Johan Jonsson

ABOUT ME: 
I grew up ski racing on very small hills in the middle of Sweden. One day, after ski academy, I crashed my dads car, panicked and booked a ticket to the USA with my best friend. We wanted to try this freeskiing thing. Ten years later I was still freeskiing as my job, and even though it’s way harder work than people think, it’s obviously also the best job in the world.

• What MOMENT do you ski for?

The best thing is that those moments change as we evolve as skiers. That’s how I look at it at least. 15 years ago the goal was to drink and party hard but still huck big cliffs. Now it’s more about finding new places where I haven’t been before, or where no one has been before. Skiing hard will always be a part of my love for the sport, but what that means obviously changes. Moments that make me happy, that’s why I ski. Currently those moments ofter occur after a long hike, and just before (and after) skiing an untouched powder line.

MORE: 

• What’s your favorite quote? Why does this quote resonate with you? 

It’s cheesy, but: ”Treat others the way you want to be treated”.
I like it cause it’s very hard, but if we all tried a little harder life would be so much nicer for everyone.

• How do you conquer difficult situations? 

By trying to think about what people I look up to would do, and combine that with the knowledge I have. Life, both on and off the mountain, is something we never master fully. So I try to be humble and learn something every day.

• What sacrifices have you had to make to get to where you are today and were they worth it? 

I don’t see it that way. What others might think are sacrifices — 15 years of distance relationships, no real home, etc. — are things that just were necessary to be able to ski for a living. The biggest sacrifice would have been not giving it a shot, and losing the opportunity to live this life.

• How does your mindset (or attitude) influence your performance?

Too much. Ha ha. I guess I can perform ok in a bad mindset, but when shredding with friends in a good mood everything becomes so much easier.

• What do you do when you aren’t skiing?

My other two big passions are trail biking and fly fishing, and that really give me a lot of energy. After becoming a father in 2018, I obviously spend more time with my family too, but if you just try a little bit harder I feel you don’t have to sacrifice other passions because of that. Just change the mindset a bit. Works most of the time at least. Ha ha.

• What strategy do you use to overcome pressure and stress for optimum performance? 

I try to do as well as I can in every situation, and not just give up because the conditions or the weather are crap. Some days you really feel like you suck, but if you work hard on those days, the sunny powder days will become even better and easier.