Phil Casabon and Henrik Harlaut 'Early Season Funk'

Profile and significance

Henrik Harlaut (born 14 August 1991; Stockholm, raised in Åre) is one of the defining freeskiers of the modern era—an athlete who set records at X Games, stacked FIS World Cup podiums, and still found time to re-shape contest culture through rider-driven events and films. Harlaut owns a record haul of X Games Ski medals and the most Ski golds, highlighted by a landmark campaign in Aspen 2018 when he won both Slopestyle and Big Air in a single weekend. He’s also the rider who brought the “nose-butter triple cork 1620” from idea to history at Aspen 2013 Big Air, a moment that reset what was possible while keeping his hallmark readability—clean set, long grab, confident spot and stomp. Three Olympic Games (Sochi 2014, PyeongChang 2018, Beijing 2022) widened the audience for his style-first approach, even as he continued to invest in culture with the B&E Invitational and film projects like The Regiment. For freeski fans and developing riders, Harlaut is the template: do the heaviest tricks, make them easy to read, and build spaces where style leads the conversation. :contentReference[oaicite:0]{index=0}

Competitive arc and key venues

Harlaut’s competitive résumé blends consistency with signature highs. In the World Cup era he earned multiple wins and podiums across Big Air and Slopestyle—peaks in 2017 and 2019, plus a 2021 return to the steps—while his X Games record (eight golds and a record medal total) kept him in the sport’s brightest spotlight for more than a decade. The Aspen 2018 sweep (Slopestyle + Big Air) and his 2021 Big Air gold under pressure exemplify why judges and viewers trust his skiing: he scales difficulty without sacrificing clarity. Olympic turns in 2014, 2018 and 2022 added global stagecraft; even when results weren’t the headline, the takeaway was the same—legible trick architecture at full speed. :contentReference[oaicite:1]{index=1}

Just as important are the formats he helped elevate. Alongside Phil Casabon, Harlaut co-hosted the B&E Invitational at Les Arcs—a skatepark-style course that let riders tell stories with lines, not just trick lists, and where peer voting reinforced culture over calculation. Those years influenced today’s style-forward events and modern jam formats. Between seasons he kept timing sharp at parks with reliable laps and clean lips: Sweden’s Kläppen (home to many style sessions), California’s Mammoth, and long-season Mt. Hood for late-spring mileage. :contentReference[oaicite:2]{index=2}

How they ski: what to watch for

Harlaut skis like a director and an engineer at once. Approaches are drawn early to minimize drift; the takeoff meets the lip in balance; grabs lock as soon as the body finds axis. Whether he’s spinning forward or switch, the rotation fits the venue—no last-second scrubs, no fight with the landing. His signature buttered entries (most famously the nose-butter into triple cork) are never decoration; they set the axis so the rest of the trick reads cleanly to judges and cameras. On rails he uses the whole feature—presses into swaps, redirects, and exits that square the shoulders—so even complex lines remain legible on replay. The result is difficulty you can study, not just applaud. :contentReference[oaicite:3]{index=3}

Resilience, filming, and influence

Harlaut’s cultural impact extends well beyond bibs. With Casabon and producer Eric Iberg he helped popularize rider-designed courses and film projects that let style lead—culminating in the B&E years and the two-year film The Regiment, backed by core partners and retailers. He also competed in video-first formats (Real Ski, Knuckle Huck) that reward creativity, connecting contest and edit audiences. Off-hill, his Stockholm-born, Åre-raised perspective shows in Harlaut Apparel Co., an independent label that treats drops and visuals like part of the story. It all adds up to a durable influence: younger riders copy not only his axis management and grabs, but also his insistence on formats where the best skiing looks like freeskiing. :contentReference[oaicite:4]{index=4}

Geography that built the toolkit

Place explains a lot about Harlaut’s approach. Åre gave him the Scandinavian mix of rope-tow repetition, icy learning days, and creative park design; Sweden’s broader park ecosystem—especially Kläppen Snowpark—refined timing and line selection. Springtime moved to long-season venues—Mammoth Mountain for reliable XL jumps and clean takeoffs; Oregon’s Timberline on Mt. Hood for months of consistent practice. The B&E years anchored a French chapter at Les Arcs, while Arctic Sweden’s Riksgränsen supplied late-light windows and natural hits that sharpen creativity when most resorts are closed. That map—Åre → Kläppen → Mammoth/Hood → Les Arcs/Riksgränsen—produces exactly the composure and readability you see on snow. :contentReference[oaicite:5]{index=5}

Equipment and partners: practical takeaways

Logos matter less than systems, but Harlaut’s partners tell a coherent story. His signature Armada EDOLLO ski is built for presses and pop with durability for rails—recently refreshed in the 2025–26 line—while his boot of choice is the K2 FL3X Method B&E, a three-piece design tuned for park feel and repeatable flex. For vision he runs Oakley, including signature Line Miner goggles; energy support comes from Monster Energy; and his own Harlaut Apparel Co. handles the fit. Practical takeaways for progressing skiers:

• Tune edges for the day: lightly detune contact points to avoid bites on rails, keep under-foot bite for icy in-runs, and refresh base structure before salted scaffolding jumps.
• Keep swing weight and mount points consistent across “training” and “shoot” setups so timing transfers from medium jumps to XL lines.
• Protect in-runs and landings when filming or on comp day; consistent entry speed and clean outruns make long grabs and centered stomps possible. :contentReference[oaicite:6]{index=6}

