Rider Profile

Name: Marja Persson

Hometown: Östersund, Sweden

Birthdate: 25 February 1978

Sponsors:
Nissan, The North Face, Swatch, Black Crows, Adidas eyewear, Garmont, POC, Freegun, Powertraveller, Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Marker

Favourite tunes?
The Knife

Favourite resort?
Somewhere with lots of snow. Recently I skied Garmisch in powder which was really fun.

The Swedish freeskier is currently competing on the Nissan Freeride World Tour - we catch up with her between a rock and a hard place

When did you first learn to ski and where?

I am actually not too sure. I’m guessing in Storlien, Sweden around the age of five.

How did you get into freeride skiing?

I got a job in a hotel in Verbier, Switzerland and got hooked on powder back in 1999.

As a late starter in competitive skiing, how do you think you progressed so rapidly?

I have no idea. I guess I’m fairly strong and didn’t get injured in the first years I was competing, so I kept on learning and improving every year.

We’ve heard you’re a TV star too, what can we watch you in?

I’m part of a show called Freeride Spirit that’s shown on Eurosport every Tuesday night. It shows the “behind the scenes” life of a freerider focusing mainly on the competitive part of freeskiing.

Where is the most amazing place you have skied?

One of the most amazing was Japan – endless cold, fluffy powder. We had half a day of sun when we were there. The lifts are open from 9am to 9pm and the visibility is almost better when it’s dark due to the floodlamps. It’s a special place and the food definitely doesn’t make it worse.

You’ve combined your passion for skiing with charity work – can you fill us in on some of your projects?

Together with freeskiers Laura Bohleber and Giulia Monego I started a non-profit organisation called Summits4kids.org. The idea is to set up a sports challenge for us freeskiers and combine this with the challenge of fundraising for a chosen kids project where in that location. In 2009 we were in Peru and in 2010 we went to Ecuador. It’s difficult to find a reason not to help when you are traveling the world with next year’s gear and enjoying life. When you end up in countries where people might not have enough food for the day, it’s hard to do nothing. We also hope that we can encourage other freeskiers to do the same as us. I could talk about this forever, but maybe it is easier to check out our website – www.summits4kids.org.

You’re clearly an adrenalin junkie – what other sports do you get kicks out of?

I absolutely love biking – I’m not very talented, but really enjoy it. I’m also into snowmobiling and I like other sports such as horseback riding, climbing and hiking.

What’s the closest you’ve ever come to danger while skiing?

I broke my back in 2005 when I jumped a cliff – that was a bit of a close call. It was a stable fracture though and it’s all healed up and strong again.

What’s on your essential kit list for freeriding?

Apart from the clothes I wear I obviously always bring my avy gear – transceiver, probe, shovel. I also always wear a helmet and a backprotector and most of the time crashpants too. In my backpack I normally bring an extra layer, gloves, goggles, shades, sunblock, something to drink, chocolate and a first aid kit. Sounds like a lot, but all in small packages.

As a Swedish native – do you ski much in your home country?

No I must admit I don’t ski much at home. I mainly snowmobile when I’m there. The mountains are more round and not as dramatic as in the Alps, and the snow tends to fall sideways instead of straight down, so windblown crust is more common than powder. However I did have some amazing days north of the Arctic circle last year in Abisko, so it can be magic.

What has been your biggest achievement as a freeride skier?

I think winning the Verbier Xtreme 2007, being part of the Free Radicals movies and part of Freeride Spirit on Eurosport.

Your line of work takes a lot of energy, how do you like to relax?

Mindless internet surfing, reading a book, eating well, riding a horse or just going for a walk.

What inspires you?

Happy, open, unselfish, genuine people.

What would you do if you weren’t a professional skier?

Probably try to figure out what the hell I’m supposed to do with my life. Na, I would like to study psychology at some point – it looks like I’ll be a very old student.

Sadly Marja was injured at the Kirkwood event of the Freeride World Tour and is currently out of action. We wish her all the best for a speedy recovery but in the meantime you can find out more about the Nissan Freeride World Tour here.