I have seen the future and it is snowboarding.

Last week, I had my first experience of carving and shredding on the slopes of Bulgaria. This week, I’ve watched the world’s best riders create the first must-see TV of the Vancouver 2010 Games.

Snowboarding is already the world’s fastest-growing sport. And if there’s one sport that can withstand the creeping onslaught the of virtual world, it’s surely the one that offers the most extreme range of physical sensations – from the stomach churn before a run to the face full of freezing snow on a wipeout to the warm glow of a Bailey’s hot chocolate (the boarder’s après drink of choice).

In its marriage of risk and athleticism, and its natural crossover into music and fashion, snowboarding carries huge youth and, therefore, commercial appeal. It’s a lifestyle sport that not only represents a gateway to a highly valuable demographic, it brings with it extensive real estate for marketers to exploit.

Vancouver 2010 has witnessed snowboard’s coming of age as a mainstream sport. But while the IOC are recent converts to the benefits of leveraging the shred scene’s assets, big brands have long been in on the act.

When Shaun White, the joint highest-paid athlete at the 2010 Games, sealed his second half-pipe gold this week, he did it with a double ‘McTwist’ 1260 - a move he learned on a specially-constructed pipe built for him by sponsors Red Bull in an  exciting activation initiative that hints at the sport’s future potential.