Rowan DuBois | staff writer

Blaring club music, high-risk snowboarding, and a crowd of 5,000 fans maintained a raucous environment outside of Acrisure Stadium on Saturday during the Red Bull Heavy Metal Qualifier.

Red Bull Heavy Metal is a street snowboarding competition that uses pedestrian locations like city halls and plazas, transforming them into locations where snowboarders can pull off tricks.

Heavy Metal’s first two events occurred in the early 2000s, but the competition eventually faded in popularity. In 2022, however, Heavy Metal was revived by professional snowboarder and event director,Joe Sexton, who cherishes the uniqueness of street snowboarding.

“It’s all about creativity,” Sexton said. “Half of it is just finding the spot you want to do it on. There’s a level of danger to it, and there’s a level of trial and error, but when you get the rail, the shot and the trick, there’s no better feeling.”

The stakes of the day were high for the riders, as only two, one man and one woman, qualified for the Red Bull Heavy Metal Finals in Boston on February 21.

The men’s winner was Liam Johnson, who sent the crowd into a frenzy in the final round as he pulled off a backside 180.

“It feels amazing,” Johnson said about the victory. ”Ever since Heavy Metal started coming to Minneapolis, I’ve always wanted to go. To come out here and win is really something special.”

Emmaus Rich, the winner of the women’s competition, was coming off of an injury during the event. Getting hurt, she said, wasn’t going to keep her away from the sport.

“I’m just so addicted ,” Rich said. “God has been so good and kept me relatively safe. Injuries are always plentiful … I’m just blessed to be here.”

Saturday’s event marked the first time Heavy Metal has come to Pittsburgh, and even though some Duquesne students weren’t familiar with the sport they still chose to come.

“It’s free,” said junior Noah Bradley. “So that’s what intrigued me about it.”

Bradley didn’t expect such a big crowd with the cold weather.

“A lot of people are really passionate about this,” Bradley said. “Coming out here, being loud and having a good time. It’s awesome.”

In total, 35 riders competed on the unridden, high-difficulty rail, all of whom hoped to qualify for the final.

The only lulls in crowd noise happened during wipeouts, when competitors landed awkwardly on the stairs, rail or crashed into the fence which held spectators back.

Without fail, cheers would once again return to the crowd when the injured rider got back to their feet, flashing a thumbs up to the crowd, or limping back up the hill from whence they came.

The idea of a fall on the rail or stairs made some riders, like 18-year old amateur snowboarder Michael Beitko, more worried about an injury than about their performance.

“During the practice runs I was not doing well,” Beitko said. “I took a couple of hard slams, so when I got out there I was really nervous.”

Beitko became a crowd favorite during his heat. He was wearing a flannel as he rode, sparking the crowd to dub him “flannel kid.” They chanted his new name during his runs.

Another crowd favorite was Casey Willax, who had dropped out of the event earlier in the day due to a sickness. After seeing the audience, he decided to compete anyway.

“The crowd just brought the amperage up,” Willax said. “There were thousands and thousands of people, and I was moving around, starting to feel better.”

Willax wasn’t the only one who hadn’t planned on competing, but decided to get in on the action.

LJ Henriquez, a 17-year old professional snowboarder who already qualified for the Boston final, launched himself high into the air and down the rail multiple times for the thrill.

Ashley Rosemeyer, a Pittsburgh native and one of the judges of the competition, was pleasantly surprised at the turnout.

“I wasn’t sure with the temperature what the riders would throw down,” Rosemeyer said, “So it was awesome to see everyone out there really hyping each other up. Having LJ come through was really amazing, too.”

As the winners were named, the crowd quickly dispersed out of the cold.

The riders who placed on the podiums were given trophies which displayed scenes of the Pittsburgh skyline.

Despite her successful day, Rich took a hard fall in the final round. After laying on the ground and having a brief conversation with the medical staff, she headed back up the hill and continued to compete.

“My dad made sure I was a tough cookie,” Rich said. “And I sure as hell am.”

She had mixed feelings about the final, however.

“I wasn’t expecting to go [to Boston], honestly,” Rich said. “I’m pretty nervous about it, so we’ll see.

Johnson plans to bring the same mindset he brought to Pittsburgh to the finals.

“I’m going to go for broke,” he said. “I’m going to put down as many tricks as I can and hustle back up the hill.”

Rowan DuBois can be reached at duboisr1@duq.edu