2010
There are some teenagers on the ramp, and they rip. What?
A new generation of vert skaters has finally arrived to push things further. It’s nothing but awesome to finally be able to skate vert with some young dudes! It looks like there’s even more generations to come from now on. Despite the doubts, vert always was here to stay. The lonely journey of a vert skater is not quite so lonely anymore.
I’m still able to skate all the time and learning new stuff in the age of 35.
I didn’t plan to go this far. When I was about 17 years old I was already so over skateboarding and it was the last thing I cared about…,
but nothing more interesting than this came around and I had to accept it☺.
The “Mica Vert Day”-event in September was the 1st time in looooong time I skated vert in public in my home country! Helsinki has a decent outdoor ramp again.
The last time I skated vert in public in my hometown, Tampere, was in 1997! I have definitely earned a “has-been”-status as a home town hero.

2009
If there’s no vert ramp, soon there won’t be any vert skaters, either. It was time to go.
The UK has felt like a second home to me as skateboarder, ever since the 1st time I crossed the channel in 1997 for the “Solar Powered Tour” with DopeClothing.
The UK’s scene is one of the oldest and most diverse in the world of skateboarding. Unlike in Finland, the vert skating tradition is very strong in England. There’s a plenty of decent ramps and well designed skate parks all over the country. The English skaters don’t mind skating in low temperatures or traveling long distances to be able to skate what they want at any time of the year. Snowboarding is not really an option in England. That as well must have helped the local vert scene to survive. The country’s surf culture is always the base for it’s skate culture, too. While skating vert in Finland, I often feel like going fishing farther than where the water is.

The Adrenaline Alley in Corby, Northampton Shire, England
and it’s vert ramp has been my local ramp lately. The vert ramp has taught this old dog some new tricks. Thanks to the lovely people of the ‘Alley!
I honestly had given up the hope with getting my “once-so-easy” 540’s back.
Let alone still learning some new heavy spin tricks.
After a few months of riding frequently on the full-sized ramp along the resin pad,
I started realizing that all the tricks and techniques are still there for my grabs.
After having to deal with various types of mentalities towards what we do… It really does feel like being at the right place at the right time.
This reminds me a lot about the later mid-90’s, the golden days Kaukajärvi, when I was learning new stuff on daily basis:
How the motivation can be so purely about self-expression and so not dependent on what the mainstream of skateboarding is currently about.

The summer of 2009 was my first ever summer in US.
3 months of driving unhealthy amount of hours every day and eating consciously healthy, shredding daily on skatelite-covered structures and smooth concrete, witnessed the Boston Dew Tour World Championships and remained unqualified, skated the MiniMega Rail Jam at the Maloof Money Cup, watched the X-Games on the spot. The whole California Sun-experience. Me Stoked.

2008
My greatest skateboarding experience ever has been that one night in early January in 2008. Just moments before the magic took place there was icy drizzle falling from above and snow everywhere. The weather was practically impossible for any sort of fun with a skateboard. But, as we know that piece of wood with 4 wheels underneath, it rules in many different sort of situations!
Skateboarding went literally underground that time and I got to be the 1^st person to skate a 1000ft long concrete fullpipe in Pispala. It’s all too crazy to explain, so we had to make a movie with Juice Huhtala to share the adventure with the world. One interesting detail is, that I used to live literally next to this former rafting tunnel during 1996-2000. Only about 500ft away from my door!

The tunnel remained unused until the late 2007. During Christmas holidays
I happened to get a tip that there was something promising going on around the tunnel yard.
The rumor was, that the tunnel was cleaned up and re-modified to serve a new purpose as a boat transfer from lake to another. There really was a construction site by the mouth of the tunnel, and that just could mean that the tunnel was soon be to shredded! So, a couples weeks later I went back to my old playground, did the research, and completed the fabulous mission in “Pispalan Uittotunneli” with Turmis and Pete.

It was insane…please, see for yourselves.

On the competive side of skateboarding, making it into the finals in the legendary Tampa Pro Vert contest is something I really need to mention here. “Only” sixth place, but it was a pro contest in the US, and I am a vert skater. A career highlight, for sure.

In March, I became undoubtedly the first Finn to skate the Megaramp. Thanks to the host himself, Bob Burnquist.

Adam Taylor, Buster Halterman and PLG tutored my first straight airs over the 50 ft gap. After a couple days of practice I comfortably landed a few solid backside airs on the 30 ft high quarter pipe. That probably was an unofficial European record of a highest air on a skateboard;)!

While having the taste of professional vert skateboarding in the US, I also faced the down side of the job: Torn posterior cruciate ligament on my right knee. That took me out for the rest of the season. For the first time in 13 years I had to have break from skating vert for a few months.

During that break I found a whole new approach to exercise. I swear that was the first time I ever considered going to a gym. I could not properly skate for 6 months and our neighbor had fully equipped gym downstairs! I might be a vert jock, but in this case I rather became a lucky victim of the circumstances…

Back on the ramp in November 2008. I did a few boat trips Helsinki to Stockholm through the storms of Baltic Sea only because the STHLM SK8PARK’s ramp was the closest vert to me. A bit of a low point for the Finnish vert scene… Thanks to once again to the Swedish hospitality, there was a new start.

2007
The year included more traveling than ever before. The summer was not the most successful in terms of contest results, but I was able to go to China and Mexico for X-games and I made my best out of the traditional Euro-schedule. Another exotic location was Bulgaria in boiling hot July, a demo trip with Kingpin magazine. In October I found a way to conquer yet another corner of the world, a demo on the Reunion Island, a tiny piece of land in the middle of the Indian Ocean. The volcanic origin of the nature was something amazing I hadn’t seen before. In November, like it hadn’t already been enough, I got to skate the first “minigigaramp” in Italy (and in Europe) among the first Euro skaters. Man, you can’t stop climbing up in a repeat for another 360 over the gap into a big aerial on the quarter pipe. Vert skating really does get to another level with these super jumps.
Summa summarum, 2007 was the year when placed 3. World Vert rankings. Pretty well done considering, that I come from a country that didn’t even have a vert ramp at that moment. Oh, wait there is one, under a 2ft thick layer of snow.

2006
I had bought a video camera a year earlier, but I hadn’t really used it that much until I was in OZ. The sunny weather made things look cool. I got more and more into filming. As a result there was enough footage to put together a nice video part before the summer. Mare had filmed me in Europe during the second half of ’05 and in February he flew across the Atlantic, and I took the other way around. So, we met on the West Coast. We drove around Nevada and Arizona for a week.
On the same trip my girl also taught me how to drive in LA. I have never owned a car, so driving lessons were in order. Anyway, Mare had captured enough footy for a sick video part.
I went to a lot of events around Europe during the summer season, and as a result, I got invited to a big competition Dallas in the late October. That was my 1st PRO comp in US, and I was already 31 years old! I stayed in Southern California for 2 months, and went back home for Christmas. Things were fine.

2005
A trip to America after a long while. Being fortuned to get on board on a road trip thru Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, and back to California. It awoke me that there were all these *RAD SPOTS*to go to, and I was not alone as a skater. In May the new repaired 36ft wide vert ramp was ready to be ridden next to the summer cabin. A lot of people were helping me out to make this little piece of heaven possible. I thank you all! The sauna will be heated up when ever you fancy visiting.
As I turned 30 on the 23rd of September, I beat the current world champion in a head-to-head final of freestyle.ch in Zurich. With the prize money I was able to buy a computer and a flight to Australia. The state of living rose dramatically.