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Originals, Videos February 4, 2025February 13th, 2025

In The Mood For Joy

Video & Text by Robin Pailler | Photography by Theo Acworth & Felix Adler

I can’t lie. Upon receiving this assignment I knew very little about Benny Urban.

I knew the name of course. Because let’s be honest, it’s a hard name to forget. But my lack of knowledge in the snowboarding sphere meant research was required. Naturally, I left it late. Delving into podcast interviews whilst simultaneously reading written ones and watching video parts as I made the journey to Innsbruck. Perhaps fortunately the plane failed to land twice due to high winds which resulted in a detour to Munich, a three-hour wait at the Air France and a two-hour taxi ride to Innsbruck. 

So, by the time I check in at 1am, I’m starting to have a pretty strong idea of who Benny Urban is. Exec summary: an all-round good bloke and street snowboarding legend. 

When we meet the following morning for breakfast at Landhausplatz, I’m pleased to learn Benny’s exactly how I imagined. Humble, measured, down to earth and someone who seems very grateful to be where he is. At 32 years old, Benny’s been in the game a while. With a new pro Vans collection and having recently become a father, it’d be easy to take a step back and chill. Yet Benny exudes the enthusiasm of someone half his age. As soon as we’ve finished eating, he’s down to skate the plaza. And for those who don’t know, Benny skates good. Like, really good. 

We’re swiftly joined by local friends, Theo Acworth, Felix Adler, J. Pablo Mora and Antonio de Brauw. Cameras are immediately unpacked. Benny wants to get clips. There’s a contagious energy in the air and Benny is the catalyst. 

“Benny is one of those guys who brings good energy to everything he does,” Pablo tells me. “Whether it’s landing the sickest trick or pushing you to step up your game.” 

It’s a trait I witness firsthand as we move from spot to spot, with Benny taking over filming duties and encouraging his mates to get clips. You can tell he’s all about the community. 

Moon Park is a prime example. Having moved to Innsbruck following stints in Hamburg, Munich and Salt Lake City, Benny took it upon himself to create a space for him and his friends to snowboard for fun. Something akin to Salt Lake’s Bone Zone. Located in the alps on the outskirts of the city, Moon Park is a DIY snowboard park Benny and his friends built after securing permission from a private land owner. Using sponsorship resources and local connections, obstacles were built and the space has gone on to become an integral part of the Innsbruck snowboarding scene, often hosting open sessions and events, and allowing locals to flourish in a private environment. You can tell Benny has an insatiable desire to build connections with all those who share his passion and drive for snowboarding. It’s a point emphasised by his close friend and filmer, Alex Pfeffer. 

“What I truly admire about Benny is his incredible loyalty and the remarkable network of friends he has built. He has helped so many people freely develop their personalities and grow, both personally and professionally. Beyond that, any time spent with Benny is never boring—he’s always up for a good laugh and brings so much joy to those around him.”

He’s not wrong either. Whether skating the streets, sessioning Moon Park or playing pool in the local pool hall, Benny’s always fun to be around. With an infectious grin, he’s always keen for the good times, yet fully aware of his responsibilities. Having fallen in love with his now-fiancée, Elisa, the pair recently became parents when Elisa gave birth to their daughter, Matilda. Naturally, there’s a shift in life whenever children come on the scene. But Benny’s been able to flawlessly adapt to the challenges of parenthood it seems. Being disciplined and principled just comes naturally for him. He knows how to strike a balance to make everything work. It’s a point his friend and Vans teammate, Sebi Springeth, is keen to highlight.

“When I look to Benny as a person, it inspires me to see that he’s able to handle a lot of situations,” Sebi explains. “He taught me not to wait on other people to come and help you. At one point you have to just take it on your own if you really want it. It might work, it might not. But at least you gave it your all. Last year, for example, he was dealing with a lot of stuff at once, baby and fiancée at home, managing his own project, plus making sure the people involved get what they want. Transferring into a new role at Vans and so on. But he handles everything and just goes all in.” 

And despite all the responsibilities, Benny still finds time to continuously push his snowboarding career, with a new pro boot testament to his hard work and the level he’s achieved. 

“He’s an insanely talented snowboarder,” Theo explains. “I’ve seen him do tricks so perfectly that I don’t think it’s possible to improve, and then he’ll hike back up, drop in again, and with one tiny adjustment will somehow make it even better. Sometimes it’s hard to tell what he’s even done differently, but you know it when you see it. Maybe pushing for perfection is a German thing. But either way, the results speak for themselves.”

Words from the Horse’s Mouth

So Benny, what have you been up to recently?

