QUICK TAKE WITH JOONAS ELORANTA
"So, roughly a year ago I got the news; I was going to become a father next spring. I thought, well, this might be the last winter in a while when I get to snowboard more often than not so I'm going to enjoy it; cherish every session and enjoy every moment spent outside with friends who share the joy of snowboarding either strapped in, through the lens or a shovel in their hands. At the time, being a 32-year-old and soon to be daddy, I wanted to Bona Fide snowboard every day possible.
Maybe it was the attitude or maybe destiny or maybe just good luck, but Helsinki got a second very good winter in a row and I had some ideas left from last winter. I filmed a couple clips for Vimana introduction and shortly after the announcement got a little budget to keep filming more. Then Deeluxe boots and Stinky socks chipped in and suddenly I was good to go for a full project and able to pay for filmers. A situation I hadn't planned just lined up, out of the blue. But even still, I wasn't gonna stress about anything. Not this winter. I'd go out, enjoy filming snowboarding and take whatever I get. I knew that eventually I'll have something ready. Fast forward a couple months and ta daa, my Bona fide missions had evolved into a full video part."
What homies really stood out and helped for this vid?
I'm most proud of my friend Samu Karvonen, who filmed a lot of my clips and shot photos as well. He's actually a very good skateboarder but lately has gotten into snowboarding. Samu has a mixed video of skateboarding and snowboarding coming out soon and it still amazes me how much work he put in last winter getting those snowboard clips in his project. The skateboarding part is obviously great but the snowboarding section is just as incredible! So yeah, the MVP award goes to Samu.
Why did you guys decided to film this all in Helsinki?
Helsinki is still a gold mine when it comes to spots. Within an hour drive you'll have everything you need, the only problem is the decreasing snow in the winter months. I was also working a lot last winter so I'd have a couple days off here and there for snowboarding so I figured we'd just stick around since there was lots of snow.
Whats the snowboarding scene like there?
The scene in Helsinki is small but really welcoming. At least that's how I felt when I moved here in 2016. We have two really good resorts within an hour drive and they usually open up really early to get the legs going. When/if it finally snows, suddenly everyone disappears from the resorts to the streets. It's a good balance. I feel like everyone's doing their own thing without unnecessary drama or noise. It's a great place and scene to be part of actually.
A little behind the scenes detail of that fire ender...
So, I found the spot from an older Tikari skateboarding video. Don't remember the name of the guy but he layback powerslid the bank and I thought it could work for snowboarding as well. Only problem was how to get up there, since there's no ladders or anything going up. So one day, somewhere around March, I'd drive to the spot and found out a recent storm had piled just about enough snow on one side of the bank, and with a little fixing, I could set my ladders on it and climb up. And it worked actually. Toni (Kerkelä) was around and he was keen to do the spot so we'd go there the next evening, set it up for hours, and then go home for some sleep.
Next day we'd drive to the spot and found out the Ride EU team was there to eyeball the spot as well. We'd explain the efforts we had put in and the guys would leave for another spot around and we stick by the bank. The bank has a few raised tiles but overall it looks like it's gonna slide well enough. I do a couple boardslides for the warm ups and break the edge completely on one of the raised tiles. Somehow it still works well enough and eventually I get the switch 270. I don't think beer has ever tasted so good than after the make hahah!
It is a special clip to me in many ways. I Don't think I've had a more certain feeling about what's the ender trick than I had with this one. The spot is just beautiful and the sound the boardslide makes is very soothing. Also I've never done a switch backside 270 for a video part and sharing the session with living legend TK (Toni) just made the day unforgettable. Straight out, I knew this was the ender, even before I had even done it. Extra shout outs goes to Mikko Kempas for shooting the photo and also jumping in with a 50/50 that day. You're a true hero!
