Eiki Helgason | Island Born | Monaco | Iceland | Road Biking | Lobster | Pickled Shark

Episode #45

Today we’re talking with Eiki Helgason - Eiki as I‘m sure most of you know, is the mastermind and business partner with his brother Halldor behind the Helgasons.com, SwitchBack Bindings, 7/9/13 Belts & Accessories and Lobster Snowboards.

Eiki’s had at least one amazing video part each each year dating back to 2003 - including one of my favorite, Rome’s No Correct Way in 2008

He’s also worked with Mack Dawg, Standard and Transworld before taking the reins and gaining creative control with 2011’s Sexual Snowboarding which if you haven’t seen - put your browser into incognito mode and google "sexual snowboarding"!  

This episode covers: 

• Eiki's full name and his nickname
• How to properly pronounce Eiki - "Achy"
• Achy Breaky Heart
• Go Skateboarding day edit 
• Growing up skateboarding in Iceland
• Seasons in Iceland
• Influences on Eiki's style
• The trick to flip tricks on a snowboard (Extra Pop)
• X-Games Real Snow
• Eiki found Stan 
• Mockumentary - Island Born 
• Sexual Snowboarding
• Taking things for granted
• Iceland tourism
• Wow airlines
• The Ring Road
• The Highlands of Iceland
• The Northern Lights
• Snowboarding high school in Sweden
• Vaping in Iceland
• Road biking with Strava
• Flat tire
• Iceland's currency crisis
• Moving to Monaco
• Jail and education Iceland
• Leaving Rome and starting Lobster
• Lobster's graphics
• Brotherhood
• The Frontline Rail Jam
• Day in the life
• Street snowboarding culture in Iceland & the golden ticket
• Listener questions
• Iceland backcountry
• Skating mini-ramps
• Food in Iceland
• Japan
• The ice rink
• Life changing news!
• Icelandic naming

 

 

Quotes from this episode: 

"The real pronunciation is achy like achy breaky heart."

"Living in Iceland - we don't have any indoor skateparks (or we didn't then), so I had to find something to do in the winter. "

"Snowboarding kinda came easy to me cause I was already doing rails and stuff on skateboards."

"I think skateboarding is cooler - actually."

"I always love to do weird stuff."

"The tre-flip took a while (on a snowboard), but varial kickflip - I actually think it's easier than a normal kickflip."

"The tre-flip boardslide shove it out on that picnic table... I actually haven't done that trick on a skateboard. It took me a while to get it, like four days and four or five hundred tries."

"If I think of trick that I want to do and it's possible - I just won't quit... I've had a lot of long sessions for a trick."

"It's always been a competition between hackers (X-Games Real Snow).... That's what you get when you have an online voting system. I think people know way too much about computers."

"I've been doing the same thing for fourteen years - go out and film a part. This year is different - it's more like a mockumentary than documentary."

"That's why we did our own project with the sexual snowboarding movies, we kind of felt like everything was getting way too serious."

"It's basically me and Stan going around to weird places in Iceland snowboarding (the Island Born movie)."

"I started partying late for a European. I was just focused on snowboarding."

"I wear those pants with the padding cause my asshole gets sore (while bike riding)."

"Jail in Iceland is actually like a rehabilitation center - it's just like a nice hotel room. When you go to jail here you can actually go to school for free."

"I always just loved creating stuff - I think Lobster was the first thing."

"I would always bring these ideas (for graphics to Rome) and they would be like - umm yeah, let's not do that."

"That board had a good meaning - it said STD's will fuck you up."

"I'm kind of always and never working."

"The weather in Iceland is the most random - it can go from minus 20 to plus 20."

"I tried it (Sheep Balls) - it kinda tastes like old milk."

"The best plan is no plan -we'll see what happens."

"Keep snowboarding for yourself and not for someone else - cause that doesnt make any sense."