For snowboard lovers, few things hit harder than a film that captures the soul of riding — the raw, gritty, beautiful chaos of flying down a mountain with nothing but your board, your crew, and whatever the weather decides to hand you. Red Bull Media House and Burton’s brand-new full-length documentary PAVED is exactly that: a two-year, unfiltered backcountry odyssey starring some of the most iconic (and beloved) riders in the world.
Think of it as part history lesson, part hangout, part “holy sh*t this is real snowboarding,” stitched together by a stacked roster: Mark McMorris, Zeb Powell, Ben Ferguson, Zoi Sadowski-Synnott, Anna Gasser, Brock Crouch, Ylfa Rúnarsdóttir, Takeru Otsuka, Danny Davis, Mikkel Bang, plus heavy Burton cameos from Maria Thomsen, Mikey Ciccarelli, Mikey Rencz, and Raibu Katayama. It’s the dream team, and every single one of them is pushing progression at the highest level.
But the magic of PAVED isn’t just the riding. It’s the way the film strips back the curtain on snowboarding’s most extreme terrain, showing the personalities, the process, and the pure camaraderie that happens far from the contest lights.
And that’s exactly what the riders told Celeb Secrets when we caught up with them.
For nearly a decade and a half, Mark McMorris has been snowboarding’s most consistent contest force — Olympic medals, record-breaking X Games dominance, Natural Selection victories, the works. But in PAVED, fans finally get to see a version of Mark that they rarely get during contest season: the rider who lives for deep snow, remote terrain, and long days hunting for lines with his friends.
“It’s great for people to see some backcountry footage from me,” he tells Celeb Secrets. “It’s something I’m really passionate about and something I’ll continue to do more and more of as I do less and less competing. Take it as a little bit of a teaser of what’s to come.”
The two-year project wasn’t smooth sailing for Mark. Between contests, filming, sponsor obligations, and travel, he was spread thin.
“It’s really challenging and frustrating at times,” he admits. “Say you have a five-day window to go film, but the weather isn’t good. Or the snow’s not good. Or it finally gets good, but then you have to leave. There’s only so many days in the winter.”
Still, the moments he did get made a massive impact. His standout filming day came early in 2024 in the Whistler backcountry.
“I only got to film one day in Whistler last year, but it turned on really early,” he says. “It’s one of my favorite clips in the film. It felt pretty special to get shots that early.”
Unlike filming a traditional part, Mark explains that the energy of a team-based, location-driven movie brought something unique out of everyone.
“It’s a big group effort,” he says. “Brock Crouch, Danny Davis, Ben Ferguson, Zoi, Anna… everyone has really amazing standout clips. It makes for a great full team movie.”
And what’s better than filming with your literal best friends across continents?
“I got to film a movie with all my best friends,” he smiles. “Whenever you get to travel the world and work on something you’re all passionate about, it’s kind of the best thing ever. I feel really grateful and really lucky that Burton and Red Bull gave us this opportunity.”
He’s also excited for fans to see the lighter moments, like the things that make the crew so tight.
“They caught Brock picking his nose a lot,” he laughs. “Zeb doing some outlandish funny stuff. And Ben just scaring the shit out of all of us. He rides in Alaska like it’s a little playground, even though the mountains are massive.”
But maybe the most important part of Mark’s PAVED journey is what it represents moving forward.
“I love doing different sides of snowboarding,” he says. “And I’ll be doing more of it as I do less competing. There’s a lot of gratitude for what I’m doing right now… my mind’s feeling good because my body’s feeling good.”
If there’s one rider whose personality jumps straight off the screen in PAVED, it’s Zeb Powell. He’s a creative wizard whose style is unmistakable whether he’s in the park, in a contest bib, or waist-deep in powder somewhere in the backcountry.
For fans used to seeing Zeb stomp jaw-dropping tricks in contests or send clips straight to Instagram, PAVED reveals a side of him that’s usually hidden — the process. And Zeb made sure the film highlighted exactly that.
“A lot of work goes into these clips that the viewer does not see,” Zeb tells Celeb Secrets. “After doing that for a year or two, I was like, ‘Yo, we need to show that this stuff is a lot more than just doing the trick and landing it.’ So we mic’d people up and showed the process more.”
That process, he explains, is nothing like the freestyle world people associate him with.
“You only have like six chances to land something,” he says. “Because if you fall, the soft snow turns into a big hole. If you land in that hole, you’re gonna stop, and you can really hurt your legs.”
