Yo Sami, Since we last did an interview your ski career has moved on pretty fast. Tell me about the last two years? What do you think made the industry notice you?
I don't think the industry acctually noticed me, or at least thats not what it felt like for me. Just two or three people gave me some opportunities. I feel like at first it was Shane McFalls and Erik Olson who let me stay with them and opend the door to a part of the US ski scene. A little later on it was Will Wesson and Freedle Coty who opened up the opportunity for me to film with Level 1.
What’s it been like linking up with Level 1 and shooting with them? You had a pretty big role in the last couple of Level 1 Movies which started ?
Apparently I'd been under the radar at Level 1 for couple of years already. And then two years ago i got a facebook call from Freedle that he'll be shooting in Switzerland and that I should join the trip. I've been really lucky to be able to film with a company like Level 1 since then. The best thing about it is that you get to go on trips with amazing riders and people in general. I mean last spring I got to go on a trip to Japan with Garrett ‘G Funk’ Russell, which is definitely a dream come true. In general it just gives me opportunities and experiences I would never have had without skiing.
You travel a lot, but at the same time, you strike me as someone who loves home. Is that hard?
I guess the more you travel, the more obvious it becomes where your home is and you start to appriciate it more. I love my home valley! It's extremly beautiful and has a good mix out of everything: mountains, lakes, rivers, woods and glacier. I'm really fortunate to have such a good circle of friends there. Also pretty much my whole family lives within 5 minutes of my house.
You particularly seem to spend a lot of time in the states? How do you deal with how different it is?
The US is FUN! It's like one of those amarican sitcoms: it's entertaning and fun to watch, but I wouldn't really wanna be part of it. So I like to travel the US and would also recomend it to anyone to go there, but I wouldn't want to live there for the rest of my life.
Process of stacking shots? Do you actively think ‘what would be a weird line’ or do you just ski and see what happens? /How do yo think up what you’re going to do?
Sophisticated use of the basics. that's how i would describe my skiing. So baisically i'm not a very technical rider, but i'm able to figure out how to use and combine the basics.
You used to do a ton of filming but I guess that has taken a bit of a back seat to the ski career? Was it impossible to balance both? Will we ever see Birds 3d?
I've definitely been doing less filming as a job, but i've still been filming quiet a bit for personal projects. It's acctually kinda nice like that. When i'm filming i get to film what i want and experiment around. That way i can still progress in filming.
A new birds movie is in the making. I'm not 100% sure when it will be done, but as for right now it looks like it will come out this season or maby in spring.
It's going to be absolutly EPIC! For this Birds movie we had a massiv budget, heli skiing trips all around the world and thats how we were able to find the true soul of skiing HAHAHA ...just kidding. It will be the same DIY bullshit as the last Birds movies.
I know you’re super into music, different music from most of what is around in the industry, tell me more about the festival you organize? Do you play yourself?
So a couple of my friends and i were kinda disapointed by the local festival sence and thought it can't be that hard to make a good music festival. it turns out that it acctually isn't that hard, it's just a shit load of work, but if you do it with the right kinda people it never feels like "work"at all. So we created a skateboard/music/art festival in our local skatepark in Näfels GL. The concept is pretty simple: It's a non profit event, every body works for free and what ever we make plus goes into the next project.
Yeh i guess i listen to some different music. Well basicly i listen to a pretty wide warity of music like: Genesis, Motörhead, Daniel Johnston, Bowie, Eric Burdon (just to name a few of my favorites). But my favorite genres are probably Punk and HC. It's just the music with the best life shows. there's nothing quit compereble to a good HC concert. I also think the DIY additude behind it is what attracts me to the music. Yeh i play too. I have a band with my buddy Silvan. What we play we like to discribe as "more noise than music".
Design is also a big thing for you, you draw all the time. You’ve done a few things for Yoke, any ski graphics coming up? Do you have a process or do you just freestyle?
Usually i have an idea or concept in the back of my head, or i just steal an idea from Silvan Zweifel. After that i try to get my work on paper or whatever material/medium i'm working with. There will be a ski graphic for Line that i have worked on coming out soon.
What’s the deal with Cats/Birds and other creatures. There’s always creatures in your work?
I like cats! i admire them! My spiritual leader is a cat. His name is Cat King Carl. He eats my money, kills my dreams and feeds my thoughts. All hail the Cat King!
What have you got planned for the coming winter? Any trips you really want to do?
I don't have a specific trip or a place i wanna travel to, but i know which group of people i wanna travel with. i feel like thats way more important anyway.Would be really cool to go on more trips with Rob Heule and Garret Russell (aka: the blue bib blend boyz). I also hope that it will be a good snow year in my home valley, I have alot of little project i wanna do back here.
