Having started snowboarding at the age of 4, Kazu has gone on to become one of the best known and respected professional snowboarders in the history of the sport. Kazu is a crowd favorite both in his home country of Japan and abroad, where his name is virtually synonymous with explosive snowboarding and amazing style. Kazu has been stacking results since he began competing and has taken the podium at nearly every event he’s entered including X Games, European, New Zealand, Japan and US Opens.

One month following his second Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver, Canada, Kazu’s name was written into the history books alongside the legends of the sport after beating his biggest rival, Shaun White, and capturing the first of two consecutive US Open victories in 2010 & 2011. It was in that timeframe that another milestone would be reached in Kazu’s young career. With an unprecedented amount of exposure by securing almost ever single cover of every snowboarding magazine in the world along with over 140 pages of editorial and full length features to go along with 135,800 web features and an additional 18,020 photos and 2 full length network documentaries, Kazu is hands down the most exposed snowboarder in the world.

While Kazu continues to not only win championships, but simultaneously seek out and ride the biggest mountains for the most famous snowboarding photographers and film makers in the world. He spends his very rare free time working in his 1 acre garden alongside his wife Tomoe and volunteering in his home country of Japan with the animal rescue group JEARS of which a portion of proceeds from his signature products go to support.