Fresh off his gold medal victory in Sochi, the new king of snowboarding recently stayed with us at The Standard, High Line during his whirlwind New York tour. Photojournalist Casey Kelbaugh tagged along for three days of photo shoots, shopping, and Olympic-sized fun. In addition to his gold medal, good looks, and budding photography career, he's also pretty handy with a guitar, as seen in this impromptu jam sesh.
Passing the torch
In Milk's room, Shaun White surprised Iouri with two large balloons marked F and U. "The person who sold us the balloons was like, 'Who's that for?'" White said. "I told him, 'Who the hell do you think they're for?'"
In-Room I-Pod
Iouri plays "Fare Thee Well" from the film Inside Lleywin Davis. It was his team's unofficial theme song during their time in Sochi, where they played it every night. Watch the video below.
The entourage
Two of Iouri's closest friends, Ruben Cassiano (seated), a DJ, and Marcelo Oliveira, his assistant, came over from Zurich to help him celebrate in New York. Here, in their room at The Standard, High Line, they check out his photographs and the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit edition. "Ruben has been my best friend for 15 years," Iouri says "He knew me before I could skate or snowboard. We actually never hung out with anyone else, but when we met Marcelo he completed our wolf pack. I felt like I needed them to come to one of the most important events in my life. Just telling them stories wasn't enough. I want them to be part of the story."
View from the top
Iouri brings out his Leica to do some shooting while climbing around the rooftop of Sandbox Studio in Soho. Iouri will be shooting his first major fashion editorial when her returns to Switzerland. His favorite thing to photograph? "Feminine beauty."
Iouri and his pals enjoy a feast at The Standard Grill
They go down faster than you think.
Doing his thing
Iouri takes the opportunity provided by the ramp-like qualities of the "cyc" at Dune Studios to do his thing. Josh Zickert, a professional skateboarder and owner of Natural Koncept Skateboards: "I'm really stoked that I-Pod won the Gold. He's a true skateboarder and it shows in his snowboard style. I love how he started his run with a stylish method air. It reminded me of the great Norwegian Terje Haakonsen."
I-Pod, Rassi and the GOLD MEDAL
Mazdack Rassi, beloved frenemy and owner of Milk Studios, met Iouri as a photographer first and was impressed by his purist approach. Before he left for Sochi he told I-Pod, "If you win that gold medal, I will throw you the biggest party in New York." For Rassi, snowboarding is all about community. It's really not a sport. It's really a way of life."
I-Pod and Paul Sevigny
Sevigny: "I've been snowboarding since it began. We have a lot of celebrity-types come through here but for me it's a lot more exciting to have a freshly-minted gold medalist in the half-pipe join us."
Literally, a breakfast of champions. Fare thee well!
Photos, video and captions by Casey Kelbaugh
