JOHAN OLOFSSON

LEGENDARY INFO:

DOB: 10/27/1976
Home Mountain: Sweden
Stance: Regular

It’s not uncommon for snowboarding’s elite to risk their lives every time they go out filming, but few riders have had film crews turn down shooting with them for fear of watching them die. Johan Olofsson is one of those guys. According to the also-maniacal Andrew Crawford, “Johan has ridden technically and naturally without any regard for what could go wrong. He projected confidence and controlled chaos—a true badass.”

Along with Crawford, icons such as Jussi Oksanen, DCP, Eero Ettala, Noah Brandon, Ali Goulet, and even Terje Haakonsen have acknowledged Johan’s effortless integration of freestyle into big-mountain riding.

Big-mountain legend-come-lately Nicolas Müller puts Johan on an immortal’s pedestal, saying, “The way he was charging down mountains incorporating all of his sick freestyle skills is legendary sh*t. Groundbreaking.”

In 1996’s Subjekt Haakonsen, Olofsson can be seen bouncing off cliffs and adding improv spins all over the map. Then, in Standard’s TB5 of the same year, Johan’s part solidified his spot amongst snowboarding’s best, as his playfulness in the face of danger was unmatched. Monstrous backside sevens, switch backside spins, halfpipe and hip hits…Johan threw them all down. His final shot was a rapid-fire descent of Odin’s Ladder, where he basically straight-lined a fifty-degree 3,000-foot face in thirty seconds; the rooster tails from his first few turns can still be seen as he hits the bottom.

Undisputed ruler of alpine and one-time racer Jeremy Jones testifies, “Johan is hands-down the best snowboarder I have ever ridden with. He has been one of the most influential riders in the sport and he accomplished more then most, but injuries took him out of the game just as he was getting warmed up. His mark could have been a lot greater. The story may not be over, though; he’s still young when it comes to freeriding, and as I write this, he is on a plane to AK to go feel things out.”

If what Jeremy says is true, it looks like the snowboard industry is in for another round of sanity-pushing shredding … That is, if the filmers can sack up and keep up with him.