Bio
2007-2005
2004
2003-2001
2000-1998
1997-1992
1991-1987

2003
The LASIK operation in my eyes had a very positive effect in my life, finally skating without having to worry about contact lenses, etc. Competing in the European championships in Basel, CH for the first time was an absolute highlight of the year.
A 3ft extension was added on the indoor vert. So I got some new lines going. At it’s spot the ramp could not be wider. It could only get higher. At the time I was working part-time as sales person in a youth-fashion store at a big mall. The shop also sold skateboard equipment, so it was not that bad for an indoor job. Another wild solo demo mission to Moscow by train happened in the end of the year. A well-known Finnish mobile phone manufacturer was promoting a new skate game, and I was hired (by the Russians!) to make the real moves on vert in front of a live audience. It was one of strangest jobs I’ve ever done, but it left me with a lot of nice memories.

2002
Whatever the vibe was, I finally had a really good ramp and I decided to stay at home for the winter. I filmed one my best video parts. The daily routine seemed to come together. I was starting to feel a bit tired and had no idea of the sort of a break that was going to hit me…I burned out on a tour around Europe. A lot of the stuff that went down that week was hilarious, but the unbalanced state I ended up being in was nothing but critical. The post meltdown depression left me recovering in the countryside. Despite the circumstances, I kept skating. One could see the medication I was on, by looking at my face. I built a miniramp with my Dad next to our summer cabin. It was 20ft wide and the transitions were super steep and almost elliptic. There was a roll-in bank on the side of the other wall.

New areas were conquered in September when I took a train to Moscow, Russia. I was asked to do a demo in a local action sports event. Will and Kev, from Dope flew in to look after the vert skating ambassador of Finlandia.

2001
The year of some serious attention. Winning a lot of comps, including Tampa AM in January and even the euro X-games in Barcelona, Spain in July.
3 more trips to US. It was starting to feel like it’s going to work. Skateboarding in Finland was on it’s peak. There was also a growing disrespect towards the type of skateboarding I represented. There were more people who identified themselves solely as street skaters. In that situation the opinion of the majority was turning against a “vert” skater. I was seemingly privileged with an international sponsor and a practically private ramp, which no one else wanted to use. 26 years of age was enough to make me prioritize skating transitions before anything else. The generation of street skaters who doubted my abilities had not started yet, when I was conquering +10 stair dimensions among the first people in the country around mid 90’s.

Heelflip indy.
Rotterdam, Holland. 2001.
Photo: Antton Miettinen