Lately I’ve been working on my Vans film, if I can say my Vans film—a project that I’ve gotten to direct and curate with Vans together as an ongoing project. Over the past two and a half years, we’ve been filming for it, and having fun chasing the snow around the globe. I’m happy with how it’s coming together and really looking forward to put that out soon—watch this space! I’ve also become a father which you could say is a new task in life, but it’s a beautiful one that I have been embracing wholeheartedly. 

How do you find that balance, as a father, a pro-snowboarder and now also the Vans European Team Manager?

That’s a very good question, and one that I ask myself every day. There’s actually so much time in the day; if you are efficient with your time and plan well, you can make time for everything. Luckily snowboarding keeps me sane, it’s my outlet both creatively and physically. So I have a good excuse, twice a week or so to strap in, my wife is cool with it as it’s technically part of my job…I’m very fortunate in that respect. 

Talk us through the Moon Park? Arguably your first child? 

Well, the Moon Park was born from a place of frustration from the ski resorts around the Alps, because they’re not really providing what snowboarders are necessarily looking for. So we decided to do a DIY snowboard park, that we created about six years ago. No lift, just obstacles that we carried up to 2000m elevation…it’s a place where we go with our friends, ride rails and snowboard and just kick it, a great place to get early and late season snow and a nice alternative to the usual resorts around here. And it’s thanks to the generosity of partners like Red Bull who really helped out on providing us features to ride, underlining their commitment to giving back to the community, which really means a lot. 

How important is the community aspect of the Moon Park for you? 

Well, that’s the foundation of it all. It’s a place for the community, by the community. It’s meant for everyone to contribute as it’s only fair for the people that built it, so we don’t want it to just be consumed. We want people to come, but bring a shovel, build a feature, get creative with it and enjoy it!

Tell us more about this new film You Are Inside Your Heart.

Well I was fortunate enough to have a filmer by my side for the past couple of winters, every trip that we went on we took one or two teammates. It’s entirely shot in Europe, mainly in Scandinavia—Finland, Sweden, Norway. It’s a video portrait of myself but I also had to produce it which was a weird one for me. But we had so many of the team in the mix who are so talented. We had an intense but great time making it. We had the world premiere at DIYX in Stockholm, and the online release is imminent…alongside my Wasted Talent video piece! 

Who inspires you in snowboarding?

Man, there’s so many so many good people out there. I guess it’s one big pool of inspiration that I try and take a little bit of, so many different characters and their snowboarding with me on my journey! 

What gets me really stoked is just to see the up and comers—groms that remind me of myself when I was young who are just stepping into the scene, putting themselves out there and progressing every day. The main point is that they are having so much fun with it, wearing the biggest smile on their faces because they just love snowboarding to death. In terms of other riders, people like Arthur Longo and anyone that represents a different type of snowboarding gets me really hyped, as well as big mountain type snowboarding that I can’t really do that well gets me fired up!

And inspiration outside of snowboarding? 

Skateboarding. Skateboarding is definitely just still so stuck in my brain. I just can’t get it out, I’m not even trying to; it’s my first love! So yes, still definitely following skateboarding a lot. Other than that, where to begin? My family, my daughter, music, friends. All that’s around me. It’s all just one big pool of inspiration. I’ve also started to surf, which I love and try and embed in my riding a little as well. 

So were in this moment where it seems the subcultures of surfing, skating and snowboarding are more close-knit than ever—how do you feel about that?

I see this trend of the crossovers being more organic and natural. There’s more acceptance. The core of these sports and cultures are less narrow-minded than they were before. You have guys like Lucas Puig, one of the most core skaters, living in Biarritz and surfing daily. You have Arthur Longo who loves to skate and surf. Mikey Feb is getting into snowboarding. It’s amazing to see. I personally have always been very inspired by skating, and now recently, surfing as well. I think it’s fucking rad when you see snowboarders killing it on a skateboard or when a surfer straps in on a snowboard. It’s awesome. 

When I first started surfing, which was quite recently (a few years back), it was so cool. Everything was so new, so refreshing – the locations, the equipment, the riders, the videos—the entire culture! It reminded me of being a seven year old shithead first getting into snowboarding. I love it. 

And what’s next? 

After I’ve been on this filming bender for the past few years, and now with new responsibilities as a father, and a Team Manager, I want to take a little breather and not rush straight into another big project or video part, to just enjoy riding for myself, the act of snowboarding in itself. For the love. 

Final question… is Urban your actual surname?! 

It is! It’s my actual surname. Such a paradox, so ironic. It’s not an artist’s name or anything, that would be so cheesy!