Antti Autti
Encyclopedia
Antti-Matias Antero Autti (born March 15, 1985 in Rovaniemi
Rovaniemi
Rovaniemi is a city and municipality of Finland. It is the administrative capital and commercial centre of Finland's northernmost province, Lapland. It is situated close to the Arctic Circle and is between the hills of Ounasvaara and Korkalovaara, at the confluence of the Kemijoki River and its...

, Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...

) is a Finnish snowboarding
Snowboarding
Snowboarding is a sport that involves descending a slope that is covered with snow on a snowboard attached to a rider's feet using a special boot set onto mounted binding. The development of snowboarding was inspired by skateboarding, sledding, surfing and skiing. It was developed in the U.S.A...

 star who shot to fame when he defeated big-name talents Danny Kass
Danny Kass
Daniel "Danny" Kass is an American professional snowboarder.He was born in Vernon Valley, NJ.Danny grew up in New Jersey where he began his climb into snowboarding history at the age of twelve...

, Andy Finch
Andy Finch
Andrew Joseph "Andy" Finch is an American snowboarder. His accomplishments include winning the overall U.S. Grand Prix Halfpipe Title in 2003 and 2004, taking first place in the Arctic Challenge in Norway in April 2004, winning the Vans Triple Crown in February 2004, winning the O’Neill Snowboard...

, and Shaun White
Shaun White
Shaun Roger White is an American professional snowboarder and skateboarder. He is a two-time Olympic gold medalist. He rides regular stance, twelve and negative three degrees on his board.-Early life:Shaun White is an Irish American...

 in the Men's Superpipe at the 2005 Winter X Games
X Games
The X Games is a commercial annual sports event, controlled and arranged by US sports broadcaster ESPN, which focuses on action sports. The inaugural X Games was held in the summer of 1995 in Rhode Island....

 to claim the gold. He is one of two snowboarders, along with Steve Fisher, ever to beat Shaun White in the X Games Superpipe.

Autti is the first non-American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 to win the event. He kicked off his final run with back-to-back 1080s, one of the hardest snowboarding tricks, and is only the third snowboarder to land the sequence in competition, behind Michael McBee and Ross Powers
Ross Powers
Ross Powers , is an American world champion halfpipe snowboarder from South Londonderry, Vermont. Though he originally rode at Stratton Mountain, Vermont, his home mountain is now Okemo, VT. Ross helps with the design of the Superpipe and also helped design the RossCross Family Terrain Park. Ross...

.

His clutch and technical performance sparked the "1080 Revolution" and set a new standard in men's halfpipe competition, where men must throw at least one 1080, if not two back-to-back, in order to do well in contests. Just two weeks earlier, he was crowned double World Champion in Big Air and the halfpipe at the 2005 Snowboarding World Championships
FIS Snowboarding World Championships
The FIS Snowboarding World Championships is the world championship organized by the FIS for Snowboarding. It was first held in 1996 and is now held every odd year...

 in Whistler, British Columbia
Whistler, British Columbia
Whistler is a Canadian resort town in the southern Pacific Ranges of the Coast Mountains in the province of British Columbia, Canada, approximately north of Vancouver...

, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

.

Biography

Born to Yrjö and Katariina Autti, Autti hails from Rovaniemi
Rovaniemi
Rovaniemi is a city and municipality of Finland. It is the administrative capital and commercial centre of Finland's northernmost province, Lapland. It is situated close to the Arctic Circle and is between the hills of Ounasvaara and Korkalovaara, at the confluence of the Kemijoki River and its...

