Ketchup: Rolf Nylinder

You may not know Rolf, he is a badass street shredder from northern Sweden. We like Rolf cuz he is a simple guy with the right priorities in life who happens to have mad skills on his skate and snowboard. Rolf is currently on the Rhythm Section Tour 2013, his first ever proper road trip, so we decided that the only way for this trip to be any more memorable for Rolf than it already is would be to spray some ketchup all over his face! Read on to find out more...

So Rolf, how has the Rhythm Section Tour been going?
It's been going good! I mean, I always wanted to go on a proper road trip in a van and this is actually my first time. What can I say, after three weeks in the van we all love each other a lot and hate each other a little. It's an experience and it's insanely fun to see Europe!
You never forget your first real road trip!
How was it riding that much pow in Tignes? Are you comfortable in that type of terrain/conditions?
It was actually one of the best experiences I've had on a snowboard in a long time. I had no Idea what I was doing but with help from the biggest boss ever, Gumby, I managed to make my first slash at least! I was so stoked when we got down the mountain! And I got a bit of a tan while riding, that never happens if you ride street rails in Stockholm! While riding I felt like a powder king, but when I got back to the van and saw the footage I realized I probably have to spend several years in powder before I'm able to get some sort of proper pow footage!  
Rolf "I don't need goggles to snowboard" Nylinder, everyone!Gumby is a fucking legend, big ole backside air in Val d'Isere
Which stop was the most fun?
The best stop was Luxembourg! We were only there for a quick stop at a gas station but it changed my life! I saw a 10 kg jar of Nutella, and you don't see that every day! And I've been a fan of Nutella jars since the first time I found "Crapneto" on the web! But the best times for real have been in the car when we are tired and Klas Beyer starts to make "ordvistar", which means he says funny things using "Göteborgshumor". Got it?
Klas and Rolf are weirdos and THAT is why we love them!
Which stop had the hottest girls?
I'm in Innsbruck now, hope that will be the answer to this question. I'm gonna take a walk through the city now and do some research!

Run across any good fly fishing spots on the Tour?
Well, not really. I like the places that we've been to but they're way too crowded to think about fly fishing-related things! I'm sure we've passed rivers where you are able to catch trout, but fly fishing for me isn't about catching trout, just like snowboarding for me isn't about landing insane tricks! I could write an essay about this but I'm not sure I would be able to describe what fly fishing means to me anyway. Solitude is almost as important to fly fishing as good friends are to snowboarding! 
 
So we hear you are quite the singer/guitarist, what kind of music are you into?
Actually, I'm not. I really enjoy playing guitar and singing but I'm quite untalented. The guys in the van, Crille Rask and Christer Andersson are the talented ones! We spend a lot of time coming up with songs and jamming! The question about what kind of music I'm into is always hard to answer, but to make it easy I can say that the one artist I listen to the most is "The Tallest Man on Earth".
Rolf's got Rhythm!
Who's got the most rhythm on the Rhythm tour?
Our filmer, Christer Andersson!
Christer and Rolf
Who's the dirtiest? Who snores the loudest?
I think I snore the loudest, but the other guys are down with it. Quite often they wake me up in the middle of the night just to tell me I fill the van with nice harmonic (loud) noises that make them feel safe. Actually, the only time I have rhythm is when I snore. A slow, mellow, but loud rhythm!

What are your plans for after the tour?
I'm gonna start studying again, figure out where I wanna live and find a place to stay, fall in love, have children, learn to surf with my new friend Yrwan and a lot more things. But if you mean what I'm going to do right after the Rhythm tour then I guess the answer is that I'm gonna go to Slovenia on a fly fishing/coffee drinking trip and keep myself on the road for a few more years!  

What have you been up to this season, are you filming a new part?
Well, I didn't really have a plan for this season, I thought of filming a part but I guess I just skipped that plan and thought I'd just try to enjoy the season as much as possible and try new things. Like riding powder, because the only thing I could possibly film if I tried to have a part is street. I guess I'm not really trying very hard to have a "career" as a snowboarder. That's probably why I like Rhythm's approach to snowboarding. The good old cliche that snowboarding is a lifestyle and not a sport actually makes more and more sense to me these days.

What is the best thing about being from Uppsala? How about the worst?
The best thing about being for Uppsala is that I'm from the same hometown as people like Carl von Linné and Anders Celsius. The worst thing about Uppsala is that there's no place to learn how to snowboard. It's all flat...

If you had to pick between fly-fishing every day in perfect conditions but never catching anything or playing guitar like Jimi Hendrix but only being able to do it alone, never in front of someone else, which would you choose?
Easy question. Fly fishing every day! I don't usually catch anything anyway, it's just awesome being out by a river...  

Does anybody ever call you Ralph instead of Rolf?
No...

Did you know that in English "ralph" is a euphemism for vomit? (i.e. Dude, I think I'm going to ralph…")
Now I know that I'm glad my name is Rolf instead of Ralph...
Rolf ralphs up a steezy methodKid's got some skills on the stunt wood too, frontside rock n' roll slide
Do you think it takes good rhythm to be a good snowboarder?
Well, first you have to define what a good snowboarder is? I think some sort of rhythm is required if you wanna have good flow in your riding, just look at Eric "lil' E" Johansson... He's got rhythm and if you define "good snowboarder" as someone who has flow in his riding and a smile on his face while he's shredding then Eric is definitely a good snowboarder. But he hasn't landed any double or triple corks, so I guess he sucks!  

Last words are yours!
I would just like to thank the people who support me. It's so cool that the snowboard industry is down to help a guy like me, who isn't able to do the coolest rotations or the gnarliest slides. Thanks Rhythm, Salomon, Burn, Monokel and Lemmel Kaffe!!! And thanks to my parents!

Look out for Rolf and the rest of the gang on the Rhythm Section Tour hitting IBK this Friday! We'll be there, come through, bitches!

Here are the recaps from the last stops on the RST13, check out the clips and flicks!

Photos by Jason Horton

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