The following article was originally printed in the October 2023 Issue of Slush. To access the full article click here.
In a world where snowboard contests often feel overly manicured and sterile, Ethan Morgan’s DIYX stands out with its perfect amount of unpolished chaos. High budget combined with a raw, intoxicating twist—sometimes quite literally. Ethan Morgan has been meticulously crafting this event for years, and I finally got to experience DIYX for the first time in 2022 in Innsbruck, Austria. From that moment, it was clear that DIYX was something genuinely special and different. Marketing teams spend months trying to recreate this kind of intangible magic, but only when it’s truly genuine, like in this case, does it become something extraordinary.
The crowd? Vibrant, buzzing with a mix of riders, media, and spectators packed into every nook and cranny around the features. People were nestled between every wall and barricade, sometimes spilling onto the course itself, giving the event a unique and unrestrained flavor.
What really sets DIYX apart is its ability to operate with a thrilling sense of lawlessness right in the heart of a bona fide European city. This vibe fuels the riders, inspiring them to keep going, whether they’re stomping a trick or taking a wince-worthy slam. The crowd’s cheers are a constant, encouraging roar. American riders often say, “This could never happen in America,” and they’re right. While some have tried to replicate it, there’s a level of debauchery at DIYX that’s impossible to mimic within the confines of rules and perception in any sort of organized U.S. event.
This trip seemed like the perfect reason to create a timestamped article. First, the antics of this contest are best captured in the moment. Second, it’s the only way to actually remember the countless memorable things over the foggy three days, and editing them down into a longer narrative would lose the flavor you get from seeing it in list form.
So, if you’re new to “timestamped” articles, here’s the deal: what follows are real-time notes taken on my iPhone as I recount the madness in Seefeld, Austria. The setting, as I would come to see, was a castle built for raves, complete with enough rooms and passages to get you lost for hours. Add in a mega ramp, multiple dance floors, a theater, art installations, and expansive outdoor grounds. One particular rail line has even become a legendary spot among European riders filming video parts. Oh, and I kept a tally of the drinks I had—the results are disturbing.
Monday, November 13
5:03 pm - I sit in the LAX airport lounge with palpable anxiety. It’s the quiet before the storm. I listen to "Lose Yourself" on the way to the airport in preparation. Last year’s DIYX unfolds so naturally and crazy that it’s hard to imagine it can live up to it, but at the same time, if there is one event that can do it, it’s this one. I chug back a couple of Asahi's, and my final drink before boarding the plane is an Aperol Spritz. I slowly train for this event. And at this moment, I begin a drink tally for the entire trip.
6:38 pm - The stewardess of the LAX>MUNICH Lufthansa flight pushes a small drink cart to my seat, smaller and more compact than the ones we see in America. The top of the cart contains various wine bottles, and I ask if she has beer. She looks at me almost angrily. “This is a German airline,” she says. “Of course,” I say back shamefully. My mistake; one Beck's please.
Tuesday, November 14
6:38 pm - After a walk from the train station to Montagu in the pouring rain, I run into Jed Anderson, Jill Perkins, and Danimals in the winding streets of the main town center. We make our way back to the first floor to the exact room I stayed in last year.
7:47 pm - After a quick beer at Montagu, I join the ride team at Machete, a good Mexican restaurant, and a staple haunt of the Innsbruck crowd.
11:38 pm - A stern FaceTime from Brock Crouch scolding me for not seeing him yet leads us to Kater Noster Cafe and Bar, where we see Yung Doli, Dillon, Dusty Hendricksen and Hrundi.
12:05 am - Realize we haven’t had any schnapps yet—seems offensive to the Austrian way of life. Shots all around.
12:35 am - More schnapps—why not.
12:57 am - Twist my arm—another schnapps.
Wednesday, November 15
4:34 pm - I admit that I don’t bring a board bag. While the ride team goes to the Moon Park 45 minutes away, (sort of a European Bone zone) I hunker down for some work and eventually peruse the streets alone to bear witness to the Christmas festival that happens in Innsbruck during this time, and has historically matched the timing of the event. Carts with weird hats, Glühwein, incredible soup, and a quesadilla-type thing with Brie cheese. I eat the tasty morsels while a street play for children goes on. I don’t speak German, but it appears to be some sort of story about a chicken and crow with the eventual appearance of a mouse and an upset queen. I take a moment and take in what will surely be the most wholesome thing I witness at this debaucherous event. Slowly but surely, I see people popping into the hostel with the same sort of anxious smirk that I show up with a day prior.
5:20 pm - Sparrow Knox is carrying a cardboard flamingo, alligator, and shark. I ask him what’s with them, and he just says, “I felt like I couldn’t leave them behind,” and walks away carrying them. I still have no idea where they come from, what their context is, and who made them.
8:36 pm - I start drinking pesto basil cocktails, which, if I had to describe, would be liquid pesto with vodka in it. Not for me.
8:49 pm - Friend and affiliate of Method Mag, Theo Ackworth, gives me shit that this story won’t come out until volume 4. Ok, so things that happen in December are good for 24/25, but November 15th is too far out? I call bullshit.
9:57 pm - We go to the local cinema for a of premiere of rides’ Rated R.
10:04 pm: Fridge does a one-man standing ovation for Krug's ender in Rated R.
10:15 pm - I have to pee so bad, but Jed’s part is playing (two songs), and it feels disrespectful getting up because he’s sitting right behind me. I imagine a “curb your enthusiasm”-esque moment where Jed notices I have gotten up and walked out of the theater during is video part. I better suffer in silence...