Introducing: The Burn Units

Gigi Rüf to lead Burn Energy's new Elite Snowboard Team

"With Burn I am fired up entering state of the art snowboarding" - Christian "Gigi" Rüf.

Legendary Austrian snowboarder Gigi Rüf is to be the first and founding member of Burn Units, a rider-led initiative dedicated to igniting creativity within sideways standing communities. Joining Gigi will be French contest and video star Arthur Longo and Norwegian super-rookie Ståle Sandbech.

The Team

Arlberg local Gigi Rüf, 29, is a true snowboarding icon. With over a decade of standout video parts with Absinthe Films and Pirate productions, Gigi is not only one of the most stylish snowboarders on the planet, he is also one of the hardest working. This year's release of his solo film Project 9191 confirmed his creative prowess, fulfilling a unique snowboard vision through multiple film mediums and an original soundtrack.

Arthur Longo, 21, is France's hottest rider. After winning one of snowboarding's biggest prizes at The Arctic Challenge in 2009 and representing his country in Vancouver at the 2010 Olympics, Arthur went on to deliver the first of what is sure to be many legendary video parts in this season's Pirate Movie Production Hooked. However it is Arthur's all around riding ability and inimitable smooth style and character that raises eyebrows the world over.

He's not yet 18, but Ståle Sandbech (pronounced Stor- leh) has already achieved more at the start of his career than most pros could hope for by the end. At 15, he was already being tipped by Terje Haakonsen, snowboarding's greatest icon, as the next big thing. Today, at the tender age of 17 he is an Olympian, current and junior world Slopestyle champion. However accolades aside, Ståle has a captivating energy, which he takes to the mountain every time he straps into his bindings. Whether in a contest or shooting a video part, this is the qulaity that makes him such a unique rider.

The Burn Units will represent the pinnacle of the Burn snow program and be an aspiration for all regional teams which are currently being put in place across Europe. Gigi, Ståle and Arthur will serve as mentors for this home-grown talent, which as they develop, will feed into the elite European team.

The Burn snow program will kick off with a bang at 2011's Air&Style in Innsbruck. Expect to see some of the Burn Units in full force as well as a few exciting and creative twists and turns brought to you by Burn.

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