Hey Ivika! Can you describe yourself in one sentence? 

Oh, my God. Maybe I should just ask my friends. How do I describe myself in one word or a couple words? I think right now, at this moment, because I'm on a trip, I feel like I'm a hard worker right now. If you were to ask me that when I was at home, I would probably come up with something completely different. 

Growing up in Estonia, what was your initial attraction to snowboarding? Where did you first see snowboarding and feel an attraction to it? 

I was introduced to snowboarding by my dad, actually, because we would go on skiing trips to this tiny ski resort in Estonia, and that's where we saw snowboarding for the first time. And then, one day he was just like, "Why don't we rent snowboards instead of skis?" So it was his initiative. I remember I had a horrible time, but we kept going, and he got hooked and then I just kept snowboarding. I changed schools in ninth grade, and I went to a new school, and there was a little snowboard park behind it. I saw a bunch of kids snowboarding there, some cooler guys from school. And I was like, "That's a nice way to make friends, because I have a snowboard and I know how to make a couple turns." I saw them do tricks, and I learned with them, and it was such a fun community vibe for me.  

 When you started consuming magazines and videos, and kind of figuring out what inside of snowboarding you personally liked, who were some of the riders and films that you really connected with?  

I remember watching Jess Kimura in that Nike video, Never Not. I saw her snowboarding with so much power and style, and then I was like, "Wow, this is what I want to be." So for me, Jess was the presentation of this cool female snowboarding that I really wanted to be a part of. She hit all the rails, and she did 270s onto rails, and her style was so good, and it showed that women can be exactly the same as men. Because up to that point, I kind of saw it as women’s snowboarding was not as cool, or felt like I was kind of bummed I was a girl, but then seeing Jess, I was like, "Hell, yeah, this is sick." 

 Describe your dream spot. What city is it in? What is the spot itself, and what's the temperature?  

I hate the cold, I don't like cold weather. For me, I think my dream spot would be in Japan with some really nice weather, let's say 7º Celsius, like nice and warm. And it would be a nice big bank you could do a wallride on. That would be ideal. And the sun is shining. 

You seem like someone who really puts a lot of thought into what you wear, what spots you hit, and how you project yourself to the world. Where did that come from? 

I think I just want things to look nice, but I look up to a lot of snowboarders, and that's how they do it, as well. You kind of get this aesthetic that you like, so you just keep doing that, and you kind of take care of that. If I watch my video part from like 2019, in Honey, when I watch it, I don't like my clothing. I like the clips, but I wish I was wearing other clothes. So now, having seen that, I'm like, "I don't want this anymore." I think wearing clothes that you don't feel comfortable in can just completely ruin the clip later on. 

I think progression is an evolution of tricks, and I think the same happens with style with certain people, where they evolve their style, and they refine it to simply, "This is what I like and this is what I want to put out into the world." 

Exactly, yeah. I think right now when I film something and when the clothing isn’t right, then it's kind of like, "Oh, maybe I have to do it again." And even my friends, when we were in Canada one of my friends was like, "Oh, this wall is so nice. I can match it with my sweater," because people are thinking about these things, and I think it's cool. 

What is the satisfaction you find in producing things yourself? You really take the wheel and you're like, "I'm going to put out a video this year." And then, when the video's done, you're like, "I'm also going to make a book and I'm going to put that out, too." Where does that creative process come from? 

Well, I do get a lot of help from Tim [Schiphorst] but I just want to make stuff. That's what I love to do, and I don’t really know any other way. 

 Were you like that as a kid?  

Yeah, I would always have to make everything. Even with my schoolwork, everything had to be done perfectly. I just want to make things as good as I can, give it a little extra, give it something on the side. 

 Who are some of the young riders—specifically young European riders—that you're currently hyped on?  

I'm on a trip with another guy, a guy from Estonia, Marko Malsub. He's really young, and he's so good, and I am so hyped for him. In Estonia, there's not that many snowboarders, and someone coming up from there who has really good style and is eager to film makes me so excited to see where he's going. 

Everyone's got weird stuff that happens on street trips. What's the weirdest thing that's ever happened to you at a street spot or on a trip in general?  

I definitely do have a lot of things. In Estonia, it was a long time ago, but we were hitting a spot, and we were done with it, and I was looking for my car keys, because I thought I had lost them. And then, some cops pull up, and they're like, "Hey, what are you guys doing here?" I explained to them that we had just snowboarded here, and he was really excited. Then I told them that I lost my car keys, and they were probably somewhere in the snow. And the cops ended up helping me look for the car keys for like 30 minutes, and we found them. 

 I've heard that you love cats…a lot.  

I love cats. 

What is it about cats that you love so much? 

I don't know, they're so chill. When they want to be with you, they are with you. They're doing exactly what they want, you know? But I like that they're so independent, too. Just yesterday, at a spot, there was a cat, and Marko was doing a wallride, and I was filming a phone angle, but I was filming the cat, and I was like, "Oh, shit, Marko is riding into the wall." I still caught a little bit of his wallride, but it was mainly the cat. 

Also, cats are great because, one, you can train them on where to poop, which is awesome. 

Yeah, exactly. I have a cat at my parents' house, my cat's like ten years old now, so it would be kind of crazy to bring him on trips all the time, so that wouldn't work. But I feel like, at some point, if I'm going to get a cat, I will get one of those little travel cases and I would go on street trips with my cat. That would be awesome. 

 I want to see you with the backpack, with the little bubble on the back, and the cat's head. 

Oh, exactly. I want that. 

I wanted to talk about the test trip to Loon. What did you think about Loon? Had you ever been there before, and how was the first trip with the team? 

I had never been to Loon before, and it was really cool. I had no idea. First of all that they have big mountains on the east coast of the US, so that was really cool. And at that point, that was the longest run I had ridden that season. Still is, hahaha. I loved that everyone on the trip was so welcoming. It was honestly the nicest team trip I've ever been on, I must say. It was just so genuine and welcoming, and everything felt so real and nice. Being able to meet everybody, and have Paul there, and everyone was there to help, and everyone was there to have a good time together and test the boards, and it was really nice. I came home and I had really positive emotions from it. 

 What's the one thing you look for in a snowboard? Of all the things that make a snowboard good for you, what's the one thing for you? 

The width of the board. That's the one.  

Lastly, why did you choose to sign with Armada? 

It's just so exciting. I want to see what's going to happen. Everyone's talking about it. And honestly, as soon as I talked to Tanner in our first phone call, I knew. I was so excited. After that call, I had already made up my mind. I was like, "Wow, something really awesome is happening in snowboarding, and I get to be part of it." That is insane.