Coming up in the frozen rail-riding wonderland of Wisconsin, it’s no wonder young buck Ethan Deiss has fast become one of the most watched urban riders in the video part game. It started with a viral groundswell then morphed into instant pro fame as Ethan stacked trick after trick with local film crews. The uprising quickly ushered Ethan to the professional primetime with impressive parts in Burton’s Standing Sideways and Videograss’ Retrospective, but he has remained true to his Midwestern roots. This past season Ethan went even bigger with shots in Transworld’s latest movie, and a strong competitive showing, earning 3rd at Burton Rail Days in Tokyo, Japan and landing a 4th in Street at his first-ever Winter X appearance. But with another full filming and shooting season under his belt, it’s his cinematic evolution that we’re waiting to see in the new Burton release, 13.

With a full repertoire of Rodeos and McTwists in her halfpipe routine, Yuki brings a strong skillset to the women’s contest scene. This technical variety was most evident in her 3rd place in pipe at the 2012 Burton European Open, coupled with a respectable 6th at the Burton US Open. She is also an avid surfer and skater, giving her the reputation as one of Japan’s most well-rounded female athletes.

Not only a skilled backcountry technician, Masa is also an advisor for AK457 and Burton’s Family Tree line of freeride-inspired boards. His signature board, the Con Artist is a result of years spent exploring the woods, dissecting the trees and pillows of Japan’s backcountry. Masa’s passion for snowboarding has led him to support heli-boarding and cat boarding operations in Hokkaido and Niigata. Trying to keep up with this Zen-like mist of a rider? Now that’s another story.

Chris Sorman’s relaxed style makes critical street rails, bulletproof park kickers and consequential pow booters look like he’s out for a game of SKATE. This winter Chris stacked urban clips from his native Sweden to Poland with the Pirate crew, lapped up plenty of Austrian pow, and topped things off with some big park shoots. Look for his iconic style and sometime flagrant fashion sense in the latest Pirate release, Unique8.

Already entering and showing impressive results in halfpipe contests both in Japan and around the world, 16-year-old Eiju shows a talent and composure far beyond his years. By grabbing a respectable 7th place halfpipe finish at his first US Open, Eiju is solidifying his place on the world’s stage. Keeping busy in the off-season, he is also one of Japan’s top vert skaters and spends his free time at the Nihonkai skate park with his brother Ayumu.

A member of the Japan National Halfpipe Team, Rana competes year round in both World Cups and the Burton Global Open Series, while stopping for the occasional photo shoot along the way. Last season she stepped up with a 5th place finish at the Burton Canadian Open and got her first chance to compete in the Winter X Games, joining the top ranks of world-class riders.

Breaking into the world snowboarding scene by dominating the Junior World Championships is a significant feat for any rider. Especially one from a humble eastern European country that lacks the polished resort amenities many of us take for granted. Yet it was only after winning four Junior World titles in four different years (boardercross, giant slalom, halfpipe, and combined) that Marko realized freestyle was his thing. Since then, he has gone on to podium finishes around the world, as well as international video appearances including 91 Words for Snow, Draw the Line, Catch the Vapors, Thanks in Advance, and The B.
 Junior World Championships

  "Grilo's" competitive slopestyle and big air trophy case is stacked with wins from all corners of the planet, including an illustrious Innsbruck Air & Style title and multiple World Cup big air wins. This past season Grilo travelled to Bulgaria with Snowboarder, filmed with the Pirates and landed in 5th in front of 40,000 fans at the at the Toyota Big Air in Japan. He also elevated his online mastery, pumping out eight Grilosodes, his full length Grilomentary movie, and running the Cliptionary video contest while traveling the globe to film and compete. He also gets our vote for best boot skiing segment ever. Google it.

Known for style, shredding flair and some serious baking talent, Colorado’s Gabi Viteri has spent a fair share of time in front of both film and still cameras. She survived a string of injuries that included a hip dislocation, a separated shoulder and a blown ACL, yet put down a standout part in Peepshow’s 2011 release, Winter Wars. Last season she continued to charge with an aggressive street style rarely seen in the female ranks and stole the early season spotlight with a solid Snow Porn online video part, the first ever for a female rider.

Longtime Bear Mountain local, Zak Hale may have grown up with one of the most notorious park setups around, but the style he’s got is all-natural. With regular appearances all over the internet, including Bear’s “Sunday in the Park” series, Hale exists at the frontlines of the next generation of street-influenced freestyle riding. A clean-cut kid with a gangster’s swagger, he has spent summers effortlessly sliding between dialing Hawaiian waves and schooling High Cascade and Windell’s campers on the finer points of rail combos. Last season Zak bounced around the continent in the search for new features; see his natural talent and streetwise style on full display in Burton’s latest release, 13.

For a mild-mannered guy that learned to ride indoors, Seppe Smits has gone on to pop more corks than a five-star restaurant’s sommelier. After his first major win at the 2009 Air and Style Rookie session, Seppe’s global big air bender has found him grabbing podiums as far away as China. The Belgium native capped his 2011-12 season by clinching the TTR World Tour Big Air title, taking bronze in slopestyle at the 2012 World Championships in Oslo, and dropping hammers for Burton’s latest release, 13.

Transition punting, harmonica-playing, joke slaying Frend of all, Jack Mitrani is at home busting bigger and bigger superpipe and quarterpipe airs while heckling his crew from above. After a youth (mis)spent honing his skills on east coast ice, Jack now calls Mammoth home, with contest and festivals around the world a close second. Between puncturing the stratosphere with his superpipe one-hitters, you’ll find Jack busting freestyle raps with his Frends, filming music videos, and starring in a few too, like Burton’s new film 13.

