Dasha Agafonova Knight - Off The Leash Video Edition (2024)

Profile and significance

Dasha Agafonova—also published as Dasha Agafonova-Knight—is a film-first freeski rider whose creativity in the streets and clarity on park features have made her a recognizable name across core ski media and premiere tours. Raised in Russia and later based in the United States, she moved from a long junior-racing background into freestyle, bringing a technician’s attention to timing, balance, and line choice. Her breakthrough for many viewers came via Level 1’s SuperUnknown XIX finals in 2022, followed by a women’s win at the Level 1 Rail Jam stop at Sugarbush in early 2023 and widely viewed appearances with the LINE Traveling Circus and the brand’s multi-rider street project “Daycare.” In 2023 she and partner Simon Knight released the personal street short “Honeymoon or Texture Bounce,” and by 2025 she fronted the 16mm art project “Inferno,” screened on the fall festival circuit. Agafonova’s significance sits where culture and contests meet: a rider who wins on creative rail courses and turns real-world features into edits that hold up to repeat viewing.

Competitive arc and key venues

Agafonova’s résumé mixes judged showcases with film releases. After earning a SuperUnknown finals invite, she confirmed her on-snow composure by topping the women’s field at Sugarbush’s Level 1 Rail Jam, a format that rewards variety, speed control, and make-it-look-inevitable execution. She kept that momentum through brand-backed projects, featuring in LINE’s “Daycare” alongside an array of respected street specialists and making recurring appearances with the Traveling Circus—both proving grounds for skiers whose tricks need to read clearly without perfect in-run snow. On the festival side, her 2023 joint film blended street skiing with a life milestone, while “Inferno” (2025) pushed into concept-driven territory with a narrative arc and analog capture.

The venues that shaped this arc are instructive. Spring and summer laps at Oregon’s Timberline and Mt. Hood Meadows supply high-volume repetitions when much of North America has melted out, sharpening jump timing and rail confidence. Utah winters at Brighton and Park City Mountain add faster lines and more consequential features, the exact conditions that Street-style contests and urban builds often imitate. When she shifts back to the Northeast, the compact rhythm and community energy around Sugarbush mirror the momentum-management demands of a rail-jam final.

How they ski: what to watch for

Agafonova skis with economy and intent. On rails, she favors a quiet upper body and centered stance that make spin-ons, swaps, and pretzel exits look deliberate rather than forced. Approach angles are conservative until the moment of commitment, keeping lock-ins stable through kinks and transfers; exits land with enough glide to carry speed into the next feature. On jumps, the hallmark is clarity: early, full-hand grabs held long enough to keep the axis readable for cameras and judges, with rotation scaled to the speed window available. The overall effect is continuity—lines that build, conserve momentum, and finish as cleanly as they start.

Resilience, filming, and influence

Much of Agafonova’s progression plays out on film, where imperfect landings and short in-runs compress the margin for error. Her small-crew projects—whether the intimate 2023 honeymoon street short or the 16mm “Inferno”—show a process that many developing skiers can learn from: scout and measure, test speed, adjust angles, and only roll on the make when the trick will cut together without filler. That same discipline feeds judged formats focused on rails and transfers. It also explains why her clips travel well online: the decisions are visible, the grabs are held, and the landings finish stacked over the skis. At women’s progression gatherings and brand shoots, she reads as both contributor and catalyst—someone whose lines clarify what “clean and reproducible” looks like in 2020s freeskiing.

Geography that built the toolkit

Her toolkit reflects a coast-to-coast education. Oregon’s Timberline glacier rhythm produces hundreds of controlled repetitions that make urban tricks feel automatic when the camera is rolling. Mt. Hood Meadows adds midwinter variability and night-lap grit. Utah’s Brighton and Park City Mountain sharpen speed management on long rail decks and faster jump lines. Sessions in the Northeast around Sugarbush reconnect her to the compact features and community-driven formats that originally showcased her contest chops. Stitch those environments together and you get skiing that reads the same in a cold street, a salted morning park, or a festival screening.

Equipment and partners: practical takeaways

Agafonova rides with support from LINE Skis, and her recent projects have also leaned into collaborations with Vishnu Freeski, plus accessories seen from Sidas and goodr. For skiers looking to reverse-engineer the feel of her runs, focus on principles more than model names. A true-twin park ski mounted near center supports both-way spins and stable pretzel exits. Keep edges tuned consistently with a thoughtful detune at contact points to reduce rail hang-ups without dulling pop for lip-ons. Choose boots with progressive forward flex and firm heel hold so landings finish stacked when the snow is fast or chattery. Bindings should be set for predictable release across repeated impacts. The through line is predictability: a neutral, balanced setup that lets style survive speed and snow changes.

Why fans and progressing skiers care

Agafonova matters because she makes modern freeskiing readable. Her clips demonstrate how momentum-saving rail choices, early-and-held grabs, and shoulders-quiet axes can anchor a film part and win a rail-focused final. If you’re learning to evaluate runs, watch how she conserves speed across multi-feature decks so the ender has room to breathe, and how she scales rotation to the available speed without sacrificing landing quality. If you’re filming with friends, study the process as much as the trick list—measure, test, and commit to the version that will look inevitable on camera. That blend of contest composure and edit-ready style explains why Dasha Agafonova has become a go-to reference for fans and riders who value substance over spectacle.