, a 55,000 population city that sits on the Arctic Circle
Arctic Circle
The Arctic Circle is one of the five major circles of latitude that mark maps of the Earth. For Epoch 2011, it is the parallel of latitude that runs north of the Equator....

 and is considered the gateway to the Lapland region of Finland. Athletic genes run in his family - Autti's younger brother Tuomas is an aspiring freestyle
Freestyle skiing
Freestyle skiing is form of skiing which used to encompass two disciplines: aerials, and moguls. Except the two disciplines mentioned earlier Freestyle Skiing now consists of Skicross, Half Pipe and Slope Style...

 skier, and his uncle is Arto Autti, who was a defender on the Finnish National football team. Autti started snowboarding in spring 1995 after he saw someone snowboarding while on a skiing
Skiing
Skiing is a recreational activity using skis as equipment for traveling over snow. Skis are used in conjunction with boots that connect to the ski with use of a binding....

 vacation with his family at the Ylläs ski center in Lapland.

2004-2005

Following his breakthrough at the World Championships and the Winter X Games, Autti went on to finish second at the 2005 Nippon Open, third at the 2005 U.S. Open Snowboarding Championships and first in Big Air at the Arctic Challenge, the exclusive snowboarding event founded by Terje Haakonsen. He was also awarded Best Tweak for his switch backside
Backside
Backside may refer to:*Backside and frontside, terms referring to surfing, skateboarding, snowboarding and aggressive inline skating maneuvers*ButtocksBack Sides may also refer to:*Lazlo Bane's third studio album titled Back Sides...

 540, which is his favorite trick.

In April 2005, it was officially announced that Autti will represent Finland at the 2006 Winter Olympics
2006 Winter Olympics
The 2006 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XX Olympic Winter Games, was a winter multi-sport event which was celebrated in Turin, Italy from February 10, 2006, through February 26, 2006. This marked the second time Italy hosted the Olympic Winter Games, the first being the VII Olympic Winter...

. Because of this honor, he received a piece of land in Rovaniemi, on which he hopes to build a new home.

Over the summer of 2005, Autti purchased an apartment, which he is still trying to furnish. At the end of July, he competed in Nokia's Totally Board in Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...

. Autti embarked on Billabong's Freeway Tour in August, which spirits Billabong-sponsored riders to various contests in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

 and New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

. He won the Perisher Pipe Cup and took third in the Slopestyle Jam. It was Autti's first time Down Under, and he likes New Zealand's famed Snowpark because it is like a "big playground," and it reminds him of Finland because "you can see everyone from the lift." Australian snowboarders on the Tour, Nick Gregory and Clint Allan, introduced Autti to their country's native wombats and kangaroos and got him addicted to pies.

2005-2006

Autti kicked off the 2005-2006 World Cup season with third and first place finishes in Valle Nevado
Valle Nevado
Valle Nevado is a popular ski resort located 46 kilometers east of Santiago, Chile.Valle Nevado is one of South America's most modern ski resorts...

, Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...

 in September. He followed it in October with a second place podium in Saas-Fee
Saas-Fee
Saas-Fee is the main village in the Saastal, or the Saas Valley, and is a municipality in the district of Visp in the canton of Valais in Switzerland...

, Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....

.

During Finland's Annual Skiexpo in November 2005, Autti was awarded Rider of the Year by Slammer Magazine's Riders of the Year Awards. He received the most votes in a readers internet poll. He also finished ninth in Finland's annual Sports Athlete of the Year poll, voted on by sports magazine journalists.

Before the end of 2005, Autti competed in the X-Trail Jam
X-Trail Jam
The X-Trail Jam is a Japanese snowboarding contest and one of the biggest of its kind worldwide. It was first launched in the Tokyo Dome, Japan in 2001 and is now held annually. President and main developer is Reto Lamm.- Winners :- External links :**...

 in Japan and finished fifth in the quarterpipe and fourth in the straight jump. For his banner year, he was invited to Finland's President's Ball in December, an annual banquet honoring all of the elite athletes, politicians, celebrities, and public figures in Finland. Autti attended the event with Mattila, where they met the President, Tarja Halonen
Tarja Halonen
Tarja Kaarina Halonen is the incumbent President of Finland. The first female to hold the office, Halonen had previously been a member of the parliament from 1979 to 2000 when she resigned after her election to the presidency...

