This young Finnish rider broke out on the Euro scene a few years back when he scored one of the strongest part in the French-Swiss production ‘La Cassette’ from Ero One. Still on the path of filming, Jani have found a new family with the locals from KBR and he’s doing pretty well with them too. We met him during the DC Shred Days in Meribel, where he killed the park with both his skills and motivation. So, in the end, who’s Jani?

 First thing, how were the DC Shred Days for you?

Shred Days was a perfect event for relaxing and having fun with all the DC people after filming most of the season for the upcoming KBR movie. Even though we did a lot of parkshootings and some ads in Meribel before and during the Shred Days, it was still a lot more relaxing time than filming for a moviepart. Good parties and good people as well!

What are you up to now?

Right now I’m visiting home for a few days. After Shred Days I went to Davos for MBM magazines photoshoots and I just got back home two days ago. The season is pretty much over in Helsinki and we were supposed to go straight away to North Finland but it’s been too bad weather up there so we decided to stay a few extra days at home. Actually it’s pretty good to have a couple days break and just chill at home a little bit.

When are you finishing your season?

I think we are going to spend 2-3 weeks at North Finland for the last parkshoots and of course for Wappulounas. After that the season will be over at least for me.

I remember your sick part in Ero One’s ‘La Cassette’. Now you’re with KBR, how different is it for you?

It was really good times to film with Ero One and I learned a lot especially about backcountry riding with those guys. But for sure it’s been easier for me to be back filming with a Finnish crew. About half of the KBR crew, including one filmer, lives now around Helsinki so it’s been really easy to organize all the street sessions. And when most of the crew spend their season in Helsinki, there is no hurry to film the streetrails. At least for me it’s much better to ride at least once or twice a week just for fun in my home resort Serena to keep up the motivation.

Does it feel more natural to film for a Finnish project?

Yeah for sure. I have never learned French so pretty often I had no idea what was going on around me and for example what were the guys talking about the spots. Of course they did speak English to me but I know it’s sometimes really weird to speak English with your friends from the same country even if there is a foreigner around… Actually this season it’s been pretty much the opposite for our French filmer Jon Vital, who used to be Ero Ones filmer before. Now he even has the Finnish spring ahead, so we really have to try to speak some English too!

What can we expect from ‘Golden Years’ coming out this fall? What would you say are the strong points of the footage – although it’s not edited yet?

What I know is that there has been really motivated crew behind it, so there is a lot of good footage for the movie. Lots of bangers that I have seen and heard from different riders. And after seeing the teaser, I’m sure the movie is going to be great!

What was you best trip this season?

It’s really hard to say. I spent a lot of time in the Alps this season and had so good luck with the weather every time so there were for sure no bad trips on this season at all. But if I have to choose one anyway, maybe it’s our trip to Les Crosets with the KBR crew in January. We had a lot of fun there and it was the most productive backcountry trip for the movie.

What are your expectations for next winter, what would you like to achieve?

I haven’t planned next season yet at all but I hope it’s going to be at least as good as this season. Most importantly I want to stay healthy, ride a lot of powder and film a good videopart!

Everything on the DC Shred Days on this tag, and about KBR productions on this one.

Check this out. Another talented midget pops up on the radar – this time from Iceland.

Benni – a diminutive supergrom from Iceland – rocked up to the recent DC Shred Days in Meribel and proceeded to stoke the hell out of the the assembled riders and media with his fearless attacks on the jibs and rails. Bloody kids.

DC sent a crew of their top riders to Meribel Mottaret last week to shred the shit out of their Area 43 park. Which they dutifully did, and even bagged a few pow sprays while they were at it. We liked it almost as much as the girls in the bar that Lauri Heiskari, Mat Schaer, Piotr Janosz, and the rest were were showing off for. Check it out.

For more about what went down and a gallery of banger snaps, have a look here.

The DC Area 43 Mottaret park in Meribel saw 3 days of fun and shred from an all-star cast, despite the changing weather.

