Liam Rivera just dropped Unplugged – his first creative video project. To celebrate it, our friends at Nidecker have offered to give away his kit. Check the edit and keep scrolling for an little interview with Liam and all of the details about how you could win his setup…
Hey Liam, how was your season?
It was great. Felt like one of the best seasons in Switzerland in a long time and I tried to take advantage of that. Went riding a lot, had a good share of pow days and overall just felt really good on the board.
Where did the idea for Unplugged come from?
My inspiration actually came from bike videos. There are a few bike edits out there without music and just the raw sounds of the bike – like the wheels, hub, tires in the dirt, suspension, etc. So I thought it would be cool to kind of recreate that on snow. And on top of that, I really like the aesthetic of the mountains in black and white. So I thought it would be nice to combine both ideas and hopefully inspire people to go out and snowboard.
We filmed mostly in Switzerland – Verbier and the surrounding area, as well as Les Marécottes. And there are also two lines from Kicking Horse, in Canada.
How many days of shooting does this represent?
The clips we used are from 6 days. Overall, I think we were filming for about 10-12 days, so there were some not so productive days and some lines and jumps that didn’t make the cut.
There were some struggles for sure. The idea was to film a good amount during my time in Canada, which was about 1 week to 10 days. Unfortunately the weather and snow were not in our favor. In the end, only shots from the first day made the cut. Luckily I had the opportunity to do some extra filming at the end of the season in Switzerland, which helped to make up for the missed opportunity in Canada.
What are your plans for this season?
This year I will be competing on the Freeride World Tour again. Next to that, I will film another project with a good friend of mine in our home resort in Verbier.
How has it been on the Freeride World Tour since the FIS took over?
Honestly, so far I haven’t noticed any difference. I think some of the changes are still to come, but I don’t know what they will be.
If the Olympics were held this year and Freeriding was included, who do you think would be on the Swiss team?
Damn, that’s a tough question. For snowboarding, I would hope myself… haha. Then I guess Remi Benamo, since he qualified for the Freeride World Tour this winter. And it would be great to have Mat Schaer or Severin van der Meer with us, if they would be up for it. Otherwise, in a parallel universe, I would have loved to see Nico Müller compete.
For the women, it’s hard to say. The highest ranked girl right now is Jennifer Albert, so I guess she would be on the team. Otherwise, I would love to see someone like Celia Petrig on the team, bringing some freestyle to freeride as well.
It’s interesting to think about, considering the rumors that Freeriding could be included in the 2030 games…
Let’s use this topic for our giveaway and get some ideas from our readers! Who would everyone like to see competing for Switzerland in Olympic Freeriding? Everyone who emails us with their ideas will have a chance to win your kit!
So let’s hear about this board… What do you like about the Escape Plus?
Yeah thats great! Huge thank you to Nidecker for supporting Unplugged and making this happen. For me, the Escape Plus is the perfect do it all snowboard. I ride it literally every single day of the season, whether I go to the park, slopes, backcountry jumps or steep freeride lines. It’s a directional twin, full camber, a slight setback and the right stiffness – I couldn’t ask for more in a board.
What sort of rider is it for?
I think it is for the rider who likes to ride it all. From riding some pow and freeride in the morning to jumping around in the park in the afternoon. You’ll only need one board.
Along with the board, Nidecker is also including their new Supermatic Escape bindings. What do you think of the Supermatic system?
Amazing! I think it is a great system. Super convenient and fast and I really like that it also works as a conventional binding. Sometimes for freeriding, I still like to strap in normally — especially when it’s steep. So I’m glad Nidecker found a way to combine those features in a step-in binding.
Anything else that you’d like to add before we wrap this up?
Just thank you for your time and questions. Hope everyone enjoys Unplugged and to whoever wins the board and binding, hope you enjoy the setup!
Thanks to you Liam! We’re looking forward to seeing more creative projects like this from you. And thanks to Sam Ingles for the photos and Nidecker for the giveaway… We’re excited to hear what everyone thinks about Freeriding in the Olympics.
