Growing up 40 kilometers from Rovaniemi, 65,000 inhabitants, itself located 6 kilometers from the Arctic Circle, it’s easy to feel isolated. To remedy this loneliness, Ailo Riponiemi has developed personal mobility solutions: two wheels for motorcycling and two boards for skiing. To mark the release of his second film, Are we there yet?, we went to meet this young man, endowed with a fertile imagination.
©Minttu Piippo
© Atte Sauranen
Miles from anywhere
“When I was younger and I didn’t have a car driving license, a scooter was the only way I could get around on my own. I was 15 when I got a moped that was road legal, so that´s when I started driving to the city and back. I would say it felt like freedom to me to finally be able to move around and for example go to a store to buy candy or whatever. That was was pretty much the only thing we could do; it was the norm.”. This sets the scene for a youth spent in Finland’s least populated region. This isolation had another consequence on young Ailo’s life, developing his imagination as a skier.
While Rovaniemi has a few lifts, most resorts, such as Levi, Ruka and Pyhä, are a 2-3 hour drive away. After starting snowboarding – Santa Claus, who lives next door – gave him his first snowboard when he was 4 years old. But soon, to keep up with his mates, Ailo shifted to skiing. “My switch is because all of my friends at that time used to ski, and it just felt natural to switch to be able to ski in a group and be able to keep up with them better.” He started out on the slopes in Rovaniemi, where his mother regularly took him. As he got older, his friends began to get their driving licenses, and they were able to go further afield. “I remember when the first person in my friend group got a driving license and a car couple years before me, we started to visit Ruka almost every weekend. Used fill the car with friends and split the gas so we could take daytrips or sometimes even stay over weekend.”
© Atte Sauranen
Creative isolationism
The geographical isolation of his youth forged his creative bent. “You really had to get creative to figure out what to do living in the countryside. I was lucky to have a couple friends in the area that were the same age as me so I could hang out with them and do all kinds of dumb stuff. We used to have these small motocross bikes we would ride around our village in the summer, whereas, during the winter we would ride snowmobiles and pull toboggans or some kind of sledge behind them. I guess living kinda in the middle of nowhere taught me lots of skills. For example, we didn´t have a skate ramp in my village so I had to build one with my friend. But now I know how to if I ever need to again. Also, just having to figure out stuff to do and how to do it all the time probably made me able to rely on nothing but myself in a way.”
It was thanks to a snowboard film that he discovered street skiing, the art of transforming a snow-covered city into a dynamic playground. “ I first discovered street snowboarding because we had this show called “Tracking Eero” that aired on Finnish tv and which followed the life of Eero Ettala during season 2009/2010 and on the last episode there was this street part that started with a huge drop off some building followed by Eero yelling “ I thought I was never gonna land that!” Which led to music going off and I think that moment was when I got the spark of wanting to do that as well.”
Another cinematic influence which anchored his desire for urban freestyle: the videos of Nipwitz, a fairly excited group of Finnish skiers. “I discovered that Nipwitz was doing the same on skis. Brain massage was also the first ski movie I went out to see in a theater when they had screening in my then hometown, Rovaniemi. It’s a little while after that I started street skiing myself. I think I hit my first spots in 2013 and couple years later I already had a crew of people around me wanting to do street skiing too and we started filming together.” The geographical exile of these skiers will increase their creativity tenfold. In the vein of Nipwitz, acrobatics are as important as imagination and, as is often the case in street skiing, humor is an essential component.
© Atte Sauranen
© Atte Sauranen
© Atte Sauranen
© Atte Sauranen
Reverse angle
Gradually, Ailo and his pals were making more and more videos. Street skiing, with its focus on the urban environment and the imagination of ephemeral modules, is a discipline that lends itself perfectly to the game of framing. “My skiing has come a long way since I first started street skiing but most importantly, I feel like I have found what type of spots I want to hit and how my skiing works in different areas. Filming has come a long way too. A few years back I used to just go to spots and get clips and not really worry about the final product until I was editing. Nowadays, I usually like to write a script that includes what I want to say with the film, what kind of feelings I would like some part of film to give to viewer, whether there is theme or storyline etc.”
As he accumulated video experience, Ailo began to edit for himself, to the point of wanting to make his own film. Are we there yet? is his second film, but before that he worked for a number of directors. “This is my second solo project but the first I’m actually satisfied with. Writing out my movies before I start making them has helped me to know what kind of stuff I need to film so that I get everything I can out of the final film.” Thanks to the many helping hands he has given throughout his young career, he has also been able to count on many kind souls to help him. “Filming with pretty much no budget requires you to ask help from anyone you can. If I have a spot in mind for the weekend and I don’t have anyone to film or take photos or use the winch, I’m just going to start reaching out to everyone I even remotely know in that city to come help me. That’s one way to get to know people and get good crew for sure.”
© Atte Sauranen
© Atte Sauranen
© Atte Sauranen
© Atte Sauranen
© Arttu Heikkinen
Super 16
Like many snow and skateboard filmmakers, Ailo is drawn to motion picture film, particularly the 16mm format. Part of his latest film features scenes shot in this format, because of its particular touch. “Aarni Toiviainen filmer of Nipwitz has filmed with 16mm camera, but 16mm film influence also comes through snowboarding and skateboarding. I really love those old snowboarding movies filmed completely on film like early Standard Films stuff. Also, more recently I´ve seen Anton Kiiski publish films that use 16mm and been stoked about those. Both Anton and Aarni are filmmakers I really look up to. I think filming on actual film just looks so good and definitely would like to do that much more.”
The cost of shooting on film begs the question of how to finance your passion. After all, not only do you have to save money, but you also have to set aside time to shoot during the winter. “Honestly, I’ve been putting all my money into street skiing. Buying my own cameras, gas for trips and, for this recent movie I filmed some 16mm film footage and that ain’t cheap either. I try to find work that I can quit before street season starts and snow will stay on the ground. For the past few years, I used to work as a lift operator in Ruka ski resort from October to December. It was nice because living there you could already start the skiing season in October and ski a lot before starting filming in early January. Now that I moved to Helsinki, I found a job at this place that makes magnets and folders and drinking mugs out of peoples photos. It will end right before December so perfectly just in time to get to do some skiing. I should probably start figuring out what I’m going to do as a job next summer. Open for any job offers so if anyone reading this has something, please hire me. I’m a great employee.”
© Atte Sauranen
All streets lead to Helskinki
Now a resident of Helsinki, his urban playground has expanded considerably. Is the city be prepared to see its infrastructure suffer? If his creativity is anything to go by, the city’s street furniture could be in for a bit of trouble should the snow fall. That’s if this environment of walls and partitions doesn’t confine its wild nature too much. “Helsinki is nice change for a while. I have not really lived anywhere with this many people before. I just have to try take everything out of this experience now that I´m here. That being said, I kinda miss having bit more space around me.”
To escape, he can count on his motorcycle. Now the owner of a Harley Sportster, he can go far afield and even take his girlfriend with him. While he’s waiting for the chance to travel and discover new spots, he’s also thinking of building his own bike, perhaps a chopper. “I´ve been following lot of chopper builders from the USA and Japan. It’s super cool to see how people take stock bike and make it completely their own. I still haven´t got around to building my own but it´s on my list for sure. Maybe I should start building bikes in summer and skiing in winter! I generally enjoy working with my hands and getting to use creativity, it would be sick to express it that way.” After the streets, the roads will have to watch out.
© Atte Sauranen
