Louie Vito has been killing the pipe scene for a few years now. Hailing from near Columbus Ohio originally but he went to school at the Stratton Mountain Academy in Vermont where he honed his snow skills and was getting in the finals of big contest before even turning 18. Last year he won the overall Grand Prix and made a mess of finals. This summer I saw him pretty much everywhere and always hanging with Lil Jon which made me wonder if his snowboard career would be sacrificed for the partying and fame. Well he won the very first Grand Prix of the season at Copper Mountain and followed it up with a 5th place the following weekend at the Dew Tour at Breck. Louie is one the most tech riders in the pipe today - mix that with some big airs and solid grabs and he could beat anyone. Kids got style too; grabbing 1080's tuck knee and stuff. Louie is one the funnest guys to watch and hang out with so we asked a few questions right after winning the Grand Prix pipe at Copper. My mistake was following him to the drug testing area where the likes of Louie, Antti Autti, Kelly Clark and so on had to pee in cups. It was a long time and was kind of weird waiting there, but it made for a question seldom asked...
SR: So what is pee the test for? LV: Who knows, they test for everything you know? Snowboarding is known for steroids and drug doping
SR: Grand Prix? LV: Everything, Olympic stuff, all World Cups and Grand Prix's test for this. I get tested randomly as well because I am part of USADA testing pool. They test out of competition stuff and in competition stuff
SR: Speaking of drugs and partying, how do you roll with guys like little Jon, and win contests? LV: You just gotta know when you can have fun and when you gotta get ready and handle what you gotta do. I don't want to sound too funny and whack but it is a job so you have separate when you can do stuff and when you have to be serious and focus.
SR: So like in the summer you don't have to focus quite as much? LV: In the summer only in competition stuff do you have to make sure in regards to the testing. You even have to be careful with like inhalers because they even test for stuff like that. You have to be careful if you have in-competition testing coming up
SR: Not to mention you gotta be on your best when you are doing 1080's more than a dozen feet above the frozen lip of a 20 foot tall pipe! LV: Exactly, yea and I really believe steroids will not help me do a 1080 (laughter)
SR: What's more fun, going out at night or riding pipe? LV: Riding well makes going out at night a lot better, real talk. Ride hard, play hard kind of thing
SR: Does it take the pressure off winning one of the first big events of the year? LV: Yea because the past 2 years I haven’t qualified for the first Grand Prix of the year. So winning the first Grand Prix this season kind of builds my confidence going into the season rather trying to build my confidence up going into the next contest and the next contest, I already have it now
SR: Are you going to be here next week for the Dew Tour at Breck? LV: Yea!
SR: There will be a lot of other guys here for that though since some guys are in Japan? LV: Yea, it's going to be a lot more relaxed and run a little different; at the Grand Prix's you have to do a straight air. At the Dew Tour you don't have to do a straight air so it's a little different judging and criteria.
SR: What about Shaun White, will he be at the Dew Tour? LV: I don't know, all I know is that Shaun is probably training in his private pipe (laughter)
SR: So training, what did you last summer? LV: I re-hab'd my Meniscus and went to Hollywood a lot with Dingo, which was cool. Went to Argentina for a Nike trip
SR: When was Argentina? LV: Right before ASR (early September, 2008)
SR: Was your knee... LV: ...my knee was good, Went to New Zealand with Lil Jon and Dingo, skateboarding a lot too
SR: Where do you skate? LV: Utah has a lot of skateparks all within 20 minutes of my house, so around there SR: Heber City, near Park City? LV: Never skated Heber but Midvale, Guthrie, Sandy, Fairmont, Daybreak...a whole bunch of different spots
SR: Where do you spend summers when you're not traveling? LV: Salt Lake, at my house in Sandy Utah
SR: You do any training to stay strong? LV: I try to go to the gym bit but mostly skate a bunch
SR: Tunes? LV: I got a good mix of things; a lot of the BME artists, locker room message, E-40's new album is really sick, Boosie, a lot of UGK, Terry Kennedy's Fly Society. I mix it up a bunch
SR: Plans for the rest of the upcoming season? LV: Try to do a lot of contests and film with Marc Franc for his movie
SR: Really, trying to get a way from the pipe thing? LV: Not so much get a way from the pipe; just try to equal everything out Stay tuned cuz Louie’s coming to a pipe near you to kick some ass
Bang! First place at the 1st stop of the Grand Prix this season, December 2008 
Followed up by fifth place at the inaugural AST Dew Tour stop aint too shabby either, photo by Andrew Miller
muggin for the ladies on My Space
Not JUST a pipe kid, here is a rail shot from back in the day (like 2 years ago) Sierra at Tahoe. I think Jen Kotter worked at Sierra back when then was taken and damn, she is hot, just a random, useless fact but you can tell her I said so…I digress…
Im eighteen is a song by Alice Cooper, When Vito was eighteen he was Drinking Champagne fed to him by Antti Autti, hes pushing all of 20 now
Always down for a good time ans Still winning, MFM djing and Vito is getting lap dances in Mammoth, November 2008
Straight up one the most legite frontside hand plants in snowboarding especially if you consider this is SWITCH. 420, 2008 June Mountain, California, photo by Andrew Miller
Greeting from Idaho!
Any doubters can shut up know; big, stylish technical, shit, tuck knee even. Vans Tahoe Cup 2008, think he got second to Danny Kass
I was not lying to you when I said I saw him rollin with Lil Jon and damn it I gotta go to party with Vito someday when the 10% rule is in effect