JENKEM’S SUMMER HOLIDAY IN HELSINKI HELRIDE
Finland is a unique place. To the virgin eyes, it probably looks like any other Scandinavian country (everyone is mostly blonde and good-looking), but after staying there for over a week, nuances began to emerge. The obvious thing is how close Finland is to Russia and Estonia, which gives it a slight Baltic influence that the Swedes and Norwegians don’t have. You can take a two-hour boat and jump into Estonia at any point from Helsinki, which is like crossing the border from the USA to Mexico – a bit cheaper and wilder west.
But what exactly did we do in Helsinki? Well, we were there to check Helsinki HELride and Koff Race. HELride is a kind of underground CPH Pro where the race organizers set up obstacles in downtown street locations and everyone skates on them for cash while the crowd cheers for blood like a gladiator fight. The Koff Race is organized by the locals and consists of a hill bomb and a rail across the pond. Yes, the one you saw IG where the guy cracked his nut.
The saunas are huge there. I’ve been told that winters are so hard to survive (because there is so little daylight in winter) that saunas are a way to keep warm and stimulate endorphins to get you through the more challenging months when people are prone to depression. . If I were to redesign their flag, it would just be a couple of stripes and an outline of a sauna and a beer next to it.
One night we went Sompasauna, which is a DIY sauna run by the local community, open 24/7. I headed there at night around 01 o’clock on a Monday, not knowing what to expect and sure enough, there were a dozen people there, naked, drinking beer and singing songs on the piano between saunas. It was unbelievable. No phone in sight, just pure original forest living shit. Looked like a new age swinger convention.
In Finnish “Pussi” means package and “Mega” means well… mega. Portions are relatively moderate in Finland, but if you find big bags of chips in the grocery store, be sure to let them know that you found the biggest version of them”Mega Bag” written proudly across the packaging.
If you like blond hair, pale skin and ice blue eyes, you will definitely be amazed in Finland. Everyone is beautiful, and you’ll see model-looking police officers, McDonald’s workers, handymen, and more in other non-glamorous jobs. I wonder if they know they could be models in America if they wanted to.
For a relatively small population, Finland produces quite versatile skaters with international recognition. Arto is the granddaddy of everything but Marius Syvanen as you know has been making waves in skating for the past 20 years. There is also James, An advantage, Eniz Fazliov and Lizzi Armanto. We did features with three people out of five. Feel free to guess which one, and if it’s right, we’ll pay you $1. (However, you must leave your Venmo handle in the comments)
We’re lucky we came this year because I can only foresee this event exploding more and more until it feels like just another week off. CPH open. It’s not a bad thing, but we feel honored (and I mean it) to be invited and come before Thrasher, and everyone is traveling from far and wide to make it another big media stop.
I have been on a handful of trips with Marius [Syvanen] and what always stands out about him to me is that he always makes you feel like you belong and part of the crew. I’ve met other pro skaters who just think you’re there to film them and don’t care what you do, where you’re from, or what your name is. Marius actually sparks a conversation, it’s not just a one-way street for them. I think those other guys will have a rude awakening when their careers end and they realize the country doesn’t revolve around the skateboard industry.
You don’t have to be “in the industry” or know someone to experience this shit. All you need is a plane ticket and you’ll be welcomed with open arms, high-level skating, a friendly smile and a new group of friends. It’s like summer camp, you might be a little nervous at first, but by the end of the weekend you know all the locals and everyone already knows who you’re dealing with.
In America, you have to have a beard and a full sleeve of tattoos to get recognized as any DIY builder, but in Helsinki, two skinny-looking boys were forging the spot. Just 18 and 19 year old kids started making their own concrete ramps during Covid with pride stolen extra concrete was “found”. Their creations aren’t perfect, which is oddly refreshing among the perfect skateparks all over the capital. Who knew if you had it that good, you’d just want to skate trash every now and then.
Finland has also made significant deeds worth mentioning. HIM, Bomfunk MCs and Darude are just a few that exploded internationally. HIM is a band Bam Margera has a tattoo above his dick, Bomfunk MCs have one. “Fr-fr-freestyler song” (you know the one), and Darude did “Sandstorm”which is like the original Rickroll. Not bad. The stairs you see in the background here are actually in the “Sandstorm” music video, which means this race is automatically the second most exciting event here.
It was definitely the highlight of this trip The Japanese game shows a death trap. It was really dangerous and only a handful of skaters from the event even dared to skate it. It quickly turned into a mix of slide-n-slide, Jackass nut shots, and only a few highly skilled rail compression practitioners ever made it to the other side. Pat Duffy, who is one of them, gets a 50-50 split and smith grinds wet. Not to mention he’s the same age as your dad.
True story, on the flight our cameraman Greg bumped into business class, probably overbooked or whatever. He sat next to two girls who were partying hard, ordering beer and shots the entire time and clearly wanting to party. They all got into conversation and one of them kept mentioning how amazingly comfortable and large the business class bathroom was. Nothing happened and Greg has a partner, but that’s how it goes. When you get it, you’re just given more.