The rookie rider, Sebastien Toutant from Canada, or ‘Seb Toots’, as he’s called by his friends, may only be 15 years old, but the Québécois kid with the crazy style is stepping it up to gargantuan levels, causing riders, fans and media to sit up and take notice, and with an impending appearance at the 6Star Nissan X-trail Jam in Tokyo, December 13th, 2008,  all eyes will be set on him as he goes head to head with an international crew of TTR superstars in what will be a defining moment of his career.
 
Over the past two seasons Toutant made sporadic appearances at TTR Events where he never failed to impress, whether he was going huge in the Quarterpipe at the 6Star O’Neill Evolution, or stomping crazy hammers on kickers around the world.  Then in August 2008, at the 3Star Billabong Snowstock, in Australia, Toutant came blazing out of the blocks, stomping an insane BS 10 Double Cork, smoking the competition and announcing his arrival to the big time.   In an era when countless rookies are rising up, trying to break into the scene, Toutant has set himself apart from the pack by being one of the few riders who can stomp the super progressive tricks.

1.    You put on an awesome performance during the southern hemisphere events, taking out the 3Star TTR Billabong Big air events and scoring some other awesome results.  Was that your first time to New Zealand and how did it compare to riding in other international competitions in Europe or in North America?

It was my second time in New Zealand. I really like New Zealand because the park is well built and it’s a really nice country. Contest wise, it is quite the same cause at this level everybody is so good.

2.    You took out the NZ comp with a Double Cork, a super technical maneuver that we’ve only seen a few times before and only stomped by a few riders. How does it feel to land a trick like that? What else have you been working on lately? What kind of stuff do you think you will be trying to stomp in Japan?

It's a really good feeling and I’m pushing myself to trying something bigger. I'm doing a lot of trampoline for practicing some new double corks and after trying on board. I know I need to do a lot of good tricks for doing well in this contest but I'm not sure what I'll try because I don't have not taken this jumps before.

 3.    Do you think big competitions have been too focused on how many spins a rider can pull? Should there be more focus on style and quality or is it ok to spin for the win?

I think spin to win it's not what the judges looking for.  I prefer a good 900 with a good style better then a sketchy 1080. It's normal to have some big spins in the contest because every rider wants to win but you need to take care of your style.

4.    Have riders begun to make big spins such as 10s and 12s look good?

Yes. you can do some really good 1080s and 1260s.  You have some riders doing 1260s without grab and it looks like a competition of ice skating,  but some rider can do 1260 s with a such a good style.

5.    How do you feel snowboarding is progressing these days, inside and outside the TTR?

Inside the TTR we’ve got the best contest riders with a high level, and outside we have some good film riders but in the two ways the snowboard is progressing really fast.

 6.    Your recent results definitely show you can throw down with the best of them.  Who are you most looking forward to competing against and why?

Shaun White because he is the best and he won everything and it will be a good challenge.

7.    The East Coast of Canada has a reputation for producing strong technical riders.  What do you think it is about the area that helps so many sick riders progress into the main scene?  

I think there are many reasons  but the main one is cause it's everybody's dream to go ride better places than home.  This creates magical motivation for pushing limits.

8.    Has filming and shooting been a big part of your past seasons? Do you have goals with filming? Is it easy to balance filming, shooting and riding on
the TTR Tour?

Yes, I was filming with Alterna and sequence film. My main goal into filming is to increase the quality of my video parts year after year. I really like filming because a lot of people can see what you can do over all, but it's hard to have time to film when you doing a lot of contests.

9.    So we know your heading to Japan in December for the Swatch TTR 6Star Nissan X-Trail Jam.  What are your other plans for the season?

Traveling as much as I can, doing contest here and there, film a video part and take time to practice some new tricks.

10. What riders do you look to for inspiration? Who makes you stoked to ride?

Eero Ettala and Travis Rice are good inspiration for me because when you are watching those riders riding you know you can do better if you keep working on it.