Why fans and progressing skiers care

Harlaut bridges worlds: he took home the biggest medals without abandoning the style and storytelling that built freeskiing in the first place. Fans get rewatchable runs and parts—tricks that tell a story from approach to ride-away. Developing skiers get a step-by-step blueprint: design the approach first, size the spin to the venue, lock the grab early, and value landings you can reproduce tomorrow. That philosophy is why his Aspen highlights still circulate, why his World Cup wins feel instructive, and why park laps worldwide still carry echoes of his technique. :contentReference[oaicite:7]{index=7}

Quick reference (places)

• Åre — official / Sweden
• Kläppen Snowpark / Kläppen — official
• Les Arcs / Les Arcs — official
• Mammoth Mountain / Mammoth — official
• Riksgränsen / Riksgränsen — official

Principal sponsors

• Armada — skis (EDOLLO signature)
• Oakley — goggles (Line Miner signature)
• K2 FL3X — boots (Method B&E)
• Harlaut Apparel Co. — apparel (athlete-run label)
• Monster Energy — energy partner

Philip Casabon, known to skiers around the world as B-Dog, is a Canadian freeski legend from Shawinigan, Québec, whose influence on street and park skiing spans more than a decade of groundbreaking video parts, signature products and era-defining style. He emerged in the late 2000s and early 2010s as a rider who could make complex tricks look effortless, pairing technical precision with a relaxed body language that reads clearly on camera and in person. While many athletes built careers around podiums, Casabon built a catalog around originality and storytelling, proving that progression in freeskiing is measured not just by spin counts, but by ideas, rhythm and the way a skier uses terrain. Casabon’s breakthrough years were intertwined with a creative partnership with Henrik Harlaut under the B&E banner, culminating in invitational events that showcased style, flow and unconventional features. Those projects amplified a philosophy that still guides his skiing today. Lines are designed like sentences with a beginning, middle and end. Approach speed is chosen to preserve cadence rather than to force difficulty. Takeoffs are decisive and axes are set early so rotations remain readable and landings ride away clean. The result is footage that ages well and remains instructive for younger riders studying how to combine rails, walls, gaps and banks into coherent sequences. The contest world eventually embraced video-based formats, and Casabon became a benchmark there as well. In X Games Real Ski he delivered all-urban segments that balanced heavy enders with subtle touches: nose and tail presses that carry real weight, surface swaps performed on imperfect steel, redirected spins that treat walls and banks as extensions of the rail line. Those edits demonstrated mastery of spot selection, logistics and risk management under tight timelines. They also highlighted a symbiosis with filmer and editor Brady Perron, whose eye for pacing and framing magnified Casabon’s skating-inspired approach to edges, balance and transitions. Equipment is a central part of Casabon’s story. His signature park and street skis became known for playful flex in the tips and tails, supportive underfoot platforms and shapes that feel neutral on unknown landing angles. He is meticulous about mount points that keep swing weight balanced without sacrificing landing stability, and he is vocal about edge durability, torsional support and base speed on contaminated snow. In boots, he gravitated to progressive designs that preserve ankle articulation and rebound for presses and quick recentering after surface changes. This product literacy turns gear into a creative partner rather than an afterthought, and it informs a steady stream of feedback to designers who translate rider needs into shapes and constructions that withstand urban abuse. Casabon’s training habits reveal why the style looks so effortless. Off snow he emphasizes hip and ankle mobility, single-leg strength for efficient pop on short run-ins, and trunk stability to manage off-axis rotations without letting the upper body flail. Trampoline and air-awareness sessions break big tricks into components, rehearsing set mechanics, grab timing and spotting before full-scale attempts. On snow he builds lines from low-consequence moves, scaling them patiently into heavy features once speed, angles and snow texture are predictable. That incremental method reduces injuries and preserves longevity in a discipline where impact tolerance is often mistaken for progress. Storytelling is another thread that runs through his career. Casabon treats each project like an album rather than a single, choosing music, color and pacing that serve the skiing. He shows the process in behind-the-scenes moments: shoveling and salting to control speed, testing inruns at dawn when light is flat but traffic is light, cleaning spots and restoring environments out of respect for neighborhoods. This transparency sets a standard for urban filming etiquette and keeps doors open for future crews. It also explains why his films are rewatchable; they offer both the satisfaction of heavy tricks and the narrative of how those tricks were made possible. Community impact rounds out his profile. Casabon mentors younger riders by translating complex technique into simple cues: align early on the inrun, commit to a clean set, keep shoulders calm through impact, and ride away with purpose. He is honest about fear management, using visualization and measured increments to turn nerves into information rather than noise. In camps and informal sessions he shares the small adjustments that create big gains, from binding ramp angle to edge bevels that keep rails viable on cold mornings. As freeskiing continues to evolve, Casabon remains a reference point for authenticity. He releases tightly curated video parts, appears at select events, and collaborates with brands in ways that preserve the integrity of his style while pushing product design forward. His legacy is not confined to medals or one winter’s highlight reel. It lives in a generation of skiers who learned that creativity can be systematic, that style is a skill built on fundamentals, and that a line that reads beautifully will always matter. For fans and aspiring riders, Philip Casabon stands as proof that street skiing can be both refined and raw, both disciplined and free, and that the most enduring progression happens when craft, culture and community move together.