Finn Bilous Talks the Ultimate Skier’s Fantasy: Receiving a Red Bull Helmet

New Zealand skier Finn Bilous is a human multi-tool. Relying on his strong park skiing fundamentals, he appeared in both the PyeongChang and Beijing Winter Olympics, competing in slopestyle and big air. Then, he took a gamble and successfully pivoted to competitive freeride skiing, translating his skillset to imposing big mountain faces.

Two weeks after his Beijing Olympic appearance, Bilous competed in the Fieberbrunn stop of the Freeride World Tour as a wildcard. He crushed it—and became an FWT staple known for infusing freeride with a much-needed dose of newschool style. Last winter, he blew minds when he stomped a 360 off the legendary Hollywood Cliff during the FWT’s finals event in Verbier, Switzerland.

Bilous’ contributions to freeskiing haven’t gone unnoticed. This summer, he received the ultimate freeskiing accolade, a Red Bull helmet. Bilous broke the news with a now-established video genre—the helmet ambush—where new Red Bull athletes are surprised with the iconic piece of headwear.

We figured there was a bit more to the story, though, so we shot Bilous an email to hear about receiving the Red Bull helmet—and more.

This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.

To start off, was earning a Red Bull helmet something you were expecting? I'm curious what the lead-up to signing a deal with Red Bull looks like .

"I can’t say that I was expecting it, but I knew there was some interest. The crew at Red Bull gave me a call about a year prior to being signed and were interested in hearing more about myself and the program I’ve been running. From there, I guess they were following my Northern Hemisphere season closely and must’ve been stoked on what they saw as they offered me a partnership soon after the season came to a close.

After a few back and forths dialing in the contract, I agreed to the partnership. That was about three weeks prior to receiving the helmet, so there was a bizarre time period where I’d signed onboard, but I had to keep the news on the D Low whilst also knowing there would be a surprise helmet reveal at some point. Meanwhile, Red Bull had been in contact with my manager and family to orchestrate the surprise. I had no idea as to when or where I’d be receiving my lid, so I just went about my business as usual until I was surprised by my good friend, Nico Porteous, in Wanaka, NZ, alongside my family."

How'd actually seeing and receiving the helmet in person feel for you?

"It’s a trip! So many of the riders that have inspired me and that I’ve looked up to have worn the Red Bull helmet, so it was pretty wild to read my own name on the back and to be recognized in that group of riders."

Is there anything Red Bull-related you're involved with that you can tease?

"There are a few concepts that we’ve already been discussing. It’s still early days, and I can’t share too much right now, but I’m stoked to work alongside their team and tap into their resources to hopefully bring something new to the world of skiing."

What changes to your career do you expect now that you're part of the Red Bull team?

"Throughout my career, I’ve felt that to get recognized in the ski world, you really need to show up in the Northern Hemisphere season, and that’s where lots of the industry’s emphasis goes. Coming from the other side of the world, there are obvious barriers to overcome to even have the privilege of skiing in the Northern Hemisphere, let alone being recognized in that market.

I know that’s something that lots of talented Kiwi riders have struggled with. I hope that this partnership opens up the possibility of working on more projects down here in the Southern Hemisphere that showcases the place that has given me a foundation within skiing, and I’d like to think that throughout these projects, we’ll be able to strengthen the pathway for future generations of shredders here in Aotearoa [in Māori, New Zealand is called Aotearoa]."

Between Olympic and Freeride World Tour performances, you've successfully straddled the worlds of park skiing and freeride. What prompted the pivot to freeride, and did your New Zealand upbringing make the transition smoother?

"For sure, my upbringing in New Zealand has had a huge impact on my skiing. We have such a wide range of terrain, which allowed me to look at skiing as being multidisciplinary from the get-go. I grew up riding and competing in all freestyle disciplines. However, as I got older, specializing in a singular discipline became more encouraged. The competition schedules began to overlap, and it was challenging to be at everything all at once. I didn’t want to spread myself too thin, so I had to start prioritizing different events.

When I first started facing those crossroads, the slopestyle and big air pathway gave me a lens to see the world like no other. I had some wicked times competing on that circuit and was managing to sneak away on a few pow trips in between park contests.

However, once COVID hit, this was no longer a possibility as we had strict guidelines as to where we could travel & who we could travel with. Simultaneously, I felt that the slopestyle and big air competition scene was progressively getting more structured and ultimately further away from the reasons as to why I got into skiing in the first place. I knew it was time to mix things up.

I was fortunately given the opportunity to compete as a Wildcard in the Fieberbrunn stop of the FWT just two weeks after competing in the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics. I had no idea if I’d be able to adapt my riding to the exposed FWT faces, however, I ran at the unknown, and the event was super fun. It was new, exciting, and the community felt more congruent with reasons why freeskiing is attractive to me. I was very fortunate to be given that opportunity by the FWT, and it’s opened the door to a whole new world of skiing for me."

Your brother is a former FWT competitor. Did he help coach you through what to expect and how to succeed?

"Yeah, he helped shape my perspective towards competing on the FWT. My brother Hank encouraged me to ski lines that I naturally gravitated towards, thinking less about the judging criteria and more about what would simply make me stoked at the bottom of the run. I think that always shines through in someone's skiing and is something that I think my brother does really well. That piece of advice has driven a lot of my line selection over the past couple of years and is something I’ve tried to carry into every competition I’ve done on the FWT."

It looks like you filmed with MSP this past ski season. Besides that—as far as video projects and competition appearances—what can we expect from you during this upcoming Northern Hemisphere winter?

"I’m still piecing together what this upcoming Northern Hemisphere season looks like, and in all honesty, I never really know what’s going to happen until I’m deep in it. I’m enjoying the direction that my skiing has been going in the past couple of winters, so I’ll be looking to spend more time in the backcountry with close friends and family. Keen to jump on a few film trips, and I’m also working on some projects with my sponsors, as an athlete, but also on the design side that I’m stoked to share with the world. We’ll see how much competition plays into that plan."

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