Dartmoor rider Antti Rissanen with a huge 3 while spinning he bars.
Finnish rider Antti Rissanen (Dartmoor Bikes) is having a killer year for sure! After having a couple of tough seasons dealing with some injuries he is riding like never before this year. We were happy to catch up with him for a minute and get this interview for you. Keep an eye our Antti on some more podiums for sure…
How did you get started riding?
I was cruising around in our backyards with my neighbour ten years ago. One day he found the local trails from the woods and we went there to try them. I got hooked straight away! Next thing I know I was already asking my parents for a BMX and when I finally got it for a birthday present there was no turning back anymore
What keeps you motivated to ride?
Friends are one of the biggest motivator! And the fact that there’s always something new to learn!
What’s Your Preference? Street, Park, Dirt, DH, Vert, Flat?
Dirt of course!
Which do you wish you were better at?
Supermans
Whats your favorite trick?
360 double bar suicide no hander
Where’s your favorite place to ride?
La Poma in BCN
Whats your favorite event?
I really loved 26trix this year, will go there next year too for sure!
Sending it on snow with Antti Rissanen. This picture is so white.
What’s been your best moment with your bike so far?
I would like to say “when I landed my first Cashroll” but as I’m more comfortable on my bike now than ever before I’ve been enjoying almost every riding session of this summer and thus this summer has pretty much been my best “moment” with my bike so far. That might sound a bit odd for someone but that’s because after landing the Cashroll I felt that I was expected to do even crazier stuff in future and to do well in comps and thus my personal goals got quite contest-result-oriented. I got pretty nervous when I took part in my first FMB contests where everything was bigger than in my home trails and I tried to push myself doing more difficult tricks all the time riding didn’t feel that comfortable anymore and I ended up having two injuries in two consecutive seasons. That of course got me super frustrated since I didn’t achieve any of the goals I had then. I got over the frustration last winter and decided that I shouldn’t stress about results or what other people think about I SHOULD be doing but my only goal should be to focus on having fun the same way I had when I started riding as a kid. That’s really a great goal since I achieve it in almost every time I go riding! Is there anything better than achieving your personal goals? I think no, and that is what gets me pumped!
What’s your favorite story from a road trip?
That’s tough one… Every road trip with KARU MTB crew has been legendary and full of great moments. It’s just that the best stories are the ones you shouldn’t probably tell out loud.
What type of music do you ride to?
Rock gets me amped up for riding! What do you when you are not riding? I’m studying to become maths teacher
What’s your day job?
I’m working in a technical support team in our company What are your riding plans for the future? Lots of filming hopefully, building trails and having fun. I got some new tricks in my mind I’d like to pull and if there’ll be any cool events coming up I hope to go there too!
What’s the best advice you have ever received?
“Just go for it! You’ll figure it out!”
Any last words, thoughts or shout outs?
I would like thank my girlfriend, friends, family, sponsors, fans and anybody that just has been supporting me in any way during my career. I cannot thank you enough and probably don’t do it as often as I should! Cool things are coming up in future so keep your eyes open so you won’t miss anything! Now go out and ride your bike! Cheers!
Check out this epic edit Antti dropped last year from Yllas Ski Resort in Finland…