The DC Chalet has been busy all season long but last week was kind of the apotheose of a full, fun and productive season for the DC crew. For this final gathering, some of the team’s superstars showed up, as well as most of the Euro, French, GB and Spanish teams. Check it: Lauri Heskari, Mat Schaer, Piotr Janosz, Jani Sorasalmi, Elias Veijola, Rachida Aoulad, Dimitri Biau, Petr Horak, Mons Roisland, amazing 8 year old Benni Fridbjornsson, Lucas Benacchio, Franck Moissonnier… The list was long, and the show at the bottom of the piste on Wednesday was epic. The minishred course built after a first day on the park was taken by force by thousand of tourists and seasonnaires at the Rond Point, and 8 year old Benni pretty much killed it and got the respect of the crowd with pretty nice airs on the corner and frontflips on the volcano.

Lauri also brought his friends Eero Ettala and Heikki Sorsa along to film some ore for the fifth episode of Cooking with Gas season 2. They also represented proudly on that minishred session by throwing some of the biggest airs of the day, way above an half drunk half ecstatic crowd.

The park was where the stuff happened all season but for the Shred Days it all started on a street rail the night before: Jani and Elias pretty much destroyed a super long rail in Mottaret village – didn’t count the stairs but it was freaking long before the things even started. At least Elias will go back home with a banger, because injury didn’t leave him alone for very long: the gap flat down on the park punished a front board with a bad slam on the shoulder. And on the same day, Basa Stevulova, who was around with the rest of the Roxy crew, took also a super hard slam on the rail into town (the one from the first night), and had to go to hospital for a head check – she’s now fine. In the park earlier that day, Elias and Jani managed to transfer the massive hip in the middle of the park – that’s just before Elias got hurt… While Lucas and the Frenchies were concentrating on 7s from the two mid down kickers.

The second day on the park was pretty foggy and white, but that didn’t stop neither the little boardercross style course, country by country – I think the Frenchies won this – nor the BBQ up the hill. But you know, the Shred Days are also about the parties, and every night was a great night, filled with surprises, like this amazing magician playing tricks to Lauri and his friends.

The final day was more mellow, and the visit to the park got shortened by a pretty wintery weather. But the mission was easily accomplished, and that’s not even talking about the final night with concert on the ice ring, lead by Ministry of Sound / London.

Thanks again DC for the great times, we always love to come to Meribel, and we’ll be back!

More photos here: www.facebook.com/DC.Area43

Hammers have been being thrown left, right and centre this winter in DC’s Area 43 in Meribel-Mottaret. Check the highlights edit from March…

Riders: Victor Loron, Enzo Nilo, JJ Roux, Artem Sheldr, Yura Gavrilov, Mikhael Ilin, Sam Turnbull, Si Cudlip,

The DC Shred Days are back in Meribel Mottaret to illuminate the Area 43 park for 3 days of shred and parties with the DC All Star team.

From the 3rd till the 5th of April 2013, the aprk will be open to the public every day from 12pm till 7pm, so you’ll get the chance to make some laps with you favorite riders. BBQ on the park too. Then After Ski in La Folie Douce, and Dj Parties at Dicks Tea Bar, and event a concert at Meribel Club Les St Peres. Get ready for 3 days of radness, and see you there!

And go like the DC Area 43 Mottaret Facebook page.

Nice edit from DC Europe featuring their Euro team riders Jani Sorasalmi and Piotr Janosz and French hitters Dim Biau, Thomas Chassagne and Victor Loron sessioning DC’s Area 43 in Meribel/France. It all went down this January. “Good times with the crew!”

DC’s Area 43 is up and running again in the French resort of Meribel-Mottaret, and Jani Sorasalmi takes a lap through it to show y’all how fun it looks. Warning: contains no triple corks.

Check the DC team, including the likes of Torstein Horgmo, Lauri Heiskari, Devun Walsh and a bunch of the Euro dudes, putting the smackdown on DC’s Area 43 setup in Meribel-Mottaret. Booming granny, it’s pretty dope.

