Back in the day Finnish riders were so hot. Then it became hard to be a Finnish rider because there were so many good ones. Now it’s dropped off a bit and, well, it seems Norwegians are the new Finns. How’s Finnish snowboard scene in general these days?
I’d say the scene and vibe is rather good and youngsters are still progressing in the same style as earlier. Maybe the hard winters – the lack of snow – have made some negative impact, at least to managing small resorts. And I feel that when I was young there were a lot of young riders compared to nowadays, maybe that’s the same thing all over Europe, I dunno… At the same time the parks have gotten a lot better though over the last 10 years and resorts seem to devote more and more space for different parks, which is dope! Nowadays there’s maybe more junior skiers than snowboarders typically at the slopes, but I’m not worried. Just take a look at 292 Crew or some other finnish crews, they’re killing it!!
Who else was involved in making this project?
This winter I wanted to use some of my friends footage in the part too, that was important to me. Saku (Tiilikainen) and Juho (Haapalainen) were on onboard on the RV trip too and they scored some really good stuff there and I’m happy I got to have some of their A-shots in my part. Also, the main guys behind camera, Janne Koivistoinen, Anssi Tiusanen and Ville Vappula (photo) are good friends of mine and the editor Mikko Keskinen too, and it’s always nice to “work” with good friends. Of course my fiancé Mari was involved, being a big support and being compassionate about my absence from our home during the winter time.
What’s next for you?
November and December I’ll try to ride as much park as I can, maybe hit some streetspots too. Then in January I’ll head to Japan to shoot for some powder and hopefully continue on the powdery course back here in Scandinavia too. Maybe a short surfbreak (a week or so) at the end of midwinter before the spring really kicks in, that would be neat! And at Easter, we’ll organize an “creative parkriding” event for the second year in a row with my one of my best riding mates, Joel Lahti, in Sappee Ski resort. That’s about it, hopefully I stay in one piece all the way untill next summer.
Cheers for your time. Have a good winter man!
Thanks a bunch Onboard crew for making this possible, and thank you for reading and checking out my videopart!
Share