I see you have been snowboarding in the off-season, what has been your favorite place to ride?
I grew up snowboarding all over Europe with my dad and there are so many good places it’s hard to pick just one! But, I really love Whistler (Canada), St Anton (Austria) and of course my home resort Åre (Sweden).
When you were just starting out wakeboarding, was there a skill or a trick that once you landed it made you think “...maybe I could be really good at this…”?
Yes! The first time I landed a flip on my board. I was 16 years old, and had been trying backrolls all summer. Then one day it finally worked and it was the most exhilarating feeling I’ve ever felt! I remember thinking I was invincible and have spent every day chasing that feeling ever since.
At the end of last season, what was your favorite trick to do and what did you end the season wanting to learn for the next season?
All tricks are fun wakeboarding behind my Heyday WT2. Last season I really got into wrapped backside spins and I would love to take my wrapped mute back 3 to 5 this year!
What are 5 products you never leave for a day on the water without?
My Yeti water bottle, Manda sunscreen, boating snacks, sunglasses and of course my Slingshot wakeboard!
How many tour stops do you think you will hit this year?
This year I want to focus more on content creation and personal growth rather than competing. I’ve been competing for the past 10 years and although it has been a lot of fun, it does change the way I free ride a lot. Instead of going out behind my boat and working on growing my tricks / enjoying my riding, I’ve been focused on drilling contest run after contest run. After being in the game as long as I have, I'm choosing to take a season that is just for me. Hopefully with all my newfound time I can focus on landing new tricks and creating cool projects in 2023, which have always been my passion.
If you’re boating/riding somewhere new, what are the things you are looking at or for to get acclimated and to set yourself up for a successful day on the water?
I like to always chat with a local rider who knows the waters before going out somewhere new. Although my boat has a Simrad screen with a full map, it can be hard to judge where the riding conditions will be the best. Depth, wind and boat traffic all play a part so if I can, I always like to chat with someone who has wakeboarded there before, or even do some research online.
What is your process and cadence for cleaning and maintaining your wakeboarding gear?
Since I ride in salt water I (should 😜) always rinse my wetsuit and board off with fresh water and then I set everything out to dry as soon as I can so that it is ready for my next set. There is nothing worse than putting on a wet wetsuit! Most of my gear is very durable though, so there isn’t really much more to it than that.
Did the way you ride or the way you approach riding change after your injuries?
Yes. Unfortunately, I’ve gone through many injuries in my career and it has changed the way I view wakeboarding in many ways. The first and the most positive impact it has had is that it has made me appreciate every moment spent on the water. Before my injuries, I would get upset with myself if I had a bad set and constantly feel like I was not good enough. After going through rehab for my ACL tears, all of that went away as I was so grateful to be back enjoying what I love. I'm not saying that I never had another negative thought or got frustrated when things didn’t go my way but instead of dwelling on it afterwards for days, I now let it go within minutes.
Is there anyone in particular that you haven’t had the chance to ride with that you would like to?
Jodi Grassman! I would love to watch her rip!
Everyone has a different opinion between how similar/different wakeboarding, surfing, snowboarding and longboarding are – what’s your take?
“Same Same but different” haha. Of course all board sports have some things in common. Besides the boards and standing sideways there is usually also a community surrounding each sport full of enthusiastic and loving humans. But, I do believe that each sport feels very different and let’s just say that my wakeboarding skills do not translate over to my snowboard!
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