Rider Parts

Flashback – Romain de Marchi in Vivid

Romain’s part from Absinthe’s classic movie firmly established him as one of snowboarding’s A-list riders and, close to 15 years later, it’s still frickin’ SICK. Watch it…

Romain burst onto the scene around the turn of the century and quickly earned a reputation as a rider who sent it to the moon, both on the hill and off it. ‘Hellraiser’, ‘enfant terrible’, ‘loose cannon’ and more in the same vein were epithets that would regularly tagged on to any mention of this young Swiss rider, and this part from Absinthe’s movie, Vivid, both played up to them and cemented his standing as one of an elite few dining at snowboarding’s top table.

This shifty tail drag running into what was at the time one of the biggest kickers ever seen, in head to toe camo no less, is as burned into memory as the actual riding. Hats off Romain and Absinthe.

Romain had begun his career on Airwalk (the old skate shoe brand had, for several years, made a decent fist of producing snowboards and outerwear) and was one of the brand’s highest profile up-and-comers in the late 90s. But with his star waxing, Burton came knocking and quickly snaffled up his talents.

Of course, a board brand doesn’t immediately alter a snowboarders skills, but what it can do is afford a rider certain opportunities and this is precisely what the B did – inviting De Marchi to their end of season super shoot in Hemsedal. Here, on some of the biggest features snowboarding had seen at that point, he would step up to knock hit after hit out the park with Absinthe’s Justin Hostynek hanging from a heli documenting the madness as Romain put down a clinic on mega-booter riding (and mega-booter slams) that forms the crescendo of this Vivid part.

De Marchi about to get a cash shower in Absinthe’s Vivid.

The rest of the part is equally a masterclass of backcountry kicker riding, with De Marchi sending his patented wild style off wedges from Canada, AK, and closer to home in Switzerland – all set to Radiohead’s Paranoid Android and edited supremely to form an undeniably iconic part.

And then, of course, there’s the stuff with the machete and raining cash. A classic.

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