Hustling through the Finnish all-star snowboarding scene is not easy, but one rider who has shown exceptional “Sisu”(Finnish for guts and determination) has begun to make a name for himself on the international snowboarding scene. His name is Roope Tonteri. He has been showcasing his exceptional riding skills on a national level for a few years, taking home a title on the Youngsters Tour and placing 3rd in the 2Star Finnish Snowboarding Championships Slopestyle 2009.

He caught the attention of the snowboarding world by taking home the prestigious title of the Protest World Rookie Tour Champion 2009. A title won in the early career of fellow countryman and 08/09 TTR World Champion, Peetu Piiroinen. It is without a doubt a great stepping-stone for a young rider. As a prize for his win at the WRT Roope had the opportunity to film with the Pirates-crew and showed his ability to stomp stylish and clean tricks.

In season 2009/2010 Roope has been seen at several 5 and 6Star events showing his technical slopestyle riding. He took 6th place at the 5Star Burton Canadian Open slopestyle, 3rd place at the 5Star Burn River Jump slopestyle in Livigno, Italy. At the 6Star Oakley Arctic Challenge competed against an all star line up and made it as one of the ten riders in the finals, placing 6th in the tough level finals. The cheering crowds where left wondering: could it be the next Peetu Piiroinen? With another World Rookie Champion Title under his belt in 2009/10, Roope finished off the season in World No. 8 ready to improve his ranking in the upcoming season. 

Stemming from the village of Valkeala in the south of Finland this youngster is also known as talented skateboarder and is now balancing his time between school, snowboard training and going to competitions around the globe. Keep on the look out for Roope as he has got serious game and talent.

Interview with Roope in June 2009

When and where did you start snowboarding?
I tried out a snowboard for the first time in 1999, with my mom’s old racing board. I had of course been skiing already since I was five years old.

When did you first compete and how did you begin competing on the TTR Tour?
My first competition was at my home resort the “KoSB Open” in 2003. I began competing on the TTR Tour in 2007. My first really big event was the Burton European Open(2009).

Where do you ride and how do you fit riding around going to school?
I ride in Vuokatti as often as I can and have the energy. School works really well with riding, as I go to the Vuokatti Sports Polytechnic and I can take classes in sports and we can take time off quite easily. It really works well for me.

Who do you ride with and who motivates you to learn new tricks?
Last winter I rode a lot with the boys from my school at Vuokatti. Best motivator has definitely been Nuutti Niemelä. We have crazy battles like who can get higher, further and rotate most.

Snowboarding can be quite time consuming, do you have any other hobbies?

In the summer I skate a lot and in the winter I also drive minicross. However, in the winter there is really not much spare time left after school and snowboarding. I also like cooking.

The level of snowboarding is very high in Finland, was it difficult to make a break though the bunch and be noticed by sponsors?

I got my first sponsor through skating and a friend at the warehouse told me to go check out the Youngsters Tour Stop in Sappee. I decided, as I had nothing else on, that I might as well go, and I won. The next time I went to the warehouse the snowboard department distributor said, “let’s get you a new board”. So finding a sponsor did not feel too hard, but now with the financial depression it is a whole different story. Feels like you have to really hold on to what you got. 

In the past few years you have been to for example Japan, Switzerland and Austria. What has it been like to travel around the globe for snowboarding?

Last winter I travelled quite a lot. It was fun but sometimes you just want to be at home. I think the best trip this year was to the World Rookie Fest Final. We stayed on for the Onboard photo shoot and then travelled back to Finland with Kevin Bäckström, slept on the Zurich airport and took photos on the plane. Fun timesJ

This year was your second time on the World Rookie Tour, this time you went home the winner, how was that?

It’s really good fun when you see a lot of people you know, who you only see a few times a year. The parks are pretty good, but there could be some improvement. Après Ski was really fun.

You went filming with the Pirates as a prize for winning the WRT, did you get some good shots?

It was the first time I filmed for a real movie and it was a really great experience for me. It went super good, the park was in excellent shape and all the pirates are really nice dudes. Hopefully I get to do some more of this in the future.

Which snowboarders do you admire and why?
Probably Sami Saarenpää, who I have always admired as he is from the same city as me and as a little kid I saw him in magazines and thought: That’s what I wanna be doing!

You are pretty new on the TTR Tour, has competing on the Tour helped you?

I guess as there are events from 1 to 6Stars, has meant that when I did good on a 2Star event I have been invited to bigger events. It is also great that they have events all over the world so that you can see what the snowboarding action is like everywhere else in the world.

What are your goals in snowboarding?

If I could some day do it as a profession that would be great, but I don’t stress out about it. I will give it my best, keep riding full steam and see where it takes me.

What has been your biggest achievement in snowboarding so far?

Probably last years second place in the Moscow World Cup. The second biggest achievement is for sure that I can keep doing what I love and enjoy some success.

The current TTR Tour Champion Mr. Piiroinen, won that same World Rookie Champion Title. Do you aim to follow in his footsteps?

It was truly great that Peetu won, he really deserved it. If I just can keep up and my skills are enough, I will for sure give it a try!