Ben Richards
Profile and significance
Ben Richards is one of the standout new-generation freeride skiers, a Kiwi based in Wānaka whose racing background and creative big-mountain lines have pushed him rapidly to the sharp end of the Freeride World Tour. Born in California and on skis from the age of two before moving to New Zealand’s Southern Lakes region, he spent years in alpine gates before realizing that fatter skis, deeper snow and playful terrain were where he really belonged. That switch from ski racing to freeride during a formative working holiday in Revelstoke turned into a full commitment: within a few seasons he had stacked Freeride World Qualifier wins, filmed his own road-trip movie “HYSTPOE” and arrived on the World Tour as one of its most complete rookies. With a win at the 2024 Fieberbrunn Pro, third overall on the 2024 Tour, Rookie of the Year honors and multiple podiums in 2025, Richards has already established himself as a reference name in modern big-mountain freeskiing.
Competitive arc and key venues
Richards’ competitive story starts in race suits rather than bibs on freeride faces. After his family relocated to Wānaka, he built strong technical foundations on New Zealand’s Southern Lakes hills, learning edge angles, pressure control and speed management in alpine courses before he ever dropped into a judged freeride venue. A move to Canada in 2019, where he chased storm cycles around Revelstoke, nudged him firmly into freeride; he began entering Freeride World Qualifier events and quickly proved he could translate race discipline into fast, fluid big-mountain runs. Wins at high-level FWQ events, including a four-star victory in Verbier and a second place at a major four-star event at The Remarkables, secured his promotion to the elite tier. In 2023 he finished third overall on the Challenger tour, punched his ticket to the 2024 Freeride World Tour, then made that rookie season count: a landmark win at the Fieberbrunn Pro, third overall in the final standings and the Tour’s Rookie of the Year title. In 2025 he doubled down with podiums at Baqueira Beret and Kicking Horse, confirming that his 2024 breakout was not a one-off spike but the beginning of a sustained run at the top.
How they ski: what to watch for
Watch Ben Richards for two things above all: race-bred edge control and a willingness to throw real tricks in places where most riders are just trying to hang on. His stance is compact and powerful, with a quiet upper body and a strong platform over his outside ski, so when he lets the skis run the line looks clean rather than frantic. On tour venues he tends to choose direct, high-speed routes that link several features rather than hunting a single headline cliff; judges and fans have learned to expect a run that starts fast, adds a technical mid-section and finishes with a statement hit. Technically, he brings full-on freestyle to that structure. Big, forward-flying front flips, smooth 360s and stylish cork variations show up on features that are far from park-perfect, and he has a knack for spotting takeoffs that keep his line in the fall line even while spinning. The most impressive detail is what happens after landing: he consistently absorbs impact, re-centers almost instantly and rolls straight back into carved turns, which keeps his runs feeling like one continuous idea instead of a string of disconnected stunts.
Resilience, filming, and influence
Richards’ rise has not been a straight line, and that’s part of why he resonates with freeride fans. His transition from racing to big-mountain skiing happened just as the competitive landscape was disrupted by the COVID era, forcing him to juggle travel uncertainty, limited events and the need to support himself with coaching and seasonal work. Instead of derailing his progress, that period seems to have given him a grounded sense of perspective: he now coaches freeride kids in New Zealand between his own competitions, using their training to sharpen his own fundamentals, and speaks openly about how much he enjoys sharing the mountains rather than just chasing personal results. On the media side, his self-directed projects have been equally important for his profile. “HYSTPOE,” a three-week road film created with Garrett Capel and presented by Line Skis, showed him moving between resorts and backcountry zones with a small crew and big energy, while the more recent “Fickle Business” project with fellow Kiwi Ben Barclay gives a wry, honest look at life chasing powder and lines through New Zealand’s notoriously volatile conditions. Add in widely shared clips from Kings and Queens of Corbet’s, where he took the 2023 People’s Choice Award, and he has quickly become one of the most visible faces of modern freeride to audiences well beyond the contest circuit.
Geography that built the toolkit
Geography is central to how Ben Richards skis. His earliest turns at Mammoth Mountain in California gave him a taste for big open faces and lift-accessed vertical, but it was the move to Wānaka that truly shaped his skiing brain. The Southern Lakes region offers a mix of steep chutes, wind-affected ridges and big storm cycles, and mountains like Treble Cone, Cardrona and The Remarkables provided a natural laboratory where he could combine race training with sidecountry exploration. Later, time spent in Revelstoke and interior British Columbia layered on a different kind of mountain education: deeper snowpacks, longer fall lines and complex tree zones that demand constant micro-adjustments at speed. On the Freeride World Tour, European venues have added yet another layer. The long, varied face at Fieberbrunn, the rock-lined couloirs above Verbier, the exposed ridges of Kicking Horse and the new La Bamba face above Baqueira Beret have all tested his ability to read terrain he’s never seen in person until inspection day. That combination of Southern Hemisphere home turf, Canadian storm skiing and World Tour venues means that wherever he clips in now, he has a mental archive of similar features to draw on.
Equipment and partners: practical takeaways
Richards’ sponsor lineup tells you a lot about how he approaches the mountains. On his feet he rides for Line Skis, gravitating toward freeride-oriented models like the Optic 114 that balance high-speed stability with enough agility for spinning and directional changes in tight spots. Those skis are typically paired with Marker bindings, including touring models when he heads beyond lifts, giving him a setup that is solid enough for big compressions yet efficient on the skin track. Protection comes from Sweet Protection helmets and goggles, while outerwear and layering are handled by The North Face, whose Australia–New Zealand team he joined as his career accelerated. For skiers watching from the outside, the key takeaway is less about copying logos and more about understanding the system he has built: a stiff, confidence-inspiring platform underfoot, retention he trusts when committing to large airs and technical gear that keeps him warm, dry and focused during long days in mixed weather. If you are looking to learn from his approach, study how his equipment choices support the way he skis rather than trying to reverse-engineer his tricks without that foundation.
Why fans and progressing skiers care
Fans are drawn to Ben Richards because his story blends underdog energy with rapid, undeniable results. In just a few seasons he has gone from being a relatively unknown New Zealand racer-turned-freerider to a Freeride World Tour winner, Rookie of the Year and consistent podium threat, all while maintaining an easygoing, self-deprecating presence in interviews and social clips. His runs capture what people love about modern freeride: high speed, clear line vision and real freestyle thrown into consequential terrain, but with enough control that it never feels purely reckless. For progressing skiers, he offers a concrete blueprint: build strong technique first, learn to read different snowpacks and faces, then layer on tricks in places where you are genuinely comfortable rather than chasing viral moments. Whether you discover him through a World Tour webcast, a Line Skis heavy-hitters edit or a The North Face film from the hills around Wānaka, following Ben Richards gives you a close-up view of how a thoughtful, technically grounded skier can rise quickly to the top of big-mountain freeskiing without losing the fun that started it all.
