Finn Bilous is Setting the Freeride World on Fire

Over the past two years Finn Bilous has emerged as one of the leading freeskiers in the world, the 24-year-old Kiwi’s progressive, creating skiing lighting up the Freeride Word Tour.  A two-time Olympian, Finn represented New Zealand in park and pipe at PyeongChang and Beijing but, typically for a Wanaka skier, freeriding has always been part of his DNA. 

Finn finished the 2024 season, his second year in tour, fourth on the world rankings and while he may not have won an event, his skiing is pushing the refresh button on big mountain freeride competitions. Reggae Elliss caught up with Finn a few weeks ago when he was in Haines Alaska on a film shoot for Matchstick Productions’ 2024 release.

Hey, Finn, I know you’re busy, thanks for taking the time for a chat. You’re up in Alaska now, filming with Matchstick Productions, how has that been? 

Insane, definitely one of the best trips of my life. It’s a humbling place to come ride as a skier, the sheer magnitude of these mountains and the scale of the terrain is hard to grapple with until seeing it in person. This trip has given me a whole new perspective on what’s possible in the mountains. 

What other athletes are involved? 

I’m up here with Colby Stevenson, Karl Fostvedt, Emily Childs and a full production crew from MSP Films. The crew has been going hard up here, stoked to show ya’ll the shots we got in the new movie coming out this fall.

Let’s get back to the start of it for you. You grew up in Wanaka and come from a skiing family, can you remember when you started skiing? 

My first memories of skiing track as far back as I can remember. I was plonked on skis at just two years old and spent most of my childhood chasing around my older brother, Hank at Treble Cone & Snow Park NZ. 

What was it like growing up in Wanaka and who did you ski with as a kid? There is a lot of talent there and a strong older crew – Sam Smoothy, the Wells bros – Who did you look up to and was anyone a particular influence? 

Growing up in Wanaka was a huge privilege and definitely has had a huge impact on not just my skiing style but the way I approach life today. There’s ample amount of opportunity to do so many different types of activities and I was fortunate to be surrounded by a motivated crew of grommies that were keen to do exactly that. I ripped around lots with my older brother, Hank and the likes of The Porteous boys, The Wells Brothers, Craig Murray, some of the NZ Snowboarders like Carlos Garcia-Knight & JJ Rayward. We were all inspired by the older generation of Kiwi pro’s and were lucky to have mentorship from guys like Jossi Wells, Sam Smoothy, Will Jackways and OG’s such as Geoff Small. All of those people have had a huge influence on me in life. 

The place is such a hot bed of talent and then you have the option of skiing the freeride terrain in Treble Cone or the Cardrona, which is renowned for its terrain parks. Best of both worlds. Did you split your time between the two? 

For sure. The variety of terrain is one of my favorite parts about Wanaka, there’s always something to do not matter what the conditions cater for. Growing up, I would spend a fairly equal amount of time between Snow Park and Treble Cone. 

You made your name as a park and pipe skier, made the NZ team for Youth Olympics, Junior Worlds and then the PyeongChang Olympics in 2018 and Beijing Olympics in 2022. Did you have a goal as a kid to be a pro skier?

My parents always encouraged chasing what you love and as a byproduct I became a Pro Skier. There’s been lots of hard work along the way and so many people who have helped make that dream become a reality. However, I think that cliché rings true. I remember watching the old Poor Boyz Productions films religiously and being so drawn to the lifestyle and energy of freestyle skiing. I was probably six or seven years old when I knew I wanted to dedicate a lot of my life to this sport. 

You scored an invite to the Aspen Xgames in 2019, which is the biggest freeski event on snow. Was that a big moment, was that when you thought you were a pro skier? 

It was definitely a gratifying moment being invited to the X-Games. However, I find you’re so focused and there’s a lot going on at those big events that you don’t have much time to digest those moments. I remember more clearly flying out of the New Zealand after finishing High School and you have to write down your occupation on your departure card. I could no longer write ‘student’ and was like “damn, I guess I’m a pro skier now”, ha ha. 

Classic. That would have been a cool moment. While you may have made your name as park skier, it’s fair to say you’ve always been an all-rounder. You did the NZ junior freeride series when you were a kid and then in 2019 entered the freeride qualifying events in the Remarkables, winning the two-star and then fourth in the four-star. That was during a period between the 2018 and 2022 Olympics – at that stage did you think you’d stay in park and pipe? 

Skiing has always been multidisciplinary to me. As I got older, specialising in a singular discipline became more encouraged. The competition schedules began to overlap, and it was really challenging to be at everything all at once. I didn’t want to spread myself too thin, so I had to start prioritising different events. When I was 16-years-old, I’d actually qualified for the Junior Freeride World Championships but couldn’t attend as I had also qualified to represent NZ at the 2016 Youth Olympic Games. Looking back this was one of the first major decisions I had to make on which pathway to go down. 

