About
The basics
Name: Russell James Henshaw
Nick Name: Russ
Birth Date: 7th of June 1990
Hometown: Jindabyne, NSW, Australia
Home Mountain: Thredbo, NSW
Ski’s:
- Park: 185 Volkl Wall, Mounted 1cm back from true centre
- Pow: 185 Volkl Gotama, Mounted 3cm back from true centre
Binding’s: Marker Jester
Outerwear: Volkl Performance wear
BIO
Russell ‘Russ’ Henshaw was born on the 7th of June 1990 in Sydney Australia. He grew up near Sydney with his two younger brothers, exploring his interests in extreme sports including skateboarding, Motocross, and BMX. His first snow-encounter came at the age of four, and a year later, he discovered the world of competitive skiing.
For the next seven years, Russ competed on the Australian ski racing circuit as part of the Thredbo Ski Racing Club. It was during this time that Russ first met the then Head Coach of the Under 14’s, Nick Draxl. Under Nick’s guidance, Russ progressed to become one the best in the country for his age, winning the Australian National Under 12 Slalom Title and placing 2nd in Giant Slalom.
Unbeknownst to his superiors, Nick would take Russ and a select few for after hours training in the Thredbo Terrain Park. It was obvious then that Russ had serious talent and love for the less restrictive disciplines of freeskiing. Both Nick and Russ jumped ship the following year where Nick took over the Perisher Blue Freeride Team.
At home at Thredbo
Seeing Russ’s potential, his father approached Nick to suggest taking Russ under his wing as his personal Coach and Manager. So at the ripe old age of 15, Russ accompanied Nick to his home town of Seefeld, Austria to train and compete on European Circuit. Within the first two weeks Nick had Russ signed on the Volkl International Freeski Team, along with Volkl Performance Wear and Marker Helmets and Goggles.
Since then Russ has been travelling with Nick around the world competing in Slopestyle and Big Air competitions, securing himself a place among the biggest names in the business. Some of Russell’s biggest achievements include wins in most of the biggest events, including the Orage European Open, Red Bull Playstreets, JOI Big Air, Barcelona Snow Show, London Freeze, Volkl NZ Freeski Open, Austrian Open and Volkl Newschool Picknick.
On the podium at the London Freeze
In 2009, Russ was invited to film with the premier ski film production company, Matchstick Productions (MSP) and featured in the film “In Deep” which released in the same year.
Looking ahead, Russ endeavors to continue his rise to stardom, attending the biggest events and continuing to film with MSP…