Precision — not chaos — rules the backcountry. And for someone who thrives on spontaneous creativity, that shift wasn’t easy.
“You have to learn patience,” he admits. “I don’t have a lot of patience for snowboarding. Usually if I fall, I just go down the lift and ride back up. Nothing’s ever polished or perfect. But in the backcountry, you have to be precise. There’s just a lot more that goes into it.”
Still, even with the new rules, Zeb remained fully, unapologetically himself.
“My friends said the coolest part is that even though it’s in the backcountry, it’s still authentically me,” he says. “Just ’cause I’m in the powder… still probably not gonna wear goggles. Still probably gonna fall and land somehow. It’s still fully my riding, just on a different plane.”
Of course, that stubbornness didn’t go unnoticed on set.
“The biggest lesson I learned is that I’m really stubborn about my eyewear,” he laughs. “Everyone needs goggles. I just stopped caring after like five tries. I’m like, ‘I just want to do this trick. I don’t care if snow gets in my face.’”
Zeb also shared that navigating the backcountry isn’t just about riding; it’s everything that leads up to it. Even the commute is a workout.
“We were getting our steps in,” he jokes. “Snowmobiling is fun, but very hard. And that can be scary sometimes too.”
Still, he came out of the project with a deeper appreciation for the mountains and a bigger drive for where his career is headed.
“I feel like I’m building a brand right now,” he tells us. “I keep seeing stuff grow and I want it to grow more. This year I’m really coming at it from a brand perspective… I just want to blow up. I want to push all aspects.”
But at the heart of everything — even the growth, the pressure, the progression — Zeb’s takeaway from PAVED is beautifully simple.
“We like having fun everywhere on the mountain,” he says. “In the park, in competitions, on the ski resorts — but also in the backcountry.”
If there’s anyone built for the mountains — real mountains — it’s Ben Ferguson. Known for his fluid style, quiet confidence, and deep understanding of terrain, Ben has spent the past four years fully committed to filming backcountry projects. No bibs. No halfpipe. No pressure. Just pure snowboarding.
“I don’t compete anymore,” he tells Celeb Secrets. “I just make movies.”
And PAVED might be his most ambitious film yet.
“It’s quite a bit different than X Games or slopestyle,” Ben explains. “You’re in the natural terrain, out amongst the great outdoors… fresh powder snow. It’s ideal. It’s the best.”
Even though he’s one of the most respected backcountry riders in the world, Ben says the magic of PAVED isn’t one single moment — it’s the collective experience.
“Hard to pick just one memory,” he says. “Just getting to be out there with all your homies — every day is a little different and special. You take advantage of that.”
For Ben, growth in the backcountry happens the same way it always has: by showing up, working hard, and learning from whatever the mountains hand you.
“I mean, just hustling every day,” he says. “Getting after it. You learn from experiences and s**t.”
As contests ramp up this season, especially with the Olympics approaching, Ben is happily staying out of the ring and focusing on what he loves most.
“I’m not going to the Olympics,” he confirms, with a laugh. “Maybe I’ll go party there. Have an Aperol spritz and watch the boys throw down. But no, I don’t do contests anymore. Just mountains, powder, and doing the good stuff.”
He does, however, see the sport shifting toward what the PAVED crew is doing.
“Free ride, natural terrain is the sh*t,” he says. “Instead of some manmade snowboard jump, you take what nature gives you and you unleash on that. That’s the pinnacle of snowboarding.”
And when fans finally watch the film, Ben hopes it sparks something simple but powerful.
“I just hope it makes people want to go snowboard,” he says. “That’s what any good snowboard movie should do. If I watch something and I want to go shred afterwards, then it was a good movie.”
At its core, PAVED is more than a film. It’s a celebration of everything that makes snowboarding special. The friendships. The fear. The big mountains. The stupid jokes. The crashes. The perseverance. The process. The powder days that don’t feel real. The clips that push the sport forward.
After two years, countless flights, endless sled missions, legendary terrain, and a crew that’s as tight as it is talented, Red Bull Media House and Burton have delivered a movie that honors snowboarding’s past while carving out its future. As Mark puts it: “We can all be proud of what we came up with and what we’re about to show you guys.”
PAVED is that rare project that makes even seasoned riders feel like kids again — and makes every viewer want to grab a board, call their friends, and chase something big.
Because the best snowboard films don’t just entertain you. They make you want to ride.
Interview quotes have been condensed and edited for clarity.
