Upon meeting Victor de Le Rue when he was 14 years old, I was surprised to find he was a park rat just like me. For our crew, “de Le Rue” meant boardercross and insane freeriding from his older brothers, but the kid had none of that. He wore bright, 3XL pants, cap and hoodie, a mega goggle tan, and a big smile. His frontside spins were already nice. His approach, bulky and without unnecessary movement in the air, was considered the epitome of the “popup style” trend in France. He would come to the Alps often from the Pyrenees and spend summers at Les 2 Alpes glacier park. That’s when I shot my first photos of him. In my mind, he was always toe-to-toe with Victor Daviet. The two are aptly nicknamed “brothers-in-boards.”

We have a saying in French, “qui aime bien châtie bien,” which translates as “who loves well teases well,” and it perfectly describes Victor’s upbringing. From a young age, Victor’s been highly developing his art of constantly teasing friends and taking everything lightly. His light tone and joyful heart led him naturally down the road of becoming a snowboard pro, while turning every mishap, every struggle, into laughter. Yet he didn’t have it easy by following in his brother Xavier’s footsteps. Victor has had to grind like everyone else.

Subscribe for access to this article plus the entire archive of The Snowboarder’s Journal content—and receive a discount on all products.