What place could be more fitting than Åre when the racing career is coming to an end? As a 16-year old he started his first FIS race there. A few years later he won his first DH World Cup there, in 2006. And in 2007 he won no less than 2 gold medals in the World Championships at Åre. Sweet Protection is very proud of being able to continue our partnership with Aksel in his next chapter, both on helmets and goggles, more to come on this later.
See below for a previous interview of Aksel Lund Svindal.
 

Aksel shares:

I´m from the just outside of Oslo, so not your typical mountain destination. But I had parents that were both good skiers, so they would take my brother and I skiing since we were very young. I trained with the local clubs, and when I was 15 I moved to a ski destination (Oppdal) to combine school and skiing. During my years there I skied every single day there was snow on the mountain.
 

What made you decide that you wanted to ski on a professional level?

I don’t think I ever really made that decision. I always tried to get better, and then step after step you make it to that level where it´s your profession Despite injuries, how would you sum up this past season? Not very good. I only got to do 4 races before I needed surgery… Even if those 4 were good, it was a very short season  

What makes you motivated when things are not going your way (if old injuries come back)?

Believing that I can recover from those injuries and knowing how much fun it is when you´re 100% and ready to push hard again
 

How do you train to get back in shape for competitions?

Lots of weight lifting, biking, core training. Plus, all the rehab you need after an injury. And after that comes the most important stuff, time spent on snow. I believe you need to ski a lot to become a good skier and win races. That´s why it sucks to be injured, cause you can’t ski when you´re in rehab
 

What/how does a typical day in Aksel Lund Svindal’s life look like?

Breakfast, skiing, lunch, relaxing, dryland training, meeting with the coaches, dinner, emails/interviews/other “office work/ and then sleep. Sounds boring actually, but the skiing is awesome and my teammates are fun.
 

What goes through your mind when you “go out of a "jump" and fly up to 60 meters?

Our jumps can be scary as you approach them fast and the takeoff might be bumpy. It´s always a nervous feeling in the stomach and kinda “keep your shit together” voice that goes through your head.
 

What do you do when you are not training?

I´ve been injured a lot over the last few years and that has given me plenty of time and energy to work on things outside of the “sports world”. I´ve been lucky to meet very smart and cool people in tech companies and other industries far away from skiing. But everything that´s competitive still has a lot in common with sports. So, I really enjoy working with them.
 

Lastly, what would be your best tip when it comes to skiing and succeeding?

The time spent on snow is valuable, make the most out of it!