Even though there’s already snow — at least in Ruka — the riders have been honing their tricks on the trampolines at Banger Park in Austria this summer.

– This summer, I’ve been practicing new tricks from scratch, as well as extra rotations, new grabs, and new spin angles. I’ve also been trying to figure out what my own signature move or trick would be.

Posio says he’s good at learning and mastering tricks. In addition to the body awareness he’s gained from artistic gymnastics, Posio considers visualization exercises to be one of his strengths. When he comes across an interesting way to perform a trick on social media, Posio plays it out in his mind.

– When I did my first backside triplecork, I hadn’t practiced it even once. I just went in with mental rehearsal and thought, “This is how I’m going to do it.” I did it on snow and it went really well. Of course, the tricks are getting so big now that it’s definitely a good thing to have some jumping bag experience under your belt. But I don’t always need it.

Posio’s competition season begins in late November with his first-ever adult World Cup event in Austria, followed by the World Cup in the United States. Toward the end of the season, Posio will compete in his final Junior World Championships in China.

My Style

In snowboarding, championship medals or big wins aren’t the only ways a rider can leave their mark on the sport and its culture. Let’s talk about style. Creativity. That spark – and perhaps an innate perspective – that makes a rider see the courses and lines differently than others, develop tricks, or find an original way to perform them. Posio wants to be a creative skier and stand out from the crowd with his skiing style and the way he performs tricks.

– I want my snowboarding to reflect who I am. I draw a lot of inspiration from Rene (Rinnekangas). Rene is such a great snowboarder: he has his own style, and his riding is unique, Posio enthuses.

Rinnekangas has been on Posio’s mind for a long time. His first memory dates back to the 2019 Finnish Championships.

– That’s where my admiration for him began. Or actually, even before that. It’s a little absurd to think that my idol is now also a friend, now that I’ve gotten to work alongside Rene on the national team. I still look up to Rene and, for example, the Norwegian Marcus Kleveland, Posio admits with a smile.

Right now, competing is “the thing” for Posio. And it’s not limited to the slopes. According to Posio, friendly or sometimes even serious competition boosts his motivation, even if it’s just a game of tennis with friends. Posio recognizes that he has a strong competitive spirit. He says he gets nervous, but once he finds his flow during a competition, the nerves subside and it’s easier to perform under pressure. He notes that his first run in a competition often ends in a fall, but by the second or third attempt, he’s managed to achieve a good result. 

– I’m really, really excited to compete right now. Of course, one of my dreams is to someday get to film a snowboarding movie, maybe in Alaska or Japan.

“It’s a great honor to be part of this”

In the spring of 2026, Posio was selected for the Finnish Olympic Committee’s Next Generation Team Finland program. Posio still remembers how excited he was when the national team coach told him about the opportunity.

– It’s a huge honor to be part of this group. This is a really big advantage and helps me a lot – for example, by providing financial support so I can go on trips. The fact that I get to train at the top level – that is, at the level I’m supposed to be training at. Extra support is always welcome, Posio says.

A key part of a high school sophomore’s short-term goals is to finish his studies. His dreams include being a full-time snowboarder and finding his own style or twist.

– I want to snowboard in my own way and do what I like to do. Which is snowboarding.

Text is translated with the help of AI.