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

2000 My 1st trip to US in January, a month in California. Mind blowing, as they say.
I spent July and August in central Europe and UK for long enough to go to a lot of comps, which led into a little bit of a success. Signing myself on Vans Europe in August was a huge relief.
A vert ramp was set up in Helsinki for a Sprite commercial and I was one of the guys to build it (I didn’t skate in a commercial!). We were allowed to take it down after the production crew had done their job. We trucked the pile of wood up north to my hometown, Tampere, and it was put up as a vert ramp again in the local skate park. The old vert ramp was still in Kaukajärvi, but I never got to see it again. I was super busy to finish the new ramp alone while the Christmas holidays passed. During my victorious Tampa AM mission in the beginning of 2001, the Kaukajärvi skate garage including my vert ramp was given away to the local BMX’rs. The new rulers took down the vert immediately. Honestly, it was a smart move from the skateboarders, because the bigger skate park needed the maximum support from city, and another skate facility at the same area would make the amount of support smaller. Well, one of the fundamental ideas about skateboarding is: to move forwards through some risky times.

1999 I think that was the year, when I got paid to skate for the first few times. In Europe, all the countries seemed to have their own separate scene, so I didn’t really know what to expect at all, whether I ripped or not. I lived in an attic of a 100-year old house in Pispala. I was bombing the hills in the neighborhood like a maniac, skating streets during the warm and the Kaukajärvi vert while the land was frozen. Life was pure and simple. Towards the end of the year I worked as roofer for a few months. That meant I had to deal with the cold and dark start of a “day” at 6AM, and since it was outdoors, a lot of rain, snow and wind, too. I managed to make and save enough money to get out of Europe for the very 1st time.

1998 Another Dope UK tour, a ghetto ramp demo tour with some questionable bands around the ice halls of Finland and an attack to Bochum, Germany for Euro Champs in May. ’97 street skate champion of Finland, Ari Saarto started handling the international business that weekend. The following summer the majority of the skateboarding world got to see the Finnish way to go down handrails, period.
Circa’95-’98 I remember learning new stuff on vert on weekly basis. At that time my Mom was working in Switzerland. The European Board Aid happened in Andermatt, while I visited her. The top American vert skaters were coming, so could not miss my chance to see them. On the way up to the mountains I bought a set pads and eventually I was able to skate with legends in the demo. The organizer even invited me to the next Board Aid.
In September ’98 I dislocated my elbow in a bs disaster revert on a miniramp. Ever since I haven’t even tried any backside reverts. It still (April 2007) remains as my only major skate injury.