Red Bull Heavy Metal 2026 Made Its Mark on Helsinki

One of snowboarding’s most iconic rail jams filled a void the Finnish people didn’t know needed filling, putting community-driven snowboarding on the mainstream map.

For the first time in history, one of snowboarding’s most iconic rail jams, Red Bull Heavy Metal, ventured to the other side of the Atlantic Ocean, landing bang in the middle of one of snowboarding’s most street-friendly locations: Helsinki. And it certainly didn’t go unnoticed.

Blue skies, happy people and a crowd that rolled in to fill the main square in Helsinki meant the ingredients for a successful rail jam were already pretty up there – and that exact stoke carried all the way through to the end.

The event was divided into two zones, and each zone into two heats. Zone 1 was where the hinge came into play, helping riders either fly over the stairs or hit a massive rail with a mellow six-metre drop underneath. From there, they continued to either jump over a barrelled sauna or choose from smaller rails and benches, allowing for plenty of added creativity.

Zone 2 introduced a set of five different rails for the riders to choose from, and at the speed they flew down them, we also saw a few riders crash into the crowd – luckily without any serious injuries.

While the overall riding throughout the day was insane, probably the best I’ve ever seen at a rail jam, Pat Fava and Telma Särkipaju were crowned the overall winners. A well-deserved win based on creativity, technicality, landed tricks and impeccable style.

What made this event truly stand out wasn’t just the out-of-this-world riding, but what this kind of recognition can do to help push snowboarding forward – and hopefully it’s just the beginning of where we might see snowboarding heading.

Red Bull Heavy Metal cemented its reputation in the snowboard scene a long time ago, but seeing it all unfold with my own eyes was different. The incredibly high level of talent from the riders, the organisation that kept everything running smoothly throughout the day, and the healthy mix of mainstream and core media there to capture it all felt like something bigger than the average contest – not to mention the reactions and support from the crowd.

Don’t get me wrong, I love a good grassroots event. But this was something else. The Finnish people, the Finnish mainstream media, and a huge crowd in the middle of the city got to witness what we see and love about snowboarding every day: the community, the creativity, and the fact that snowboarding isn’t just what you see in the Olympics.

And for that to unfold in front of such a big audience, keeping everyone from grandmas to toddlers engaged and captivated by what we hold so dear about this sport, only shows that there is room for this side of snowboarding to grow and be recognised: the side where community matters just as much as the riding itself.