This article has been adapted from the Winter 2018 print issue of Downdays Magazine. Use the mag finder at the bottom of this page to find a copy in a ski shop near you.

It’s never easy to stand out from the crowd, but that hasn’t been a problem for Nico Vuignier, who always seems to find a new angle to look at things.

In 2016 the 26-year-old Swiss freeskier went viral with his “Centriphone” edit, using the simple but groundbreaking idea of swinging his smartphone around on a string while skiing. Last season, it was “Poor Man’s Selfie Drone,” made using a modified “throw your GoPro” foam flyer.

Nico’s latest short online drops have displayed increasingly mind-bending editing tricks, as everyday desktop objects—pens, coins, books—suddenly metamorphose into ski features, just like in every schoolkid’s daydreams. One oddball clip, in the style of a UFO sighting, zooms in to a strange-looking line in a cloud, only for a skier to appear and slide it. It seems like Nico sees skiing and skiers wherever he looks.

We challenged Nico, who usually works with moving pictures, to create a still image for this page. This is what he came up with.

To see more of Nico’s daydreams, make sure to follow him on Facebook and Instagram. Here’s some examples of what you might find:

 

Playing around with some footage from last fall. 👨‍💻 I think this one goes til’ infinity 🔁 . . . . . #freeski #skiing #timetoplay #vfx #keepmovingkeepticking #visualart #video #satisfying #illusion #infinity #loop

A post shared by Nicolas Vuignier (@nicovuignier) on Dec 22, 2017 at 5:17am PST