For the second year in a row, the DC Area 43 snowpark spends the winter in Méribel-Mottaret, France, in the heart of the 3 Valleys ski area– the largest in the world. A vast playground for beginners to expert skiers and snowboarders, Area 43 has quickly become a notable feature in France and in Europe.

Last year, more than 825,000 people visited to shred the snowpark! Conveniently located at 2,400m altitude and surrounded by about twenty artificial snowmakers, the park benefits from optimal snow conditions. With 1,200m to slide down from the top to the bottom of the park, with quality features ready to be hit all winter long. DC Area 43, with it’s 90 000 m2 of features – 250m of handrails and boxes – over four areas to meet every rider’s needs: a boardercross to enjoy freestyle in a playful way, a beginner/ intermediate zone, an expert zone and a special “DC” area with new and original features, even open during photoshoots or events organized by DC Shoes. But wait there is more! The big new feature is undoubtedly the 22 feet half-pipe with XXL dimensions, ready to host the best freestyle skiers and snowboarders! Objective: making the DC Area 43 a training park of choice for the best riders by offering world-class and top-of-the-range features, to aid them towards the Sochi 2014 Olympic Games. Other new features are also here to brighten up the park.

Check out the original Plattières old gondolas which are recycled and ready to hit, plus all new handrails complete the park offerings for the season. More news, although there is no more mini-ramp to skate at the bottom of the park, it’s now replaced by a small skatepark (private) housed in the former adjacent cable car station. All of this is accessible using the new cable car of Plattières which guarantees access to the park in 9 minutes from the snow front of Mottaret!

To design and shape this amazing park, DC Shoes is surrounded by the crème de la crème of shapers: Benjamin Ravanel – Winter X Games Tignes’ Superpipe shaper, Nicolas Marduel – another great shaper, all working with the great team of Hilltechnics Snowpark Consulting. To get the job done, they have a fleet of impressive machines: two dedicated snow groomers, one mechanical shovel and the superstar of the groomer, the Zaugg Pipe Monster 22’’ recently acquired by the resort. The only machine able to produce the 22 feet famous halfpipe! Finally, the DC chalet, a cozy home, is the landmark of the DC Area 43, hosting DC Shoes team riders throughout the winter, plus media and partners. This year again, Julien Vaury, the ‘DC chalet keeper’ and his super great FORD Transit Custom AREA 43 car will be available for DC’s dear guests keeping them happy for the season.

AREA 43 MÉRIBEL MOTTARET DC Area 43, Méribel-Mottaret (FRANCE) | 3 Valleys Area Opening : December, 08th 2012 to April, 20th 2013 | Access : Chatelet Chairlift ; Plattières Cablecar Lift passes rates: 44€ (Méribel Valley only) | 53€ (3 Valleys) www.dcshoes.com | More info HERE.

Find all DC Area 43 news during the season through many podcasts! Visit the YouTube channel DCShoesFilmEurope Last season, more than 250 riders from 15 countries were the special guests of DC Area 43. Many events are scheduled during the winter season: photo-shoots, meetings with DC Shoes Europe Team riders, the famous DC Shred Days (3 days early April) with the DC Shoes International Team riders such as Devun Walsh, Torstein Horgmo… Then to end it all in April, let’s party at La Folie Douce for the closing day of the season! The famous highaltitude clubbing concept and inescapable after-ski break place, recently opened in Meribel, is one of the top partners of DC Shoes and DC Area 43. A co-branded range DC x Folie Douce will be launched and available exclusively at the Folie Shop at La Folie Douce!

It is a little tricky to follow Iikka Backstrom and Devun Walsh’s web show Polar Opposites. They are not traditionally broken up into neat little episodes, they are instead sometimes more like a teaser, sometimes a slideshow, and this time a we’re-drinking-in-France special. Still, there is at least some riding in it, and really, why wouldn’t you want to watch Donnie and Hank getting wasted!?

Oh, and as a search engine optimisation piece of information: It has Torstein Horgmo in it, too.