Andreas Gidlund Interview

Andreas Gidlund interview on Snowrev.com. Click the link above or check it out below!

Why are Scandinavian riders so damn smooth that they make snowboarding look easy? Can’t tell you that answer but Andreas Gidlund, from Sweden, is definitely in the smooth category. While sessioning he was just blasting off tricks like no one’s business; cab 9, cab 10, switch back 9 and so it went for a few hours. Then after lunch he started to do some tweaking. His airs before lunch were sick so more tweaking was nutty, all just like he was crossing the street. Felt lucky to witness the riding on his first ever snowboard trip to the US. Hopefully we see more of riding here soon. We sat down with Andreas and Brett Butcher next to the Truckee river in Tahoe and asked him a few questions.

From: Mora, Sweden Lives: Sweden Home Mountain: Salen, Sweden 

Sponsors: Sessions, Bataleon, Union, Celsius, Dragon, Skullcandy DOB: 6/20/1988 Stance: Regular

SR: Is there a rivalry between Sweden and Norway do you guys fight?

AG: (laughter) No not really, Norwegians kind of come over to Sweden to buy cheap stuff because their stuff is kind of expensive

SR: So you guys are ok with Terje and other riders from Norway?
AG: Yea for sure

SR: So how long have you been snowboarding?
AG: Nine or Ten years?

SR: What motivated you to start snowboarding?
AG: My friends, because I was skiing and everybody started snowboarding. I was playing hockey and my parents wanted me to keep doing that but I switched over to snowboarding

SR: Is snowboarding more prevalent in Sweden than here in the US?
AG: There’s way more people here that snowboard. Yea, like the guy Jon Olsson, the skier, there are way more skiers than snowboarders in Sweden.

SR: You have smooth style and strong riding, obviously progressing quite a bit in the past 9 years, who influenced you when started getting better?

AG: I think my biggest influence would be Heiki Sorsa. I love his style, tweaks and everything he does. It’s not like throwing madness but he has style

SR: A lot of the Scandinavian guys like Heiki, Hampus, and Jakob and so on have a very smooth style. Growing up in Scandinavia, you seem to have that style, did growing up there help you?
AG: I think it helped quite a bit. I think tweaks are cool but it is hard to tweak your airs and do spin

SR: Exactly, that is why it is so sick! That is where snowboarding should go
AG: That’s true because now it’s kind of ridiculous

SR: Now 900’s, 1080’s are mandatory but where is it going to go, 1260’s, 1440’s, 1620, 1800? No, like a tweaked out 900 is radder than a 1440 and the guys tweaking their airs and adding style are kind of the guys that win as opposed to the straight up huckers. Whether they are from Scandinavia or the US like Danny Davis and stuff. Do you think I am full of it or no?
AG: (laughter)

BB: Top 5 American riders versus top 5 Scandinavian riders, whose going to win overall
AG: I think Scandinavia (laughter)

SR: So how many times have you been to the USA?
AG: This is my second time

SR: How long have you been here?
AG: About two weeks

SR: Do you think it is helpful to come to the USA for your snowboard career?
AG: Yea, for sure, I really want to come here more but customs kind of kills me with questions and give me a hard time

SR: Why, because there are so many terrorists from Sweden?
(Laughter)
Is it possible they would turn you away? Are you a criminal?
AG: No, but riding for an American company…

SR: Is that bad, I don’t get it
AG: (laughter) I can’t come here for work

SR: So you actually are a criminal
AG: Kind of

SR: That seems kind of weird, you live and work in Sweden, come over here to ride and basically help promote American companies, seems like it should be cool. You are not taking American jobs or our women. When was the first time you came to the USA?
AG: This past fall

SR: For the previously mentioned fall sales meeting, so it was not a snowboard trip?
AG: No

SR: What did the 2008-09 snowboarding season bring you?
AG: Mostly shooting photos and filming. Went to a few contests but I have been having a little bad luck, been to the United States a few times

SR: You are only 20 so you will figure out how the contest strategy works.
AG: Yea

SR: What were you filming for?
AG: I am filming for Autumn Line this winter

SR: and shooting photos for…
AG:..Random magazines

SR: So what do you hope to get out of snowboarding?
AG: Having fun and being able to live on it for a while

SR: Is this living a dream?
AG: The sunshine and the river, it’s pretty nice

SR: When you were growing up did you see yourself doing this?
AG: No, I saw myself as a hockey player

SR: Who gets more chicks in Sweden, hockey players or snowboarders?
AG: Don’t know (laughter)

SR: Is it better to be from Sweden and come to America to get girls or be from America and go to Sweden to get girls?
AG: I don’t know

BB: Your girlfriend is American right?
AG: Yea

SR: Ah, you got a girlfriend so you don’t want to answer
(laughter)

SR: What kind of music do you listen to?
AG: Euro disco, at least while riding?

SR: Euro disco!?
AG: Yea (laughter)

SR: Band names?
AG: Hathaway (band), What Is Love (song title), Hasselhoff style, stuff like that
(laughter). Some pop music, depends on what mood you’re in

SR: No Swedish death metal?
AG: No Swedish death metal but Swedish party music

BB: Do you have country music in Sweden
AG: Yea we do have country music

SR: Wait, Swedish country music or American?
AG: Yea, they have Swedish country music but mostly American

SR: What about ABBA or is that what your Grandparents listen too?
AG: No (laughter) Yea, they are from Sweden, they have such cool songs

SR: Summer plans?
AG: Not sure, over here to US or Canada, Camp of Champions, Superpark later in May. Maybe New Zealand but that is such a long travel day. You travel from Sweden to maybe London, maybe Hong Kong, Melbourne and then to New Zealand

SR: Wow, when do go you home to Sweden from the US?
AG: May 10

SR: Is the girlfriend here or in Sweden?
AG: Sweden

SR: So you got good motivation to go home
AG: Yea and it will be summer when I get home so it will be nice

SR: Nice, so you can go to all the outdoor European discos. Where is society more tolerant, here or Sweden?
AG: I think Sweden has way less rules

SR: Between here and Germany?
AG: Germany? Germany has less rules

SR: Like no rules?
AG: Like alcohol, you can buy as strong as you want when you are like 16

SR: There are some crazy people in Germany so that may not be an argument in favor of tolerance
(Laughter)

SR: Back to the subject, Brett, define his riding style
Brett: Yea, I would put it in there with Heikki Sorsa, Torstein, makes all the US riders really jealous

SR: You ride all terrain or just parks?
AG: No, I ride backcountry and rails too but I have not been riding that much backcountry anymore

SR: Do they have good backcountry in Sweden or do you have to go to Switzerland or something?
AG: Yea, there are few, few good spots in Sweden, in the North and of course Austria and Switzerland

Cool Thanks Andreas, as this story posts on May 10, he is probably on a plane somewhere over the Eastern US or Atlantic Ocean on his way back home, listening to Euro Disco on Skullcandy headphones

Huge thanks to Alpine Meadows and North Star at Tahoe!!!