Mons Røisland grew up 10 minutes from the Oslo border and the ocean was a lot closer than the mountains, but like Mads Jonsson and Mikkel Bang, he didn’t let that get in the way of spending time on snow. Hey, he’s a Norwegian, and it’s snow everywhere. DC saw the potential as soon as Mons came out of the condom suit after years of downhill skiing. After traveling the world with his family being home schooled and bumping up the next school year, he finally started on a sports school in Oslo called Wang. Since then he has continued traveling the world with sick riding and even better style on both jumps and rails that put him on the podium in Burton European Open this winter.

Mons is probably the most common cat name in Norway and might be the reason he always finds a way to land on his feet. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him crash hard. He’s got a feeling on his board you don´t see very often, not even among the top riders in the world and I’m not afraid to give him that confidence boost, cause his feet are so firmly attached to the ground it won’t make a difference.

I heard that you were heavily into ski slalom and you could have gone pro at that. What made you change for snowboarding?
At a certain age I thought that alpine skiing got way to serious way to soon. When I started snowboarding I quickly realised that it was way more fun.

Do you ever take a few days blasting through slalom gates now?
I actually took a few days during the winter holiday and tried it out again, and its fun but I´d way rather snowboard.

You spent a year travelling with your parents when you were 8 years old? What happened there?
Yup, I was 8 years old and the first place we went to was New York, then we went to Whistler for three months and that’s where I started snowboarding! After that we went back to the US, to San Fransisco, then to Tahiti, then New Zealand, which was the first time I tried surfing! After New Zealand we went to Australia, then China and then Thailand

Team Norway is heavily stacked with amazing riders, what makes Norwegians so damn good at Snowboarding?
I don’t really know… Maybe it is because we often ride in bad conditions in Norway, so when we get to travel to sick places like the US we try to take advantage of the good conditions.

Do you think the level being so high there is a good thing or does it make things harder for riders trying to break through?
I think it is a good thing because it pushes the level of riding, and if you manage to break through, that is pretty sick.

 

Who is your favourite rider to watch on team Norway? What secrets can you tell us about them?
Alexander Østereng! He is the sickest rider to watch in contests, cruising park, powder or street. I don’t have any secrets on him though!

Would you punch a kitten in the face to go full pro?
Depends on how cute the kitten is.

You are competing now; do you have plans in the future to film a section instead?
For sure. I really want to try to make a part this year, not only filming park, but also trying to get some street and backcountry.

What are your plans for when you finish riding for good?
To ride some more.

Introduction by Henning.
All Photos by Emil Sollie