 — who was re-elected for a second term on January 29, 2006 — and her husband Pentti Arajävi.

Autti competed in the Burton European Open in Laax
Laax
Laax is a municipality in the district of Surselva in the Swiss canton of Graubünden.-Geography:Laax has an area, , of . Of this area, 35.8% is used for agricultural purposes, while 30.6% is forested...

, Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....

 in January 2006, taking second place in slopestyle. Two days later, riding with a bruised rib, he finished fourth in the halfpipe.

At the 2006 Winter X Games, the extremely icy pipe proved to be hazardous to numerous riders, including Autti, and he came up short in his defense of his gold medal, finishing sixth.

Two weeks later at the 2006 Winter Olympics, despite a near-flawless run, he finished fifth with a controversial low score of 39.1 that elicited plenty of "boo's" from fans in the stands. Bronze medalist and teammate Markku Koski
Markku Koski
Markku Koski is a professional snowboarder from Sievi, Finland. He is well known within the snowboarding community for his consistent showing in half-pipe competitions and for his video parts with Standard Films...

 felt the same way, stating it should have been Autti on the podium.

After a two week stay in Japan, Autti returned to the top of the podium at the Vans Cup at Tahoe
Tahoe
Tahoe, or Lake Tahoe, is a large freshwater lake on the California–Nevada border.Tahoe may also refer to:* Tahoe, California* Chevrolet Tahoe, a sport utility vehicle...

 in March and pocketed $20,000. He finished the season with a sixth place finish in the quarterpipe and 10th place finishes in the halfpipe and slopestyle at the 2006 U.S. Open.

In April 2006, Autti and his Flow teammates swept the TransWorld Team Challenge, taking five awards, including Best Halfpipe Rider for Autti.

In December 2006, he scored 3rd place at the Nokia Air & Style
Air & Style
The Air & Style is a European snowboard contest first held in Innsbruck, Austria in 1994 and now held annually.-History:Charly Weger and his snowboard photographer friend Andrew Hourmont first started the Air & Style Contest in Innsbruck. They only expected some hundred spectators but more than a...

 in Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...

, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

. The Air & Style is considered one of the biggest and most prestigious events in Europe.

2008-2009

Autti participated in the Winter X Games 12. He finished 3rd in Best Trick Showdown, 7th in Snowboard Superpipe, and 4th in Snowboard Slopestyle. Most recently he won the 2008 Toyota Big Air
Toyota Big Air
Toyota Big Air is a Japanese snowboarding contest. This contest has been held in the Makomanai Open Stadium, Sapporo, Hokkaido since 1997.- Winners :...

 Japan beating his fellow Flow teammate Risto Mattila
Risto Mattila
Risto Mattila is a Finnish snowboarder. He is an all-around rider, who has many achievements in half pipe, big air and in park riding contests. He has also made a name by having shots in the international snowboarding magazines...

, who came in second place.

2009- Autti placed 3rd, in the mens superpipe competition in X Games 13

Off the snow

Autti, who speaks Finnish
Finnish language
Finnish is the language spoken by the majority of the population in Finland Primarily for use by restaurant menus and by ethnic Finns outside Finland. It is one of the two official languages of Finland and an official minority language in Sweden. In Sweden, both standard Finnish and Meänkieli, a...

, English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...

 and Swedish
Swedish language
Swedish is a North Germanic language, spoken by approximately 10 million people, predominantly in Sweden and parts of Finland, especially along its coast and on the Åland islands. It is largely mutually intelligible with Norwegian and Danish...

, enjoys skateboarding
Skateboarding
Skateboarding is an action sport which involves riding and performing tricks using a skateboard.Skateboarding can be a recreational activity, an art form, a job, or a method of transportation. Skateboarding has been shaped and influenced by many skateboarders throughout the years. A 2002 report...

