Onboard Global Snowboarding

Onboard Blogs - Pia Kaipainen

Joonas Mustonen interview

June 12, 2007 @ 9:39 AM -

Wow - time has surely flown by! But I'm still down with my blog even though it has been a while. I have left Forum too so in the future my blogs will be written slightly further from the core of the snowboard biz than before. But as I have spent such a long time in these circles I have had the priviledge to meet tons of amazing & interesting people who are riders, photograhers, judges, editors... snowboarders from both sides of the industry fence whome some of them I'd like to introduce to you too. This time I asked a Finnish raggar rider Joonas Mustonen how he is kicking. Joonas is sponsored by Forum & Special Blend and has a riding style that leaves you speechless. Not to mention the mustache your uncle would be jealous of... so enjoy! Wordemup Joonas; how's your summer going? Joonas: My homebase at the moment is in Turku and that's where I'm enjoying the summer as much as I can - besides working loads. Gotta save up for next winter. No plan is the best plan so I haven't got much scheduled up for the summer - expect 3 days in Ruisrock in July. How was your riding season? Joonas: Last winter wasn't that good in many ways. First there was no snow and when the snow finally came - I began getting injured. There was something constantly wrong: my face got stiched up, my wrist was twisted, my ribs got fractured and my ankle was sprained. But I still had a good time riding for a month in Austria, Germany, Italy and Switzerland. I was working on the Snakesessions tour and took part of one contest in Italy that was pretty dope. What do you think about the Finnish riding scene at the mo? Joonas: Well everyone knows that the Finnish riding level is really high. That's why it's always fun to go riding here as there is always someone who can challenge you to ride better. There's plenty of great riders in Finland at the mo, but my biggest respect goes to Antti Autti cause he's got good style. The Roistola dudes rocks too! So what's up with this Roistola crew? Joonas: I've been involved with them for about 4 seasons now. The main purpose is to have fun and make snowboard films that step outside the mainstream. The welcome has been good and new material is being produced every season. Quote from Roistola's MySpace page: "Roots of Roistola are deep in Central Finland. Back in the seventies, the Raggars in Jämsänkoski had their rumble with guitars, drums and rock'n roll. Drinking, rock music and own gigs in front of a gas station were common things to them." Check more: [url=http://www.myspace.com/roistola]http://www.myspace.com/roistola[/url] & [url=http://www.roistola.com]http://www.roistola.com[/url] Any plans for next winter? Joonas: Pretty much no. Hopefully lots of riding, new places and travels. And not as many injuries as last winter. I've never known about any riding trip before max. 2 weeks ahead, and I think I have more than 2 weeks before the next one... Next update will be coming from or after my return from CalifornIA & Mexico! Hasta luego!