Age: 22
Stance: Regular
Sponsors: Burton, Sweet Protection.

I remember meeting Øyvind for the first time, and to be honest, with a lot of young contest kids, they can start to blend together—no offense meant. But as I rode with him, spent time shoveling at Mikkel Bang’s Bang Slalom, it was clear he was a genuinely well-rounded guy. Some of the contest riders you meet give off this vibe like they skipped the class on how to socialize. But Øyvind? Different story. By the time I showed up at DIYX, I already had it in my mind to feature him for an Up Next, and then he went and won the whole thing. He’s got that classic Norwegian energy—the kind that makes you think, this guy’s going places. And let’s be real, there’s a long list of Norwegians in snowboarding history who have. —Stan Leveille

As someone who’s been doing contests for the last couple of years and really making a name for yourself, how does it feel to win the loosest contest of all, DIYX?
It’s the biggest contest I’ve won in my career so far. Winning DIYX means more than winning a World Cup, [laughs]. If you look at the starting list at DIYX… that’s insane. My head hasn’t really wrapped around it yet.

So as good as it feels to win that contest, how did it feel to have to leave right after? Tell me about that experience.
Leaving DIYX was one of the most painful—or maybe not painful, but like, a painful joy. It was three nights of partying, snowboarding two full days, and then waking up ten minutes before I had to leave, packing my bags, grabbing a taxi, and starting a 12-hour journey to meet up with the Norwegian national team in Seefeld. It was rough. It felt like a semi-truck had driven over me but that is how it should be after DIYX.

How did the Norwegian national team welcome you upon arrival?
They were hyped! My coach was really glad I survived and didn’t hurt myself. 

There’s so much snowboarding history in Norway, and I’m curious if there’s a Norwegian snowboarder who’s influenced you the most?
The most influential snowboarder for me, not just Norwegian, would be Torstein Horgmo. I watched many of his movies growing up and he was a guy who did everything, he really influenced my riding. With him being Norwegian too, it just made me even more stoked on his riding.

Torstein started in contests but eventually went full backcountry. Do you see yourself moving in that direction?
If I get the chance! I like filming and have a bit of experience with street riding, but it’d be insane to ride powder or backcountry. Alaska, especially, fascinates me—the mountains, formations—it looks insane, terrifying, and sick all at once.

Staying on the Norwegian theme, do you have a favorite Norwegian comfort food?
Waffles with sour cream, jam, and brown cheese. That’s really good. Bread with jam and brown cheese too. 

Brown cheese sounds like the overall theme here. Anyway, especially after that Chur Big Air, I’ve been wondering about your thoughts on dry slope drop ins. Yes or no? Do you train on it? Hate it? Is it necessary?
Dry slope is a “no, thank you,” if I can avoid it. I’d like to keep snowboarding on actual snow, but it’s become necessary with winters getting shorter and snow becoming less predictable. It feels weird, though, going down a dry slope, then suddenly being on snow, and then having to throw a massive trick. Not the best feeling.

You’ve just won the loosest contest, but overall, what’s the most prestigious contest to you?
I’d say it’s the Olympics, the complete opposite of DIYX [laughs]. It’s once every four years, and every rider might experience one or two Olympics, maybe three, in their career. To grab an Olympic medal—that’s the highest of the high.

My last question—are the riders’ meetings with the judges before contests mostly annoying or mostly helpful?
They start out helpful [laughs], but then the judges don’t always follow through on what they say, and it just gets annoying. We’ll talk about issues and what we want changed, and then it doesn’t happen. We leave the meeting thinking we have agreed on something, but then the judges judge the competition in a different way than we thought was agreed upon.

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