Zone 1.
The Pine Knob Park Crew and their snow handiwork.
Zone 2: The Kink Rail.
Red Bull Heavy Metal Detroit
The GM building is located conveniently behind Zone 2 for photo and video aesthetics.
Zone 3, the 50-foot down rail still under construction. This will be perfect before the contest.

Red Bull Heavy Metal Detroit: Hart Plaza Preview

words: Mary T. Walsh
February 10, 2023

Red Bull Heavy Metal has touched down in Detroit! Tomorrow, forty of the finest snowboarders in the streets will gather in Hart Plaza for a crack at three contest zones. Zone 1 is the infamous 20-foot tall wallride that Scott Blum handplanted in 2015 in The SNOWBOARDER Movie: SFD. Now, instead of a jury-rigged transition made from a bike rack and snow that didn’t want to stick together, the Heavy Metal riders will drop in to a raked-to-perfection set up built by the Pine Knob Park Crew (thanks, guys!).

Zone 2 is the down-flat-down, which has been installed for the contest. Contest director Joe Sexton has been working on the event crew to make sure that each zone is perfect.

The contest finale is in the Hart Plaza amphitheater. A 50-foot down rail runs down the seats, framed by the city skyline. As you can see in the photo above, the Pine Knob Park Crew hadn’t gotten their rakes on this when the picture was taken, but they have been working ’round the clock to make sure everything is dialed for the event tomorrow, so expect things to be immaculate tomorrow.

Grace Warner is hosting this year’s contest as Benny Milam passes the torch from last year’s Heavy Metal in Duluth. Full rider roster coming but expect Luke Winkelmann, Zeb Powell, Casey Pflipsen, Danyale Patterson, Alexis Roland, Denver Orr, Mike Liddle, Iris Pham, Savannah Shinske, and many more. Jess Kimura, Scott Blum, and Seth Huot will be judging and Grenier and E-Stone will be keeping everyone on their toes as the Heavy Metal emcees.

It’s a sight to behold to walk around Hart Plaza for anyone that has watched boarding videos from the past fifteen years. From Jake Kuzyk’s boardslide on the close out (VG Mayday) to Dylan Thompson’s 270 into the wall to Dillon Ojo’s back one to creeper (The SNOWBOARDER Movie: Foreword) and so many more memorable clips from Jake OE, Lucas Magoon, and many more, Hart Plaza is a mecca of snowboarding history in Motor City.

Jess Kimura for scale.

Tomorrow is going to be good! If you’re in the area, get down to Hart Plaza when gates open at 12pm. The event is free and riding starts at 1pm in Zone 1: The Wall.