Roope Tonteri dialed in his precise freestyle approach on the back-to-back booters of Ruka, Finland. From the unforgiving ice of his homeland, Roope burst onto the international stage with a win at the 2011 Burton European Open. On the hill and at the afterparty, the kid is certainly not shy. Roope entered 32 events over the 2011-12 season, podiuming in plenty—including silver in slopestyle at the Burton European Open and gold in slopestyle at the Nescafe Championships at Leysin—plus filming shots for Burton’s next film, 13.

Stephan Maurer fully embodies the pioneering personality of snowboarding—riding his own line and having fun on his own terms, no matter where or what he’s ripping. From throwing double backies and 1080s on a Fish, to innovating Burton’s new Family Tree board series, “Mu’s” unique approach is resonating deep in the international shred scene. Mu’s inaugural trip to Alaska this winter was a memorable one; bagging big descents in new terrain, he also survived a major sluff avy. Keep it tuned to Burton.com’s News & Video section to see the action.

When not hitting the books for high school, Taku has been causing quite the scene on the world competition stage as one of Japan’s most promising up-and-coming pipe riders. 2012 was a banner breakout season for Taku, highlighted by a 4th at the Burton New Zealand Open, 4th as the World Snowboarding Championships in Norway, and 6th at the Burton US Open. With a steady stream of improving results each season, look for big things to happen with this rising rider.

Spending most of his time exploring the vast and unique backcountry of Japan, Shota has been busy filming for Life Time Project’s newest movie. His smooth riding style has been earned from years of slinking and snaking through the trees and powder of the Japanese backcountry.

Always pursuing an original style, this leading Japanese snowboard legend has been pioneering sled-accessed terrain in the Hokkaido backcountry to reach new filming locations. His experience has led to a strong talent for developing Japanese-specific rider’s needs like the X9FV board that has become a Japanese favorite.

Growing up in Finland’s far north may not have meant huge mountains and deep snow, but for Enni Rukajärvi, the five-minute hot laps at Ruka (her local hill) added up to some explosive riding. Blowing up the competitive scene with both the TTR World Tour Title and Burton Global Open Series title in 2010, Enni kept the heat on in 2011, becoming the first ever rookie to take slopestyle gold at the X Games, placing 3rd in the European X Games slopestyle and wining the Burton US Open slopestyle event. In 2012, Enni followed up her rise to podium fame with a slopestyle silver at X Games, a 2nd at the Burton European Open and a 3rd at the US Open. Enni also won the Rookie of the Year Award at the Transworld Rider’s Poll Awards and ended the Dew Tour season ranked 2nd in slopestyle. Enni is fine living quietly in the small town she grew up in, but with results and consistency like this, there is no doubt she’ll continue making a statement in parks and on podiums around the world.

From learning to ride in the former communist country of Slovenia to becoming an international competitor, Cilka Sadar’s rise is truly a standout story. From superpipe to slopestyle, Cilka dominates in a way that belies her mild mannered, humble personality. Cementing her reputation as a precision-guided all-around rider, Cilka capped her 2011-12 season by winning her first TTR Overall Championship. Girl’s got a mean mulekick method to boot.

Few rising stars know podium fame better than Werni Stock. A native Austrian, Werni burst onto the pro scene by taking 2nd in the Rookie Challenge at the 2007 Innsbruck Air and Style. Two seasons later he hit the international stage with a rapid rise through the TTR ranks that included a 6th in the 2009 Innsbruck Air and Style Big Air, another 6th in the 2010 Innsbruck Air and Style Big Air and a 2nd at the 2010 Stuttgart Big Air. In 2011 his fame reached new heights when he stuck a frontside double cork 1080 in front of a hometown Bergisel-stadium crowd, earning him 3rd in the superfinals of the Innsbruck Air and Style.

Yet just one month later his meteoric rise came crashing down when he blew out his ACL on a frontside 1080 double cork while filming in the backcountry. Five painful knee surgeries and months of physical therapy later, Werni returned to snow last December. Most riders would be frustrated at the misfortune, but his humble, laid back character and eternally positive outlook pulled him through a rehab and recovery that makes most of us cringe with pain. On the mend and on the rise, his eight-month, five-surgery-long rehab battle landed him an 8th at the European Open, qualified him 6th at the O’Neill Evolution and scored him a 5th at the Big Air Stuttgart. Nearly back to winning and filming form, Werni put down a solid showing in the knockout rounds of the 2012 Innsbruck Air and Style and logged a productive shooting season with Pirate Productions and for Burton’s newest release, 13.

At the tender age of 23, Swiss ripper Christian Haller has been around the shred block and back again—scooping his first major junior title as a teen, competing and filming across the world, and making the Swiss Olympic superpipe team. After a promising 2011-12 season spent on the edge of the fourth-place bubble, we’re predicting big things for this transition slayer. Motivated and stylish, expect this kid to kill it in the pipe, and with his Swiss roots, pretty much any other type of terrain, too. Check him out in Burton’s latest movie, 13.

Teenage superpipe phenom Arielle Gold is living the dream, and she’s got the last name for it, too. Training with the USASA Team in hopes of a shot at the 2014 Olympic Superpipe title in Sochi, Arielle is already stacking top finishes in 2012, including silver at the Youth Olympic Games in Austria, and gold at the FIS World Junior Championships in Spain. Look for her bubbly personality and boosted airs at superpipe comps around the world.