I don't think the industry acctually noticed me, or at least thats not what it felt like for me. Just two or three people gave me some opportunities. I feel like at first it was Shane McFalls and Erik Olson who let me stay with them and opend the door to a part of the US ski scene. A little later on it was Will Wesson and Freedle Coty who opened up the opportunity for me to film with Level 1.
What’s it been like linking up with Level 1 and shooting with them? You had a pretty big role in the last couple of Level 1 Movies which started ?
Apparently I'd been under the radar at Level 1 for couple of years already. And then two years ago i got a facebook call from Freedle that he'll be shooting in Switzerland and that I should join the trip. I've been really lucky to be able to film with a company like Level 1 since then. The best thing about it is that you get to go on trips with amazing riders and people in general. I mean last spring I got to go on a trip to Japan with Garrett ‘G Funk’ Russell, which is definitely a dream come true. In general it just gives me opportunities and experiences I would never have had without skiing.
You travel a lot, but at the same time, you strike me as someone who loves home. Is that hard?
I guess the more you travel, the more obvious it becomes where your home is and you start to appriciate it more. I love my home valley! It's extremly beautiful and has a good mix out of everything: mountains, lakes, rivers, woods and glacier. I'm really fortunate to have such a good circle of friends there. Also pretty much my whole family lives within 5 minutes of my house.
You particularly seem to spend a lot of time in the states? How do you deal with how different it is?
The US is FUN! It's like one of those amarican sitcoms: it's entertaning and fun to watch, but I wouldn't really wanna be part of it. So I like to travel the US and would also recomend it to anyone to go there, but I wouldn't want to live there for the rest of my life.
Process of stacking shots? Do you actively think ‘what would be a weird line’ or do you just ski and see what happens? /How do yo think up what you’re going to do?
Sophisticated use of the basics. that's how i would describe my skiing. So baisically i'm not a very technical rider, but i'm able to figure out how to use and combine the basics.
You used to do a ton of filming but I guess that has taken a bit of a back seat to the ski career? Was it impossible to balance both? Will we ever see Birds 3d?
I've definitely been doing less filming as a job, but i've still been filming quiet a bit for personal projects. It's acctually kinda nice like that. When i'm filming i get to film what i want and experiment around. That way i can still progress in filming.
A new birds movie is in the making. I'm not 100% sure when it will be done, but as for right now it looks like it will come out this season or maby in spring.
It's going to be absolutly EPIC! For this Birds movie we had a massiv budget, heli skiing trips all around the world and thats how we were able to find the true soul of skiing HAHAHA ...just kidding. It will be the same DIY bullshit as the last Birds movies.
I know you’re super into music, different music from most of what is around in the industry, tell me more about the festival you organize? Do you play yourself?
So a couple of my friends and i were kinda disapointed by the local festival sence and thought it can't be that hard to make a good music festival. it turns out that it acctually isn't that hard, it's just a shit load of work, but if you do it with the right kinda people it never feels like "work"at all. So we created a skateboard/music/art festival in our local skatepark in Näfels GL. The concept is pretty simple: It's a non profit event, every body works for free and what ever we make plus goes into the next project.
Yeh i guess i listen to some different music. Well basicly i listen to a pretty wide warity of music like: Genesis, Motörhead, Daniel Johnston, Bowie, Eric Burdon (just to name a few of my favorites). But my favorite genres are probably Punk and HC. It's just the music with the best life shows. there's nothing quit compereble to a good HC concert. I also think the DIY additude behind it is what attracts me to the music. Yeh i play too. I have a band with my buddy Silvan. What we play we like to discribe as "more noise than music".
Design is also a big thing for you, you draw all the time. You’ve done a few things for Yoke, any ski graphics coming up? Do you have a process or do you just freestyle?
Usually i have an idea or concept in the back of my head, or i just steal an idea from Silvan Zweifel. After that i try to get my work on paper or whatever material/medium i'm working with. There will be a ski graphic for Line that i have worked on coming out soon.
What’s the deal with Cats/Birds and other creatures. There’s always creatures in your work?
I like cats! i admire them! My spiritual leader is a cat. His name is Cat King Carl. He eats my money, kills my dreams and feeds my thoughts. All hail the Cat King!
What have you got planned for the coming winter? Any trips you really want to do?
I don't have a specific trip or a place i wanna travel to, but i know which group of people i wanna travel with. i feel like thats way more important anyway.Would be really cool to go on more trips with Rob Heule and Garret Russell (aka: the blue bib blend boyz). I also hope that it will be a good snow year in my home valley, I have alot of little project i wanna do back here.
