Athlete Profile

X Games Champ Birk Ruud: Powerful Curiosity

By Nicole Dreon

Birk Ruud’s ambitions can’t be contained by ski bindings...

From his first X Games Ski Big Air gold at Norway 2018 to his XG Aspen 2024 Slopestyle title, the 6-time X Games medalist has mastered the art of taking flight. But he wants to master much more.

The 24-year-old also has become a world-class snowboarder and excellent skateboarder, and he’s even a budding entrepreneur. Then there’s his death-diving hobby -- a sport that involves leaping from high towers into water.

“I guess I have a lot of energy, and that has to go somewhere,” Ruud says, with the kind of casual confidence that comes from someone who knows the secret to their own success. “I feel like one of my powers is that I’m very curious. I want to understand how things work, and I will spend time to figure it out.”

Raised in Norway, a winter-sports hub, Ruud’s journey began humbly on backyard rails at his grandparents’ house. It was there that his boundless curiosity and hunger for adventure took root, and his inquisitive nature hasn’t been limited to the slopes.

Getting Busi

Image ©Trevor Brown, Jr./X Games

In 2019, Ruud trademarked the term "Busi" (or Bu$i), which he frequently used in his social media posts. Though it may have seemed like a quirky detail at the time, the self-proclaimed “action man” was setting the groundwork for something larger, planting the seeds for a future beyond skiing. In 2024, Birk took a bold leap: He left his Adidas sponsorship to pursue another dream.

“’Busi’ means you’re working hard toward your goals,” Birk explains, and Busi is now the name of his personal clothing brand. The term -- drawn from the first four letters of “business” and a play on “busy” -- reflects his ethos.

“Putting all my effort and joy into my own brand, it’s a lot of learning,” he says. “I get to shape it the way I want, and I can’t complain about the clothing.” Inspired by skateboarding culture, Busi’s pieces are oversized and built to last: jeans, shorts, polo shirts, boxer shorts and outerwear designed to withstand a decade.

Birk has drawn inspiration from others who’ve made similar moves. “I’ve seen brands built by great athletes after their careers,” he says. “I also looked at Henrik Harlaut and [fellow Norwegian skier] Ferdinand Dahl. That was super inspiring.”

His motivation to start Busi was simple. “A sponsor is never going to invest in you the way you would,” he reasons. “The better branding I do, the better I do -- and I get the profit.”

Dual-Sport Dynamics

Birk’s recent journey has been one of evolution and re-evaluation. He had a strong start to the 2023-24 season that included his first X Games Slopestyle gold, a career-defining moment. But it wasn’t enough for his busy brain.

A supremely gifted natural athlete, Ruud had thrown triple corks on a snowboard for years. He dove into snowboard contests in winter 2024, competing at World Cup and European Cup events. But the challenge of balancing two sports soon became apparent. Though he achieved an impressive second-place in a Europa Cup snowboard slopestyle event in Italy, his attempt to compete in three World Cups across skiing and snowboarding at Tignes in March ended in frustration.

“I’ve figured out that I want to be the best in the world in something,” Ruud says. “I’ve been skiing, but I haven’t really been focusing too much on it because I’ve been snowboarding. All my mind has gone to snowboarding, and now I’m not the best in the world at skiing anymore.”

A 36th place finish at the December 2024 Big Air World Cup event in China, one of the worst results of his ski career, was the final straw. “I won’t be too happy with myself if I’m just a decent skier and decent snowboarder,” Ruud says. “It’s too hard to be the best in both.”

The solution? Locking away his snowboard. “If I see it, I want to go snowboard,” Birk admits. “Now I don’t have it on my mind. I want to be the best in the world in what I do. I can’t just show up and win now, which is very motivating.”

Life Beyond The Slopes

Ruud’s social accounts aren’t just about skiing (or snowboarding). There’s the inspired, and then there’s the inspired silliness. Birk costarred with Alex Ferreira’s alter ego in Hotdog Hans 4, shot in Norway, where Ferreira says Ruud is treated like a star (a claim Birk humbly shrugs off). Ruud also posts creative content bordering on the surreal on his YouTube channel, like cross-country skiing in Norway during a no-snow winter.

Birk also is one-half of a celebrity couple: His girlfriend, Tanja Frigstad, is a TV presenter and social media influencer. Whether she’s mountaineering or surfing, Tanja’s posts reflect their shared passion for exploring the world. “She’s tough,” Birk says, “and we’re both competitive.”

The couple have been together for two years, buying an apartment in Oslo in 2023. “We do everything together,” Birk says. “We love to travel and explore.” In summer 2024 they enjoyed a memorable trip to Bali.

Reflecting on their adventures, Birk says, “It really adds to my whole experience. I get to share it with the woman I love -- hopefully the lady who will have my family. We get to have all these memories together.”

Tanja will be in the finish corral at Aspen when Birk defends his X Games Ski Slopestyle crown on Friday, January 24. Get ready for more memories.

Birk Ruud Bio Blast