Fridtjof Sæther Tischendorf or as he is more commonly known as Fridge, is gaining a lot of attention from the pros and industry people alike. Known for his ability to create new tricks, his ability to ride numerous terrains, always riding with a backpack on and his carefree but well executed approach to snowboarding. We chatted to Fridge to find out; what is in his backpack, what new tricks will he put down this year, why he quit the snowboarding school after one year and much more.

Age: 20
Home town: Oslo
Sponsors: Lobster

You quit snowboard school after only one year, why did you quit so soon?
Well I was already doing a lot of traveling when I started my first year. The school helps arrange for a lot for people that don’t have the same opportunities I had. However, combining my plans with the school plan, plus school work, living by yourself, combined with having to make all your food and keep a clean lifestyle plus having a social life too, I just ended up with a lot of sick days and struggles to keep my grades high enough. So I switched to a sports school closer to my parents, where they were really good at the basic training needed outside of snowboarding and I could still go snowboard as much as I wanted by myself and my absence would still be valid. So that worked out better for me even though I probably had to decrease my social life a little more.

Do snowboard schools want you to focus more on contests that filming?
Snowboard schools focus more on contests than filming because their reputation comes from the results their students deliver. Showing a good video part is more subjective than showing a good contest result, which is something everyone understands.

What do you prefer, riding a contest or filming with your sponsors?
Well I feel like pretty much every Norwegian snowboarder has grown up through the contest scene and doing good in contests probably opens up some doors into the snowboard world. It is something I grew up doing and I have had a lot of fun doing it because snowboarders are super sick people that always have a good hype whilst riding, even if it’s a contest or just shredding. However, growing up I feel like a lot of my progression comes from filming tricks with friends and pushing yourself to get something extra saucy for the camera. Even though it might be a banger bail or a banger trick, I always push myself a little further if there is someone filming. Going on sponsor trips filming is always a blast because you constantly have that camera around you and a bunch of good friends, which most definitely leads to some bangers, but most of all some banger memories!

You had footage of you doing a lot of tricks no one has seen before last season. Do you have a trick list you want to do or is it spontaneous?
It is mostly spontaneous. I like to try and stay creative and just try new stuff. That leaves a lot of room for new tricks happening and sometimes it works, most times it doesn’t. But it’s pretty cool when you can turn a fail into a different trick. For example when I did the bellyflop mctwist thing that you might have seen, that was not my intention, but it worked out anyways

What tricks can we expect to see from you this season?
I don’t know. I try my best not to have any expectations, because then everything is unexpected! So I know just as little as you!

You always ride with a backpack on, what exactly do you keep in there?
If I told you that everyone would start riding with a backpack

Which riders do you most enjoy to ride with and why?
Shoutout to @haakoneilertsen @torsteinmovatne @birkirgeorgson @hrund2. Good friends are always essential to have a good time to shred with. Shoutout to @monsroisland @markusolimstad @emilulsletten @bengjerdalen @mathiaseckhoff @stiankleivdal @isakulstein. Because good travel buddies are always good to have! Shoutout to the lobster crew! They are always sick to be around no matter what! But if I have to choose one it has to be Halldòr, because he is pretty much a superhero, and I don’t know anyone that doesn’t want to shred with him!

A lot of people have said that you are the man to watch right now, does this put pressure on you to ride better?
No not really, the only pressure I have is the one I put on myself. I always try to ride better, not because everyone else wants me to, because I like to get better.

What is it about your riding that people like to see?
Well I feel like you would have to ask the people to know that, but growing up when I would watch snowboard contests like The Air and Style, it would look more like a show then a contest, because everyone was just super hyped throwing down whatever they felt like doing. I still feel like snowboarding should be more a show than a contest and I try my best to show that I guess. I hope people like that I’m loose and maybe a little bit different, if not I don’t know what I’m doing.

You recently went on a road trip with the Lobster team in Iceland, how was that experience and can you tell us any secrets from that trip?
It was a great trip, a lot of building jumps and a lot of slams. Overall a great backcountry experience! By the end of the last day of riding both my boa straps on my boots were broken, so I had the loosest boots at the last session but we managed to get through it! Going out in Iceland with Halldor is like having VIP access in everywhere. He knows pretty much every single person there and helped me get into the bars I wasn’t old enough to get into. It feels crazy having VIP access to a country for a weekend! Or was it a week? haha

What are your goals for the coming season?
Usually my main goal is to stay healthy and avoid injuries. If I manage to that a whole season things usually work out pretty good. I just want to be able to snowboard!

You can follow Fritjof on his instagram here
Index Photo @labbedasken