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

1991 We founded a club in order to get an indoor facility. The 1st one only lasted for 2 months because of the un-affordably high rent, but 2nd property was cheap enough to keep in business. In fact, it’s still in use. I got hooked up by the Vision distributor, when the US team visited our “Kaukajärvi” miniramp. The actual demo was canceled, because of a heavy rain. Some locals criticized my appearance. I was taking a lot of runs while the demo was on. The actions I took, was my idea of hospitality, and it worked. It was my ramp, after all. The indoor vert was built inside the same garage soon after. Life went on very promptly. I started my studies in Gymnasium and it caused a new not so skate-oriented period in my life.

1990 Meant getting involved nationally and internationally. I was visiting ”the Psycho” hall in Helsinki every weekend. Doing demos in small towns and villages for our local Sportia shop who supported me along few other kids. I saw Hosoi’s demo in Helsinki. I did not know why I was blessed with such a treat, but I still do remember how much meant it to be there. Hosoi in Helsinki, as tough as stuff might ever get. Mctwist in person!
I went to a skate camp in Essen, Germany. I was doing well on street and vert in the Finnish Championships and later in October making the cut to the semifinal on vert in the European Championships in Switzerland.

1989 Year started while the first indoor skate park ”Kaipio” was uniting the scene, during the frozen months of winter. My own ¼-pipe was the tallest obstacle of the street course. During the summer of 89, the first few ramps were built around Tampere. 2 of them had vert.

I was asked to do a demo on a 10ft tall (and wide, too!) ramp, which had a foot of vert.
I could not drop in, because I had not even heard about “vert” before I was standing on the ramp. I managed to bs grind the beast and to do ankle high “CHRIST AIRS!!!” as a crowd-pleaser. The local newspaper ran a photo of me on the 1st page the next morning. I appeared a few more times in the press and I was getting recognized quite often.
Gran Canaria was my first skate destination. I went there for a week with my Dad, and even alone for a couple times during the following years. The “californian” climate of Canary Islands helped my skating so much. At home, snowboarding would have been the only option from October to April. But, I was a kid who knew better. I think I’ve gone snowboarding for less than 10 times since the late 80’s.

1988 My family moved to Pispala (legendary suburb of Tampere, built on a big sand ridge). As soon as the snow was melting in March I started making new friends with my new hobby. The popularity of “Skeittaus” was in the rise at the area. ’88 I got a Skull Skates ”RHCP” and later “Justin Lovely” on Indys and Bullets. I saw a wooden miniramp in reality, in Helsinki.

1987 My first experiences of skateboarding happened through rental Hollywood movies during the mid-eighties. I saw the actual boards in the use 20 years ago in April. Some older kids from the same neighborhood were goofing around with these colorful “Made in Taiwan”-type-of-things you could buy from a gas station. I got my Variflex “Air attack” as a birthday present from my Mom. Summer was soon over on the western outskirts of Tampere, Finland. No idea of a trick, yet. Just downhill. If it was raining, I’d just put my rubber boots on.