From the category “Athletes who have become friends”: The world's best snowboarder has been accompanying us in product development for over 17 years. It was time to talk to him again in depth for this blog. Over the years, we have learned a lot from and about him, such as what snowboard gloves for world champions, double World Cup winners, and Olympic champions should look like and how they should function and how he motivates himself to perform at his best on a snowboard or bike. In this interview, Benji's exciting visions for the future were added to the mix.

From dream to reality

At the age of 10, you were certain that you would become the “fastest snowboarder in the world.” You can turn goals and dreams into reality. What advice would you give your 10-year-old self?

I am very pleased with how my 10-year-old self set goals and would actually do everything the same way again.

How I maintain top performance

Olympic medals, five world championship titles, three overall World Cup victories, and now over 20 World Cup victories—how do you stay mentally and physically at this level of performance?

That's a difficult question to answer. However, I can say that it has never been easy for me. My mom was a single parent, and we always had to fight hard. A professional career was never a sure thing, simply because we didn't have the money. I wore snowboard boots that were two sizes too big and ended up with all kinds of bone spurs. Repeating a year at the ski school in Schladming was never an option; my mom made it clear to me from the start that that was not an option. In addition, we always had to travel to a ski resort because I didn't grow up in a winter sports destination. As a teenager, I always experienced everything under pressure and learned to deal with it at a young age. That made me stronger. Today I can say: the bigger the goal, the more I can motivate myself to achieve it.

Mental rituals & visualization in competitive sports

Are there certain rituals (mental or physical) that give you confidence before races or long bike rides?

Yes, of course! I started visualizing back in 2008, when no one was talking about it yet. Even in the summer, I would sit there like a yogi and imagine myself becoming world champion in the winter. I actually did that on my own, and it's something that helps me a lot. For example, six weeks before my first World Championship, I broke my foot. My wife Nina came to the hospital in tears. I smiled at her and said, “Don't worry, honey, I'll still be world champion.” It wasn't easy. My foot was so swollen that I even had to take off my ski boot when riding the lift.

Work-life balance in professional sports: How I manage everything

You are a family man, father of two daughters, and often on the road. How do you manage to juggle competitive sports, training, family, your company Athletic Heroes, and Social Media?

It's not easy, but I'm tough. I'm a “work hard, play hard” kind of person. If you have the right attitude, anything is possible. Cycling is a good teacher because it always hurts! Five hours of cycling means five hours of leg pain for me. It teaches you great impulse control: it's too hot, but you can't stop; it hurts, but you can't stop. So in our house, I advocate the mentality: there's no complaining (that's grumbling in Austrian)! I demand that from my whole family. What needs to be done gets done. There are no excuses.

Zanier Cooperation & Golden Gloves: My Success Story

When was it that our boss first presented you with the golden gloves? Was it the Olympics or the World Cup? You were able to wear them with pride for a very long time.😊

That was in 2008 at my first overall World Cup, when I got the golden gloves for the first time. They had to be reproduced again and again, and they were my trademark for a long time. People always asked me about them. When things weren't going so well in my career, I dug out the old golden gloves again! Then things got better for me; it helped me refocus. At the starting gate, you really concentrate on your hands, and the golden gloves were a great motivation.

Your long-standing feedback was important for our company in taking the racing glove collection to a new level. Are there any features that you actively helped develop for Zanier gloves or would like to contribute in the future? What do you think makes a good glove, both for snowboarding and cycling?

There is a special leather that lasts twice as long as anything else. This particularly robust leather variant is softer and therefore more resistant. However, we are still searching for the completely indestructible glove. In our sport, this is virtually impossible for professionals, as we have our hands in the snow hundreds of times every day. But we have already developed racing gloves to a very high standard.

Ultracycling & summer training: 1,281 km on a bike

You completed 1,281 km in 101 hours in the Monaco-di-Baviera-Classic – how the hell did you come up with that? How does your ultracycling training in the summer affect your snowboarding performance in the winter? Was that one of your toughest challenges?

My 66-year-old friend, who participates in such fanatical races, told me about it two years ago – I wasn't interested at the time because I was focused on the overall World Cup. But the idea started to subconsciously work on me. Registration takes place in December, which is like a drop – you sit at your computer and have to register immediately. I was in China at the time and he registered me. Then I had to do a lot of preparation. Not just physical training – it was also about equipment, such as the right lights – and, of course, the right tactics. In a few weeks, I basically taught myself everything there is to know about ultracycling. Podcasts, books – I consumed everything on the subject and was well prepared as a result. After my SB career, I'm going to be a professional cyclist anyway 😊, and this is extremely good training for my current sport.

MTB vs. road bike

You are just as comfortable on a road bike, such as in the Challenge Monaco-di-Baviera-Classic, as you are on an MTB – after all, you have successfully completed this discipline countless times in the Dolomitenmann. Will you become a professional MTB or road bike rider?

Well, I'm going to be a road bike rider.

Road bike gloves: tips & experiences

What is your personal must-have when it comes to “bike gloves”? And what features would you recommend as key features for other enthusiastic cyclists? You wore the Race Pro, how did it feel over 1000 kilometers?

What I really like about the Race Pro road cycling glove is that it has no fasteners and no attachments. The elastic cuff is all I need. In addition, the cycling glove has just the right amount of cushioning and sturdy leather on the palm – that's all you need in a cycling glove.