In 2022, just days before his 18th birthday, Chinese snowboarder Su Yiming found himself atop an Olympic podium with a gold medal hanging around his neck.
The 17-year-old had just won the men’s big air final at the Beijing Winter Olympics, a moment which changed his life in unimaginable ways.
In truth, Su was already well-known by some in China. He had found fame as a child actor in several movies before switching his attention to professional snowboarding in 2018.
But after winning gold – and a silver in the slopestyle event – at his home Games, his profile soared higher than he could ever have imagined.
Luxury brands came barreling in, wanting to partner with the man of the moment who captured the imagination of China’s younger generation.
Suddenly, his face was everywhere, from fashion shoots to television appearances. Su was a superstar.
Su attends a Louis Vuitton show during Paris Fashion Week in June 2023. Kristy Sparow/Getty Images
Now boasting over 300,000 followers on Instagram and over 2,000,000 on Chinese social media platform Weibo, Su is one of the most recogni
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