Quiksilver is pleased to announce the addition of Iouri Podladtchikov to the brand's global snow team. When the Russian-born, Swiss-national rider searches out another Winter X Games podium, he'll be previewing 2012 Quiksilver outerwear and accessories in the halfpipe. Iouri, or "IPod" to friends, is currently leading the TTR rankings and is often called one of the most progressive halfpipe riders in the world.

"With the addition of Iouri to Quiksilver, we now have a team of riders that represent every aspect of snowboarding from pipe and park to urban jibs and the backcountry," says Mike Nusenow, SVP and General Manager of Quiksilver's Mountain Division. "Iouri is one of the smoothest and most technical riders in the world and we look forward to him making an impact in snowboarding."

Iouri is coming off a big 2010 season, in which he won silver at the Winter X Games in Aspen, followed a month later by gold at the Winter X Games in Europe. At the Winter X Games Europe, Iouri successfully landed a Double McTwist 1260, putting him in first place with a score of 98.00, the highest halfpipe score in Winter X Games history.

In addition to his X Games wins, IPod won the men s halfpipe at the 2010 New Zealand and Canadian Opens, which propelled Iouri into a second place finish in the TTR rankings last year. At the most watched snowboarding contest of 2010, the OIympic games in Vancouver, the 22-year-old finished in fourth place for snowboarding halfpipe. His dual Russian-Swiss citizenship enabled him to compete in the Olympics representing Russia in Turin s 2006 games, then for Switzerland four years later.

"I am very excited to join the Quiksilver team. Travis Rice has influenced me so much over the years and skating with my good friend Freddy Austbo is one of my favorite things to do," says Podladtchikov. "I'm looking forward to the opportunity to spend even more time with these guys and the rest of the Quiksilver team. I have so many goals and things to achieve still in my life and career and I am excited to do those things with Quiksilver's support."

Iouri dedicates his time off the contest circuit and out of the pipe to studying for his college courses at home in Zurich, skateboarding with friends and freeriding his home mountains around Davos, Switzerland.

Iouri Podladtchikov joins Travis Rice, Bryan Fox, Todd Richards, Mathieu Crepel, Hampus Mosseson, Eric Willett, Will Lavigne, Chris Rasman, Matt Belzile, Fredrik Austbo, Marku Koski, Bevin Hall, Tom Pelly, Atsushi Ishikawa and Isao Seki representing Quiksilver in the mountains. Quiksilver.com/snow