Interview by Billy Tomlinson
and Andrew Winter
Photography by Jeff Curtes/burton.com
Few snowboarders push the limits
of snowboarding further than Nowegian Mads
Jonsson. Mads seems to excel in everything
he does, be it snowboarding, surfing, fishing,
or simply hussling his mates at cards. Two
years ago, Mads set the world record for the
longest ever jump on a snowboard. At close
to 60 metres, needless to say, nobody has
attempted to break it yet, although Mads welcomes
anyone to try. You will rarely see Mads at
a snowboard contest, although he does usually
make an appearance at the Air & Style.
Although seemingly at the top of his game,
Mads remains modest and motivated to take
on the next challenge. This is what he had
to say...
How was your summer? I hear you’re a
pretty good surfer amongst other things, have
you managed to get to the waves this year? Summer was great. Got a solid couple
of weeks in Mexico hitting up some pretty
good waves. Weather was pretty cold back home,
but good swell made up for it.
In snowboarding you have a thing about going
bigger and bigger. Does that mentality extend
into other sports like your surfing? Like
the Billabong Odyssey style shit, does that
appeal to you? In surfing I´m for sure not
as confident as on a snowboard. I crave head
high and glassy more than big drops.
…If 10 is Kelly Slater and
0 is Kelly Osbourne, where does your surfing
rate?
It´s not 0 but pretty close…ha
ha...
Ok onto snowboarding I guess...What
makes you pick the US over Europe to spend
your winter? I know most Scandinavians like
to get away from the darkness…does it
really suck that bad??
The darkness is one thing. The fact that Norway
is pretty small is another. Ha ha. I guess
it´s just 'cause I´ve spent a
lot of time there and a lot of things bring
me back. The mountains are dope and it´s
easy access. I still love the European road
trip eating epic food though. I don’t
like to think that I pick it. Just easier
to get the job done there.
A lot of good riders come out of Norway,
Sweden, and Finland. Is the ski/snowboard
industry in Scandinavia big enough to support
riders or do you feel you had to go to the
States to get recognised by sponsors etc? A lot of the industry and most of
the people connected up to the media. I guess
makin' a name is easier when going to the
states. Would be hard to blow up just riding
in Scando.
How do you rate the American style
and attitudes within snowboarding compared
to the European? It´s for sure pretty diverse.
I think it easier for kids growing up in Europe
to get to resorts and just ride. In the states
kids have to be more creative and find other
ways to ride. A lot of skate style influence
on the American scene has for sure made it
look a little different. In the end it all
comes down to where and how you look at it
though. Everywhere has the different style
riders. Even little o Norway..haha
I have read so-called “experts”
say that it is not possible for a snowboarder
to go any bigger than you did when you broke
the world record. They say any jump larger
than 60m and the human body would scientifically
not be able to withstand the impact of the
landing. What’s your take on this? Are
you keen to prove the experts wrong, or do
you feel you’ve pushed it as far as
possible? I have never heard these experts
opinions before now… Uhh. This is really
hard to say. The jump I hit was pretty close
to be at the 60m mark, and my legs were fine
when I landed. That´s what making a
jump is all about, hitting the sweetspot.
In my opinion it comes down to the speed.
I was pretty much tucking as hard as I could
and just got enough speed. So if the next
step requires speed suits I don’t want
to presue.. I´ll let somebody else go
for that.
Yeah you might look a bit silly.
You are only young and you have arguably mastered
freestyle snowboarding to perfection. Are
there any challenges in snowboarding yet to
be achieved for Mads Jonsson?
Snowboarding is a challenge. Freestyle is
still an aspect that I want to get better
at and so is freeriding. I for sure want to
get better at riding lines and hopefully be
able to step it up to some sick faces.
You used to ride a lot with JP Solberg
but over recent years you guys have hooked
up with different film crews. Do you ever
still ride together?
No I hate the guy, 'cause he gets so many
chicks . Haha. No we got taken apart by sponsors.
Working on getting back on the same crew though.
That shit is going to go through the roof.
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