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To Hell and Back | Monster Energy Hell Week Recap

One week of carnage in Crans Montana with the Global Monster Snowboard Team

Unless you spent the last two weeks taking a social media detox, you cannot have missed what went down in Crans Montana at Monster Hell Week. Helicopters, tattoos, highly questionable haircuts and – of course – insane riding, a combination that could only be accomplished by the Monster snowboard family. But what was the whole idea behind it?

The haircut, amongst many other things, that earned Ethan Morgan MVP of the week. Photo: Stella Pentti.

“We wanted to do an event for the riders,” Austin, Monster Global Snowboard Team Manager, tells us. “Especially with an Olympic year and Covid, half of the guys haven’t seen each other for three years and then the contest season is so heavy that they cram the whole schedule, and I just thought I want to give back to the riders. So, then we kind of created this fraternity-like event, Hell Week, to give everyone crew vibes and to bunk up. It’s been a good week for the riders to have fun and send it on the mountain, off the mountain, and go out the season with a good vibe. The team is like one big family.”

“It’s been a good week for the riders to have fun and send it on the mountain, off the mountain, and go out the season with a good vibe”

You can’t choose your family, but you can choose your teammates. Austin explains, “We kind of hire some of these guys through our other athletes. It’s a whole vibe check”. Thomas, European DM for snowboard and skate, continues, “I think that is definitely one of the outstanding things of the monster snowboard team because it’s an actual real family.”

15-year-old Mia Brookes. Photo: Stella Pentti.

But planning a family gathering is a big undertaking at the best of times, even more so when it’s one as big and global as Monster’s, “We wanted to do a spring shoot, just for the vibes and the fun times.” Austin says. With the Monster team being made up of backcountry riders, pipe riders, contest riders and Natural Selection Tour riders, it also felt like a safe bet to throw the event at the end of the season, which paid off, as Thomas explains, “90-95% of the riders made it out”.

“But when a snowboarder is dropped into a mix that not only caters for their needs on the mountain but also allows them to let loose, Monster wanted to throw in a little extra something to encourage the riders to go the extra mile”

Few brands have a team as big and versatile as Monster, and a bunch of the riders were asked to give their input on the course too, “We wanted to make what they wanted to ride. The whole thing is without pressure, we just want them to ride, and we just wanted to film it.” Austin tells us.

Sage Kotsenburg at the massive jump in Crans Montana. Photo: Stella Pentti.

On top of the riding, the week offered a bunch of other activities, including a tattoo parlour, barbershop, wakeboarding, and an abundance of booze (arguably the most popular activity of the week). “This event was born like a ‘let’s do just a fun week for the riders to get together and to strengthen the family vibe that we already have’. We didn’t want it to just be another snowboard shoot because they are so used to it, we wanted to do something different,” Thomas explains.

Annika Morgan working the big rails in Alaia Park. Photo: Stella Pentti.

With all the different activities on the list, Crans Montana proved to be the perfect place to host the event, “We wanted to have all these extra side activities and here, they have the surf wave, the skate park, and so many cool options. In the end, the surf wave broke the day before we arrived but…” Thomas laughs.

But when a snowboarder is dropped into a mix that not only caters for their needs on the mountain but also allows them to let loose, Monster wanted to throw in a little extra something to encourage the riders to go the extra mile. “We bought these fifteen-thousand-dollar necklaces [as prizes for the men’s and women’s MVP] to up the riding … and give it more of a fight” Austin laughs.

By the end of the week, Tess Coady and Ethan Morgan walked home with the prize around their neck. “It was an unforgettable week, but I forgot most of it”, Ethan laughs.

MVP’s of the week: Tess Coady and Ethan Morgan. Photo: Sami Tuoriniemi.

Can we expect Hell Week to be an annual thing? Probably not. But we’ve made (and forgotten) enough memories to last a lifetime.

Thank you, Monster. Thank you, riders. Thank you, everyone.

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