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To an outside observer, the career path of a competitive snowboarder is a linear affair. Build your name, win contests, get sponsors, slam, repeat. For something with a cornerstone of creativity, competitive snowboarding’s expectations are tremendously different from one of the core values in this lifestyle. And when a rider makes the choice to deviate from those expectations, to leave the floodlights and podium, the consequences can be swift.

For Antti Autti, the solitude of Japan’s forests and immensity of New Zealand’s peaks became forces too powerful to ignore. So he made a decision. Once known as an Olympian, an X Games gold medalist, and a recognized name on any contest lineup, Antti left a prominent career in search of freedom, knowledge, and the pursuit of something greater than himself. 

Not without adversity, that search has led him to Statements, an online series now in its second year that will be here beginning October 10th, here on snowboardmag.com. Antti Autti is a man who is not afraid to speak out on contests, rediscover that magic of a first pow turn, and prove that any goal can be accomplished if you have the desire. He chose his own line, we hope you will do the same.

[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”67842″ img_size=”1200×800″ add_caption=”yes” alignment=”center”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”2/12″][/vc_column][vc_column width=”8/12″][vc_column_text]You’re part of a generation of Finnish riders that all made it, like Eero [Ettala] and Iikka [Backstrom] and Heikki [Sorsa] and others that are all still very relevant today. What was it like growing up in Finland during that time?

Snowboarding was just coming out of Finland during that time. Of course Jussi [Oksanen], Joni Makinen and other older guys, they got out in the world so we had a lot of riders to look up to. That was really important. I’m from northern Finland, so I felt like an outsider because everybody else was from southern Finland. I went to junior competitions, then I was picked for the national team and I met all those guys. But seeing them ride; they were so much better than I was. That was really, really cool. There was this little competition going on between the riders, so that pushed me a lot. Where I’m from, there were not too many people riding except me and my friends, so it was really hard to see that level of riding if you only stayed at home. We only had one movie that we shared with my friends. Not too many people did any competitions or left the resort to ride. That really was something that I wanted to do, so I started doing competitions and started to see how good the snowboarders in Finland were. That really helped me to start riding much better.

Did you feel pretty isolated?

Not isolated, but there’s definitely a huge difference between southern and northern Finland. In the people too; we’re really shy. We just don’t talk up north. It was really cool because I was the only one from the north who was picked for the national team and it was a huge learning process for me. To even start opening my mouth and talk to people… It’s funny how, through snowboarding, all of that started to happen as well.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”2/12″][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row full_width=”stretch_row_content_no_spaces”][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”67826″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center” css_animation=”top-to-bottom”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row full_width=”stretch_row_content_no_spaces”][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”67830″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes” alignment=”center” css_animation=”top-to-bottom”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”2/12″][/vc_column][vc_column width=”8/12″][vc_column_text]Who were the other guys on the team?

Iikka, Eero Ettala, Heikki Sorsa, Jussi Tarvainen, everybody was on the national team during that time. It was the best thing that could have happened to me when I was young. You couldn’t call it a tight crew, but everybody was riding at the same spots. The big guys were there, too, so it was really easy to look at what they were doing and learn from them.

I did an interview with Eero last year, and he said everybody just fed off of one another. One person would learn a trick and then everybody, the same day, would learn and keep going.

I had not ridden with Eero, or Iikka, or Heikki or any one of those guys. I was just looking at what they were doing. I was coming from outside of the whole scene, so I was sometimes riding by myself and riding with the older guys. Over the years, it evolved in a way that we know each other, but I never rode with them that much.

Were you intimidated at all?

Yeah I think so. When you’re young and hungry, there is a lot of power between the riders. They had their own crew, they’re going to stick to their crew and then when I went alone into that, I was kind of like, “Oh, what should I do?” The only thing I went there to do was to snowboard, so I just started learning tricks.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”2/12″][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_single_image image=”67831″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes”][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_single_image image=”67829″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”2/12″][/vc_column][vc_column width=”8/12″][vc_column_text]Were they accepting, or did it take a minute to earn their respect?

