Louie Vito


Louis "Louie" Vito is an American professional snowboarder. He is an Olympian, Winter X Games, and U.S. Grand Prix Champion.

Early life

Louis Vito was born in Columbus, Ohio, but grew up in the nearby city of Bellefontaine. In his teenage years, he moved to Vermont to pursue his love of snowboarding by enrolling in the Stratton Mountain School – a ski and snowboarding academy. There, he spent his high school years snowboarding in the morning and studying in the afternoons, and traveling to competitions when time permitted. After graduating high school, he moved to Sandy, Utah.

Career

Louie Vito has won four of the past five U.S. Snowboarding Grand Prix Overall Championships, six X Games medals, two Winter Dew Tour Cup Overall Championships, among many other accolades.
He rose to prominence on the professional snowboarding scene at age 17 by completing a backside 1080 at the Australian Open Snowboarding Championships – making him the first rider to successfully pull off the complex move in an Australian competition. This helped propel Vito to the top of the podium, capturing his first of two consecutive championships there.
Vito is currently the reigning Winter Dew Tour Overall Champion and U.S. Grand Prix Overall Champion.
In September of 2009 Vito competed on the ninth season of Dancing With the Stars. Partnered with professional dancer Chelsie Hightower, he rehearsed for the show at the same time that he was training for the Olympics. Three months later, he represented the United States at the 21st Olympic Games in Vancouver.

Charity

Each year Vito holds the "Louie Vito Rail Jam" in his hometown at Mad River Mountain. The event is held to mentor young riders who are given the opportunity to compete without an entry fee and get outfitted in Vito’s premium gear. The Rail Jam supports local charity, St. Vincent De Paul, through money raised from auction items and food donated for the food bank by everyone who attends.

Results