, photography
Photography
Photography is the art, science and practice of creating durable images by recording light or other electromagnetic radiation, either electronically by means of an image sensor or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film...

, salmiakki
Salmiakki
Salty liquorice, also known as salmiak or salmiakki is a variety of liquorice flavoured with ammonium chloride, common in Netherlands, Nordic Countries, Baltic States and Northern Germany. Ammonium chloride gives salty liquorice an astringent, salty taste , which has been described as...

, movies (especially Johnny Depp
Johnny Depp
John Christopher "Johnny" Depp II is an American actor, producer and musician. He has won the Golden Globe Award and Screen Actors Guild award for Best Actor. Depp rose to prominence on the 1980s television series 21 Jump Street, becoming a teen idol...

 films) and music. Some of his favorite artists include Turbonegro
Turbonegro
Turbonegro is a Norwegian punk rock band that was initially active from 1989 to 1998, and later reformed in 2002. Their style combines glam rock, punk rock and hard rock into a style the band describes as "deathpunk"....

, The Hellacopters
The Hellacopters
The Hellacopters were a Swedish garage rock band that was formed in 1994 by Nicke Andersson , Dregen , Kenny Håkansson and Robert Eriksson . Andersson had been the drummer for death metal band Entombed and Dregen was taking a break from his full-time band Backyard Babies...

, Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin were an English rock band, active in the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s. Formed in 1968, they consisted of guitarist Jimmy Page, singer Robert Plant, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham...

, The Doors
The Doors
The Doors were an American rock band formed in 1965 in Los Angeles, California, with vocalist Jim Morrison, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, drummer John Densmore, and guitarist Robby Krieger...

, David Bowie
David Bowie
David Bowie is an English musician, actor, record producer and arranger. A major figure for over four decades in the world of popular music, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s...

, Social Distortion
Social Distortion
Social Distortion is an American punk rock band formed in 1978 in Fullerton, California. The band currently consists of Mike Ness , Jonny Wickersham , Brent Harding and David Hidalgo, Jr...

, The Datsuns
The Datsuns
The Datsuns are a hard rock band from Cambridge, New Zealand, formed in 2000. To date they have released four albums and several singles, most of which have charted in New Zealand and/or the United Kingdom...

 and Mötley Crüe
Mötley Crüe
Mötley Crüe is an American heavy metal band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1981. The group was founded by bass guitarist Nikki Sixx and drummer Tommy Lee, who were later joined by lead guitarist Mick Mars and lead singer Vince Neil...

. He listened to Mötley Crüe's "Kickstart My Heart" — which he dubs "probably the best song ever" — during his gold medal-winning run at the 2005 X Games. Autti's favorite drink is scotch without rocks, and he says he would be a bartender if he were not a snowboarder. He says he cannot define himself as an athlete in the traditional sense because "in my opinion I'm a snowboarder and my own person." The best part of being a professional snowboarder, he feels, is traveling around the world, meeting new people and experiencing new cultures.

Always calm, cool and collected, Autti tries not to stress himself out too much if he is not riding well because he believes it is important to not lose the fun of snowboarding, echoing his advice to future shredders: "It'd be best if people that throw themselves into snowboarding understood what this sport is about. The competitions alone don't mean everything. There'll always be more of them. In my opinion, the fun going-ons and the smile on your face are a lot more important. Doing well's nice, no doubt about it, but it's important that you don't lose the pleasure of the riding itself in the competing."

Sponsors

Autti is sponsored by Flow snowboarding, Billabong
Billabong (clothing)
Billabong International is a clothing company traded on the Australian Securities Exchange since 11 August 2000. Billabong was founded in 1973 by Gordon and Rena Merchant....

, Dakine, Nokia
Nokia
Nokia Corporation is a Finnish multinational communications corporation that is headquartered in Keilaniemi, Espoo, a city neighbouring Finland's capital Helsinki...

, Giro and Swix.

External links

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