This Austrian ripper from 1990 overcame a late  entry into the sport, a difficult provenance, injuries, and shared time between work and riding to become one of the best snowboarders Austria has seen in many years.

"When I was 13 I was asked what I think about snowboarding. I gave it a serious try, riding kickers and doing freestyle stuff and all. Suddenly I was hooked and didn´t want to stop", explained Tom.

By kicking the season in 2010 off with a second place at the Air&Style Rookie Challenge in Innsbruck (with an over-styled Front 10 Indy), the win of the Wängl Tängl Young Gun Award, the showcasting of a switch back 12 in Isenseven´s movie "Don´t Panic", he is one of a handful riders who stood out from the masses and became the prospective world-class rider of the region.