I think we were at that age when it definitely takes a minute to earn respect from someone. I didn’t really give a shit if they would accept me or not. It pushed me. Coming from somewhere without a huge scene for snowboarding, and then entering something where everybody is all about it; I was like, “Fuck, this is the coolest thing ever.” So I didn’t really care, I was just admiring all the stuff that they did and was stoked on it.

In those early years you were on the contest circuit. Was there a moment where you think you caught a big break or something clicked for you?

Winning at X Games was the real kick-off for my career. Where I’m from, we never had a good pipe, so we learned tricks in shitty conditions. When we were able to go to ride some pipes that were in great shape, that really pushed the riding.

[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”2/12″][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_video link=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A-Y_OTPa8uM” align=”center”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”2/12″][/vc_column][vc_column width=”8/12″][vc_column_text]You beat Danny Kass, Shaun White, and Andy Finch all in that competition. All three would be in a top ten list of best halfpipe riders ever. What were you thinking when you won?

I was really stoked that I won, but at the same time I was bumming because I had a hand drag on the front 10, and I fucked up on the straight air. But that’s what the X Games are. They were talking about back to back 1080s and if you did that, you could get so many points. When you get invited to these big competitions that you haven’t been to before, you’re just excited to be there. You can see all the riders feed off that. So that’s already sick, and if you end up winning, that’s amazing. I was really hard on myself when I did competitions. When I did a hand drag or something on my run I would be bummed out. I almost felt ashamed that I had it there.

How much longer were you riding contests after that 2005 X Games win?

Five years. In 2009, I had a feeling I was getting over them. We did trips to Japan with Flow, which really opened my eyes for powder. Every year we went there, but in 2006 we properly filmed and that changed everything for me. From then on, I took a month from competitions and I went to Japan. When I came back from those trips, my mindset was like, “Man, I don’t know if I want to do competitions anymore.”

Soft pow sounds better than an icy pipe, right?

Yeah, and there’s so much more to it as well. When you do a lot of competitions, all the spots are exactly the same. You know what to expect. Snowboarding is this free and unknown thing where I can do whatever I want. In competitions, you can’t do that. I really enjoyed doing competitions, I still follow them and I like being in the loop, but it just wasn’t for me anymore. I felt like I had done it, and I had done it quite well. I just wanted to keep that same fresh feeling for snowboarding, so I went to ride powder.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”2/12″][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row full_width=”stretch_row_content_no_spaces”][vc_column][cq_vc_parallax images=”67832″][/cq_vc_parallax][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”2/12″][/vc_column][vc_column width=”8/12″][vc_column_text]You beat Danny Kass, Shaun White, and Andy Finch all in that competition. All three would be in a top ten list of best halfpipe riders ever. What were you thinking when you won?

I was really stoked that I won, but at the same time I was bumming because I had a hand drag on the front 10, and I fucked up on the straight air. But that’s what the X Games are. They were talking about back to back 1080s and if you did that, you could get so many points. When you get invited to these big competitions that you haven’t been to before, you’re just excited to be there. You can see all the riders feed off that. So that’s already sick, and if you end up winning, that’s amazing. I was really hard on myself when I did competitions. When I did a hand drag or something on my run I would be bummed out. I almost felt ashamed that I had it there.

How much longer were you riding contests after that 2005 X Games win?

Five years. In 2009, I had a feeling I was getting over them. We did trips to Japan with Flow, which really opened my eyes for powder. Every year we went there, but in 2006 we properly filmed and that changed everything for me. From then on, I took a month from competitions and I went to Japan. When I came back from those trips, my mindset was like, “Man, I don’t know if I want to do competitions anymore.”

Soft pow sounds better than an icy pipe, right?

Yeah, and there’s so much more to it as well. When you do a lot of competitions, all the spots are exactly the same. You know what to expect. Snowboarding is this free and unknown thing where I can do whatever I want. In competitions, you can’t do that. I really enjoyed doing competitions, I still follow them and I like being in the loop, but it just wasn’t for me anymore. I felt like I had done it, and I had done it quite well. I just wanted to keep that same fresh feeling for snowboarding, so I went to ride powder.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”2/12″][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row full_width=”stretch_row_content_no_spaces”][vc_column][cq_vc_mediumgallery images=”67837,67839,67838,67835″ layoutno=”22″ titles=”Japan | Photos by Harri Tarvainen”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”2/12″][/vc_column][vc_column width=”8/12″][vc_column_text]You mentioned Terje’s [Olympic] boycott in a blog post, and how you didn’t care about his stance when you were growing up. Do you think those kinds of voices or opinions aren’t as prominent anymore? Or people aren’t speaking out?

