STORY
The story of Jumalauta Snowboards does not start with a group of cool friends living their passion of riding bluebird days in the mountains. It’s neither a story of testing the equipment in epic environments for the perfect ride, or finding a new position within the industry after a pro snowboarding career. The story is about dreams. Devotion to living the sideways lifestyle, and how life just throws you around.
The story starts here and now with you, dear reader and rider.
That you have found this page shows you are in the search for a snowboard that feels just right, and represents you as a rider in a way no other brand would. How it all turns out in the end is for you, dear reader, and fate to show.
But first, let me fill in how we got here.
Let’s back up to the end of the year 2020, where the events that ignited the spark for this Finnish snowboard brand took place. I was doing my business as usual. For that moment, it was ripping wood for a new teak deck. By that time, I had made a decade-long career working as a carpenter/cabinet maker in some of the most established woodworking shops in Helsinki. Cabinets had changed to boats, and I was a good five years in on my second decade as a quite well-rounded tradesman. Still, there are certain unavoidable facts in life, one being that when you keep on doing something for long enough, an accident is bound to happen. And this is just what did. My normal day at the office abruptly ended in a brief, but savage, meeting of the hand and table saw blade.
Also a fact of life is that when you are forced to stop, time to reflect and think usually fills the void.
Soul
Did I mention I am, and was, an avid snowboarder? When my skis changed to a snowboard in 1993, there was no turning back.
The attitude, lifestyle and radness of the sport got me in my early teens to define me as a snowboarder even before I mastered toe-side turns on a bunny slope. Actually, the first time I tried out snowboarding in late -92 was with a rental board and hard boots. Didn’t have a clue how it worked, ending my fifth try down the slope in the hospital with a broken arm. But returning to skis was no longer an option. I had sold my soul to whatever God that looks, or does not look, out over snowboarders. In Winter 93-94, I got my first own board with soft bindings. After this, winter has been the most expected time of the year for me.
No Mountains
Back to year-20. With a disabled hand and on sick leave, I had a bit more time on my hands—ha ha—so I started to piece together the puzzle of my career path until 2020.
Beginning with my designer parents, who both had great expectations for their son to graduate from an art school. Why not? The raw talent was there. Still, my personal path led me to actually drop out of art school in order to pursue what felt right. Art is a cool thing, but honestly, I felt that my place was more on the “doer” than “creator” side of things, and I pursued a carpenter’s apprenticeship in -06. Which worked out quite nicely. Moving on to boatbuilding and expanding my bag of tricks and skills brought the hands-on experience of making composite layups.
This is the point where I started to add up carpentry + composite skills + love for snowboards and an art-filled soul for good measure. The result of that 17-year-long path is here in front of you. This does not include a good 13 more years just living life, picking up snowboarding, skateboarding, and a couple of other nasty habits I will be in wedlock with for the rest of my life.
But before we start our path together, I would like to fill in some gaps about the technical, and answer why this story, although about a snowboard brand, starts by saying “no mountains.”
Ever been to southern Finland?
No mountains. Not even some decent hills. We do, on the other hand, have a heaven of street spots, and one 5500cm high, and another bit higher resort which year after year, since Moses split the Red Sea, seems to spit out world-class Finnish snowboarders by the dozens. Who, after some trial and error, have also learned to master the epic backcountry spots of the world. Which, in my opinion, is just a crazy cool fact.
Then someone might hit me with a question along the lines of: “Dude ain’t no pro snowboarder dude. How can bro know shit from shinola when it comes to designing boards?”
I’ve been lucky enough to get to live many eras of snowboard evolution. Also, having the tendency of a gear tech nerd, I’ve had a habit of just paying attention to what’s going on. Also, as times change, equipment changes, and as it turns out after 30 years, I have ridden quite a many different boards and setups from different times. Could still point out that this is not enough to build a whole production around it. You need the craftsmanship to do the job. But maybe the secret ingredient in the sauce is that when you make a long career of manufacturing stuff according to other people’s wishes, you secretly build a habit of listening to and picking up what’s good. Snowboard building is not exactly rocket science. Just a million small details that need to fit right in order to make a good board. The aim in designing a Jumalauta is not to make a carbon copy of any existing snowboard, but rather to pick up bits and pieces of the grand wheel of a snowboard and combine these elements my rider friends and team have found to work in our use and riding different styles.
What about the part of “not a cool group of friends”? Hell yea I have friends. And they are the coolest! I would not be here without all of you, nor in the picture below doing a fs 180 indy on a massive urban kicker my friends and I shoveled together in Helsinki -97.
Also, just to build a good brand and product to go along is just not possible alone, and I cannot put my gratitude in words for all of you who have helped this project along. Thank you. All of you. You know who you are.
On the Future Path
Jumalauta snowboards is the result of just a lot of small parts falling into their places and taking shape. What it will look like in five years I do not know. But what I do know is that Finland is a snowboarding country. Like said before, it is a crazy fact how our country seems to birth world-renowned and prized riders year after year. Especially when considering the size of our whole population in Finland, about 5.5 million of us. We have an astonishing amount of globally recognized pro riders amongst us. Equally baffling is that we’ve never really had a proper brand to represent this talent. Sure, there have been some notables through the years, but nothing that would really stand out and represent, as a brand and product, the whole attitude of Finnish snowboarding.
This is the shape I’d like to see Jumalauta Snowboards take in its time. The boots are big to fill, but I have faith, and I hope you have too. The brand name already does its job better than anything before. If Finnish is not your native tongue, the word jumalauta is explained in the -About-section. It does carry some weight to it and is not to be used without a proper introduction.
Here is a good place to thank my lovely wife for the brand name and for supporting me to believe that a stunt like this can be pulled off, and for understanding that snowboarding is punk rock by heart.
To make the cake complete, the actual product, the Jumalauta snowboard, could not carry out the task it’s meant to do if it were produced anywhere else than Finland. Made in China or even the USA would not just cut the mustard. If the thing is to represent the spirit of Finnish snowboarding, it needs to be born and raised here—that is to say: Made in Finland.
Here is my side of the story. Reminding you that this is only the beginning of this story. The end is being lived by you and by me, right here, right now, for as long as it will take to be a good one.
Now We Are Here
If reading this made you feel the cause is just and the product legit, we continue on together, living out the end of this story. My friends and I have now brought the tale of Jumalauta snowboards to you, but this is only where it starts, my dear reader and rider. The torch is yours. Go ride. Make your slash, surprise yourself, learn that new trick and above all, just go have fun!
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