When did you decide to make the change to freeride full-time? 

Although the Park and Pipe schedule was busy I’d often be able to sneak away for a few pow trips between contests. However, once Covid sunk in, this was no longer a possibility as we were under strict guidelines from our National Team as to where and who we could travel with during our off time. I really didn’t enjoy these restrictions and having to be more singular focused on Park and Pipe. Throughout those years of travelling through the Covid pandemic was ultimately when I realised that I was craving some change. I was given the opportunity to compete as a Wildcard in Fieberbrunn stop of the FWT just two weeks after competing in the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics. It was the perfect opportunity to dive back into the Freeride scene. That event was super fun and I was stoked to be back in that community, so I decided to keep chasing it the following year. 

Your brother Hank is an awesome skier and he did a few years on the FWT and he lit it up with some radical lines. Did his success inspire you to switch to freeride? 

For sure. I think watching both my brother Hank and Craig Murray ski on the Freeride World Tour made it seem far more attainable. I’ve skied with both of them so much growing up that I could begin to relate to the lines they were skiing. 

How did you find the tour when you first competed? Did you know many of the other athletes? 

It was exciting, compared with the structure of Olympic programs the Freeride World Tour felt far more loose and honestly, just a damn good time! Riders want to do well and they’re going to push themselves in the contest, but they’re also there to mess around, have fun and party a bit. ha, ha. I was lucky to have known a bunch of the riders before joining the Freeride World Tour as I’d met them through my brother in previous years. Unfortunately, my brother was no longer competing on the FWT when I joined but I was super grateful to have the likes of Craig Murray, James Hampton & Jess Hotter competing at the same time as they helped me get my head around the contrast and similarities of competing in the Freeride World as opposed to the Park & Pipe World. 

You’ve brought progressive skiing to the FWT – it has always been about big mountain lines, aggressive skiing, big cliff drops etc. It still is, but did you go on tour with the intention of shaking it up? 

Thank you. I saw my wildcard invitation last season as an opportunity to showcase maybe a different style of skiing on the Freeride world Tour. I find the Freeride Judging Criteria wants to funnel you into a certain style of skiing and I tried to think less about the results and more about trying to ski lines that represented the style of skiing that I’m most drawn too. Maybe a little less fall line, more cross court and freestyle. I like seeing those creative, fluid lines on large exposed faces. 

I reckon that has freshened up the tour and the audience love it. There’s a pretty rad crew of young guys on the tour – Max Hitzig, Marcus Goguen, Ben Richards, Maxime Chabloz, Max palm etc. It’s pretty inspiring. Do they push you? 

No doubt! The level of riding this season was insane! Those guys are all animals, it’s been a cool era of the FWT to be a part of and I’m stoked/scared to see where it goes in the future ha-ha. 

What’s the story with Kiwis and success in freeride? There’s a heap – first it was Sam Smoothy and now it’s you and Ben Richards, your brother, Blake Marshall, Craig Murray, Jamesa Hampton. Jess Hotter was 2022 women’s world champ. 

Good question. I’d say it’s a combination between having access to so much amazing  terrain, skiing in subpar snow conditions and, most importantly, the community that supports Freeride Skiing in NZ. We’ve got a really strong network of riders, supportive parents and guidance from NZ Junior Freeride Tour organiser and judge – Dion Newport. Without all of those people, I don’t think any of us Kiwi’s would’ve had half the opportunities we’ve had. The pathway to the World Stage is only getting stronger so I’m sure you’ll see plenty more Freeride Rippers from NZ in the coming years. 

You’re up in Alaska now, filming with Matchstick Productions, how has that been? What other athletes are involved?  

Insane, definitely one of the best trips of my life. It’s a humbling place to come ride as a skier, the sheer magnitude of these mountains and the scale of the terrain is hard to grapple with until seeing it in person. This trip has given me a whole new perspective on what’s possible in the mountains. I’m up here with Colby Stevenson, Karl Fostvedt, Emily Childs and a full production crew from MSP Films. The crew has been going hard up here, stoked to show ya’ll the shots we got in the new movie coming out this fall.

You’ve now done two years on the FWT. What’s your plan now – keep competing and mix it up with filming?  

I’m going to take a few weeks to decompress after this Northern Hemisphere Winter and then start to figure out what next season is going to look like for me. I’m really enjoying the direction I’m going with my skiing at the moment, so I’ll be looking to spend more time in the backcountry with good friends and family. I’ve also got some new visions and concepts I’d like to bring to life with my sponsors. We’ll see how much competition plays into that plan. 

What about this southern hemisphere season? 

I’ll be back home in Wanaka, New Zealand in late July. Have got a few projects in the  works so looking forward to getting stuck into those and being back in my home mountains. See ya out there! Thanks legend!

Thanks Finn, good to have a chat.

Thanks legend, See ya out there.