I thought, “Alright, Terje is boycotting. He’s boycotting because he doesn’t like the Olympics,” and now I understand why. I’m looking at it with an outsider perspective and I can see much clearer. It might be a bit harsh, but I think snowboarders have brought this whole mess on themselves. People are not speaking out about stuff that should be important to speak of. I’m sure some of the riders are probably scared of what the sponsors are going to say. I don’t know, it’s just like everybody is talking about how great some of the competitions are even though they are not that great, but it’s good for themselves, so they’re going to be like that.

You know as well as anybody the line you have to walk with sponsors.

The Olympics have brought a lot of cool things for some snowboarders and something good for snowboarding, as well. It’s just so mixed up right now and so hard to follow. My dad helped me a lot during my career and when I was a kid, and he has followed every competition even though I’m not doing it anymore. He told me last year, “Antti, I can’t follow competitions anymore because it doesn’t make any sense to me.” So it comes from a person who doesn’t snowboard, but who has followed snowboarding ever since I started.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”2/12″][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”67845″ img_size=”1200×800″ add_caption=”yes” alignment=”center” css_animation=”top-to-bottom”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”2/12″][/vc_column][vc_column width=”8/12″][vc_column_text]Do you think that it’s sustainable, this kind of fragmented competition scene?

It’s hard to say. There’s no real snowboard tour right now. It was so clear back when there was FIS, a couple of other competitions and X Games. Now Shaun White is going to bring Air + Style in. If this tour works, then that could possibly create something that will bring the competitions together, but I’m not sure if it’s going to happen or not.

Do you think there is room for a different kind of competition?

Something between Freeride World Tour and the normal freestyle competitions, like what Travis did [with Ultranatural]. That was the best competition I’ve ever watched. There needs to be room for competitions that bring out the best overall snowboarders in the world.

You did some filming in the Finnish backcountry this year, right? What made that possible?

I’ve had that dream that I could go to this place Pyhä [Pu-ha], it’s a two hour drive from my home. There’s these five hills that have really big gullies, and it’s a really famous national park in Finland. It gets hit by wind a lot, so it needs a really good winter. We tried to give it a go for two weeks and then we patiently waited for the right timing. When it happened, we were there and worked hard. We filmed everything in seven days. It was crazy, because I was exploring stuff in Finland that I had never been to before. I know so many spots in New Zealand, or in Japan, that I almost felt ashamed that I’m right next to my home and I don’t know these spots. It was time for me to go there.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”2/12″][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row full_width=”stretch_row_content_no_spaces”][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”67828″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes” alignment=”center” css_animation=”top-to-bottom”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”2/12″][/vc_column][vc_column width=”8/12″][vc_column_text]That’s a pretty common thing, people are trying to get out and explore other places and then right in your own backyard, you realize that you have this opportunity.

In Finland, our snowpack is not huge so I don’t think I would have been able to pull it off before, because I didn’t have enough knowledge about snow. Now, I was able to bring that knowledge into Pyhä and ride much better there. Even with less snow, we could be productive just because we were able to start reading how the conditions were and where the snow went. Without that knowledge, the whole video would have not been possible this year.

What about some of your goals?

For snowboarding, it has always been to be better and to have more knowledge about how to ride. I still enjoy jumping, riding park and pipe, but what I keep thinking about when I’m not snowboarding is how I can ride better lines. I just want to get better and better in big mountains. I research where I want to go, what I want to do and I set goals for what I would like to achieve on a trip. If I don’t get a good yeehaw after a day, I know I haven’t really snowboarded.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”2/12″][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row full_width=”stretch_row_content_no_spaces”][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”67848″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes” alignment=”center” css_animation=”top-to-bottom”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”2/12″][/vc_column][vc_column width=”8/12″][vc_column_text]What about after snowboarding?

