Catch up with Iztok Sumatic

We got in touch with the eagle-eyed pro skate/snowboard judge, MC, event organizer, snowboard coach, skater, snowboarder and overall awesome dude from Slovenia, Iztok Sumatic, a little after getting back from judging at X Games Oslo, Norway.

Photo: Drago Embersic

Where did we catch you today?
You just caught me drinking spritzer with a friend of mine, who made eco benches for our new skatepark which will be open by the end of the month.

Max Parrot’s win got us super emotional last weekend. What was the vibe like on site?
The crowd went pretty wild and for sure for it was pretty emotional for Max coming back on the scene after he beat cancer. Mad respect.

The Big Air set up sure looked interesting. Did it go down well with the riders?
It actually went pretty well. There was some snow lacking at the beginning of the inrun, which was quite scenic and gnarly, but they all had enough speed to throw down sick tricks, so all good.

Most impressive thing you witnessed?
That would be eleven year old Rayssa Leal from Brazil doing feebles on the big rail section and bs smith grinds on big hubba. It’s insane, how good she skates. Also seeing FMX guys doing highest air was quite impressive

Your personal highlight?
Just watching Ishod Wair skating with his unique, natural style. Magical.

Photo: Drago Embersic

Any new kids on the block to keep an eye on?
Oh totally! As said before. Rayssa Leal is one of them!

Which of the disciplines attracted the biggest crowd? (And why did Big Air final seem to have so many empty seats?)
I’d say all in a certain way. Skateboarding is dynamic and tech, FMX puts the crowds in awe and snowboarding & freeskiing has its allure too. As for the empty seats… I would say it was just the camera angle that shot it with empty seats in the background. The same amount of people were there the whole time, but they were walking from one venue to the other to find the best spot to watch a certain discipline. I think there was slightly more than 5,000 people at the venue.

You just came back from NZ to attend the event in Oslo. What’s next?
Bulgaria, bratko! I’m running the National Snow/Skate judge clinic in Sofia in 2 weeks (thanks to Iren Masheva and Marin Sladkarov) then I’m doing the international only for snowboarding in Sarajevo. After that, I’m going straight home to do the grand opening of our freshly built skatepark in Maribor.

What are you most excited about this coming season?
Pretty much about everything!

That, awesome! Thanks so much for your time!
Blagodarje na tebe!