Travis Rice (born October 9, 1982[1]) is an American professional snowboarder. He is #13 on Snowboarder magazine's list of the 20 most influential snowboarders of the last 20 years.[2] The 41-year-old has featured in more than twenty snowboarding films. Rice's biggest claim to fame came when he arrived at Snowboarder magazine's Superpark contest at Mammoth Mountain and launched a 'mammoth' of a backside rodeo across a 117-foot gap jump.[3] He has been considered "the Paul Revere" of the big mountain freestyle movement.[4] In 2013, Rice was named the best contemporary snowboarder in the world by Red Bull; Rice was also hailed as one of the greatest snowboarders of all time by numerous writers and publications.[5][6]
Early life
Rice was born in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. He was raised near Jackson Hole Mountain Resort, in Wilson, Wyoming where he continues to reside in the region. Raised as a skier by his father, Paul Rice, a member of Jackson Hole Ski Patrol, Rice initially did not understand the rave of the new sport springing up on his mountain. However, he soon caught on and joined the local team.
He has a sister named Ashley Rice. His mother is Becky Rice.
Competition
In 2001, without a sponsor and only 18 years old, Rice drove to Mammoth Mountain in California to ride at Snowboarder magazine's “Superpark”. Recognition from the snowboarding world would come at this event, when Rice launched a backside rodeo off a 117 foot gap jump.[7] Absinthe Films' producer Justin Hostynek immediately approached Rice to begin filming for their upcoming movie, Transcendence.[2]
Films and Other Media
Rice has filmed outstanding video parts year after year, producing jaw-dropping shots like his switch 540 over Chad's Gap in Utah, a 120 foot backcountry gap jump. On top of that, he has won several US Opens, an X-Games gold, and an Icer Air gold, where he landed the first double rodeo 1080 in competition.[8]
In 2008, Rice co-produced (with filmmaker Curt Morgan) and starred in the snowboarding film That's It That's All. This film featured Troy Blackburn, Jeremy Jones, Mark Landvik, Terje Haakonsen, Nicolas Müller, Scotty Lago, Pat Moore, John Jackson, Jake Blauvelt, Danny Kass, and fellow Jackson Hole residents Bryan Iguchi and Kyle Clancy.[9] Rice's part in That's It That's All, which included the first ever double cork 1260, heavily influenced his sweep at the Transworld Magazine Rider's Poll. He won Rider of the Year, Video Part of the Year, Standout of the Year, and Readers’ Choice award.[10] On September 7, 2011, Rice released The Art of Flight, a film made in collaboration with the same team behind 'That's It, That's All, including John Jackson, Mark Landvik, Nicolas Müller and Jeremy Jones, Scotty Lago, and Mark McMorris. The success of the Art of Flight enabled Rice to once again win the TransWorld and Snowboarder Magazine Rider of the Year awards for 2012 .[11]
In 2012, Rice coordinated with Red Bull to create natural selection, a backcountry freestyle competition held at Baldface Lodge in British Columbia, Canada. The competition was attended by the world's top snowboarders, including Nicolas Muller, Gigi Ruf and Mark McMorris, with riders competing in naturally created backcountry terrain. The inaugural winner of the event was the competition creator, Travis Rice.[12]
Rice is a downloadable, playable character in SSX. He is the first "real-life" snowboarder to ever be featured in the franchise.[citation needed]
In 2016, Rice released The Fourth Phase.[13] In 2019, he released Dark Matter.[14]
Highlights
Travis Rice's professional snowboarding career started in 2001. Various competition results taken from EXPN.[15]
