Russian snowboarder Alexey Sobolev might have failed to qualify for the slopestyle finals Saturday morning, but he’s stealing the spotlight at Sochi anyway.
The 22-year-old Olympian made headlines first with his snowboard itself. The design appeared to pay tribute to Pussy Riot, the punk-rock performance group whose guerrilla performances and protest of President Vladimir Putin led to multiple arrests in 2012. (Designer Brian Romero said the inspiration was actually EC horror comic books.)
Wow, Russische (!) snowboarder Alexei Sobolev komt naar Sotsji met een Pussy Riot-board. https://t.co/VCPvyMem1h pic.twitter.com/QkUsKpnFq3
— Jo bdew it (@JobdeWit) February 6, 2014
Oblivious to thin ice, Sobolev took matters one step further Saturday morning, putting his personal phone number on his helmet.
Соболев пробился в полуфинал в слоупстайле на Олимпиаде https://t.co/tHhwE6Ndmu кстати его номер pic.twitter.com/sbE674ZhUn
— a (@krasnodar_ka) February 6, 2014
While the actual number was covered during the event itself Saturday morning—as required by the International Olympic Committee—it quickly spread on Twitter and on Russian television.
According to Sobolev, he received so many nude photos as a result it shut down his phone.
“Yesterday, some guys from USA and Canada sent (text messages),” he told Yahoo’s Jeff Passan. “Some girls sent me photos. But Russian girls: The best!”
Sobolev added, “I’m definitely going to call them.”
H/T Yahoo | Photo via Alexey Sobolev/Facebook