I know I would like to work in snowboarding. I’m following all the younger Finnish riders, all the guys who are in the Finnish team. I believe I could be an asset for a national association, to help them out when I have more time. Snowboarding is changing and for the national association to be there as a backbone, it needs people who have experience from a professional field. I want to do something for the younger riders, to help them out in their careers. But, we will see because I still want to ride pow a lot. I want to be a professional for as long as I can.

Do you help coach or have contact with them? Or are you an observer right now?

We did a couple camps. I don’t really work with them or anything like that, but I follow and talk to them. In Finland, we have a really cool scene right now. A lot of younger guys are coming up and they have this really strong bond. They film Instagram videos, make their own edits and little movies. It brings the heat and the drive out in them, so it’s good.

What about for snowboarding in general?

The internet has given a huge opportunity for people to show their snowboarding, which is good because it gives more perspectives to people. But competitions, there needs to be huge change to make them work again. There’s no structure. I know some people might not like what I’m going to say, but at the World Snowboard Tour championships in China last year, they had to cancel the pipe because it was not in shape. That can’t happen if you’re having the world championship of snowboarding. It’s unacceptable. If that happens, why would someone go to this tour if they’re not able to organize an event that is actually the best in the world?[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”2/12″][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row full_width=”stretch_row_content_no_spaces”][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_single_image image=”67836″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes”][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_single_image image=”67844″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”2/12″][/vc_column][vc_column width=”8/12″][vc_column_text]Sochi was close to that.

Yeah, the pipe over there was really bad. You can always know that FIS and the Olympic committee are getting a cheaper deal from some other shaper, and they don’t want to bring the best guys in. Whereas LAAX, the US Open and X Games, they’re going to do it. They have the best crews there making things happen.

Because it’s run by snowboarders.

Yes, but when you go to World Snowboard Tour world champs and that happens, where do you look? You can’t look at FIS, you can’t look at anything like that. You have to just say man, they weren’t able to do it.

[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”2/12″][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row full_width=”stretch_row_content_no_spaces”][vc_column][cq_vc_mediumgallery images=”67843,67834,67833″ layoutno=”12″ titles=”Japan | Photos by Harri Tarvainen”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”2/12″][/vc_column][vc_column width=”8/12″][vc_column_text]No, but it’s the truth.

That’s what I think. People should just open their mouths and say what they really think. In competitions, I know a bunch of guys and women riders that are like, “This is a shitty freaking course. I got third, I’m super stoked. I’m so freaking grateful.” You are stoked you got third, but you are not stoked on that course. You can’t say good things about it. I’ve been there, I’ve said it. But I actually hated it. How can anyone progress in competitions if we don’t get the feedback from riders in these competitions? If every rider is going to say in every interview that “I’m so happy that this is happening” and don’t give any real feedback, it just can’t go forward.

It’s tough to weed through it sometimes.

I know what some of the riders are going through because they’re like, “What is my sponsor going to say? If I say this, am I ever going to get invited to this competition again?” They weigh all these things. I believe that if you speak truthfully about what you want to do, that always works. I think industry respects that as well, much more than just being one of the 100 saying the same thing.

[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”2/12″][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row full_width=”stretch_row_content_no_spaces”][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_single_image image=”67841″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes”][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_single_image image=”67840″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”2/12″][/vc_column][vc_column width=”8/12″][vc_column_text]Do you think anybody is doing that right now?

Not enough. I’m sure there has been meetings and stuff but it’s not strong. I think Danny Davis is one of the guys who has, because you can see the change in pipe riding. I heard that he talked to the guys who made the Olympic pipe, and that’s really cool.

What do you think is the key to longevity? Not necessarily through body, but through relevancy or exposure.

You have to be open-minded. You have to stay true to yourself. You need to weigh things like, “What is important? Why did I start snowboarding in the first place and why do I do it?” When you can keep it fresh for yourself, you have much more motivation. I needed to study, learn and work hard to be a professional snowboarder. If you film 20 video parts in your career, I’m sure at one point you want to do something different. Everybody feels that. You can lose perspective of how cool snowboarding is when it’s the same. Snowboarding is about progression in different ways. It’s not only about a trick, or a result in a competition, or a video part. It’s about so much more.

Follow Antti on Instagram

Watch last year’s chapters of Statements[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”2/12″][/vc_column][/vc_row]