Dominik Wagner is totally crushing it right now, kid's on the serious come up, no doubt. This Austrian style master has started off his season with a bang, knocking out a couple of video parts last year and some good results in this year's pre-season rail jams across Europa. We took the time to squirt some Ketchup on his face while he was in our office a couple of weeks ago.

Hi Dominik, how's things? Where are you right now and what are you doing?
Hey man, I just got home from shredding and now I am trying to recover from some hard party nights with my friends.

Sweet, so your season is about to kick off, how are you feeling for this year?
Yeah, actually the season has already pretty much started. This year it seems like there are rail comps every single weekend. It has started really good for me, I went to to the Frontline Rail Jam at the beginning of October with my friend Marc Swoboda and we both won Best Trick so I was really stoked on that, and I went riding in Dachstein, Stubai and Hintertux as well. Right now I'm trying to ride as much as I can to get ready for the filming season. I like contests but now I can't wait to get out and start filming again. I was really happy how the last season worked out for me so I will just try to step it up and do my best. I even want to try to get some jumping and powder shots in there.
 
How have you spent your summer this year?
This summer I went on a big trip to New York, Whistler (Camp of Champions) and Mt.Hood (Windells) with Swobs, which was one of the sickest experiences I have ever had. After that I was supposed to work at a public pool as a lifeguard, but one week before I broke my collar bone and had to sit on the couch for more than a month. The rest of the summer I just tried to rehab and get ready for the early season.


How was your season last year, what were some of your highlights?
Last year I mainly filmed with the Nitro team and the Love Crew: Basti Rittig, Benny Urban, Seppi Scholler and Marc Swoboda. So actually the whole season was a big highlight for me. It was just good times, basically I was just filming with my friends, I can't ask for better people to go snowboarding with!

Was filming with the Nitro crew an eye-opening experience?
Filming with those guys was just amazing! With Andi Aurhammer behind the project supporting us, and the filmer  Clemens Prankl and photographer Lorenz Holder it just worked out perfect. I could choose where I wanted to go and what we wanted to ride, from the first day the chemistry was right and it let us be as productive as possible.

 
Are you happy with your part?
Yes, I am pretty happy with my part because for me it was the first time filming for a whole season and going on trips all around Europe. It is just really hard to film for 4 months straight and work your ass off every day but in the end it is totally worth it when you can finally see the finished product. Even though I didn't get to jump or ride powder last year, I would love to do more of that this year and I really hope it is going to work out this season.

 
Who on the Nitro crew were you most impressed with this year and who did you ride with mostly?
The person that I was most impressed by was Benny Urban. He can do the gnarliest stuff and make it look like the easiest thing in the world. I just remember that one time we were at this triple kink rail in Umea, Sweden and we weren't even sure if it slid well enough to get through all the kinks but Benny just went up, strapped in and front boarded it first try. I just couldn't believe my own eyes on that one.

What do you prefer doing these days, riding in contests or filming?
I definitely enjoy filming the most. I love the fact that you can go out and do what ever you want and you are not limited to a set up or rules, but I also think that contests are fun if the conditions are good. It makes you push yourself and try harder stuff but I also think that depends on what kind of person you are. There are a lot of people that never do good at conetsts because they are nervous and stuff, but on the other hand they can film a banger video part. Contests may help you to progress your snowboard career when you are young and unknown but to me there are a lot of other things that are way more important than being able to ride contests.


How hard is it for you to juggle a relationship at the moment?
Let's say it's not that easy, I am traveling a lot these days and don't get to see my girlfriend as much as I would like, but I guess if you really love each other it will work out.

What's the best part about being Austrian?
Eating schnitzel every day, HAHA! No, I guess it is living in the most beautiful place in the world. You can do whatever you want and live in freedom, that's the most important thing in life I would say.
 
How much influence does skateboarding have on your snowboarding?
Skateboarding for sure is my main influence on snowboarding. I started snowboarding because I wanted to do something similiar in the winter time when I couldn't go skate. I watch skate movies almost every day and it's not just spots or tricks that inspire me, it's the combination of music, tricks and the person who skates. In some kind of way it is more a form of art then a regular sport and that's where I want to take my snowboarding.

Would you be interested in shredding in Alaska or do you prefer the streets?
I would love to go to Alaska some day, but I guess to do that I need to get more experience in the powder first. I think I would kill myself if I went there right now. I really like to ride powder, to me there is nothing like an untracked powder line. I would really love to do more of that stuff!

Where do you see snowboarding heading?
In my opinion there are going to be two sides of snowboarding now, on one side there will be contests and on the other side there will be videos. Since there are so many contests all year all around the world like the Dew Tour, Air&Style, X-Games and of course the Olympic Games, there is almost no chance to do both sides of snowboarding. It's kind of sad because now it feels like there are two different worlds in snowboarding. 

 
Why do Austrians think that schnapps cures everything in life?
Haha, because you dont remember shit after drinking it!

What is the LOVE crew?
LOVE is a streetwear, skateboard and snowboard brand which was founded by my friend Seppi Scholler. I think he did it because he was kind of sick of all the money orientated companies who just produce and copy stuff that sells and they don't try to make something new and fresh. He also produces the stuff in Europe to make sure people don't get exploited like in China. He wants to make 100% sure that every single product is made with LOVE! The team consists of: Marc Swoboda, Diz Pichler, Markus Keller, Thomas Feurstein, Mike Casanova,Gulli Gudmundson, Matevz Pristavec, Senad Grosic, Kurti Rubik and the boss himself! Actually we are just friends that ride and hang out together, just watch the newest movie called "Loveolution 3“ and you will see that this brand is a little different than the others.

Shout outs?
To all my friends, family and sponsors, I love you all.

Thanks to Said Burg (saidphoto.com) and Markus Rohrbacher (markusrohrbacher.blogspot.com) for the  images.