Nils Arvidsson's Soft Impact - Full Movie and Interview

We caught up with Swedish slayer Nils Arvidsson to talk about his new project 'Soft Impact'. After breaking his arm twice he was prescribed a strict diet of powder only. But hey, who's complaining about that, right? Watch the 15-minute movie below and read on for the skinny

We saw the clip of you breaking your arm, but can you give a little more detail on what you actually did and why it was such a bitch to heal?

The slam doesn’t actually look that crazy I think and the filmer got worried and stopped filming early so it is a bit hard to tell what´s going on. But I caught my heel edge on the rail and fell backwards with my left arm behind my back. When I hit the ground all of my weight came down on that arm which snapped in multiple places. When I sat up I could see the arm laying there bent in a very weird way haha. It almost felt like it wasn’t attached to my body anymore and I had to pick it up and put it in my lap.

 

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© Jerome Tanon. Chile looking all-time.
 

 

The snow in Chile looks pretty epic, is that what encouraged you to go so big? How does it feel ignoring doctors’ advice?

Chile was insane, snow was really good, especially the snow we could reach with the heli! And yeah, the conditions always decide what kind of riding is possible. Haha at first the doctors told me I couldn’t ride for a year, but we kind of agreed on 6 months, but after 5 months I had the opportunity to go to Chile and rehab was going well, I was skating a little, so even though I knew it was not fully healed I decided to go. 

Who helped make this project a reality?

Ripcurl, Nitro, Vans and Nobudget Productions, BIG THANKS!

 

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© Lozza. Deep and soft in Japan.

 

Why did you choose those locations, had you been to any of them before?

The Chile and Japan trip was put together by Ripcurl and Nitro. I've been to both places before and it's awesome.Bulgaria was a first, Kareem told me about it and when we saw the forecast and all the snow coming we booked the trip. I have never really ridden much up north in Sweden either but it felt like a good time to check it out. 

After riding pow almost all winter are you inspired to do more of that kind of snowboarding?

I always enjoy riding powder, but the heli experience in Chile definitely got me more interested in riding lines. But at the same time I didn’t get to ride much park or street last year and after watching all the street footage coming out I’m hyped on doing some of that too.

 

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© Mihaj Badea. Nils back home in Sweden
 

 

What was the gnarliest line you did that, in hindsight, you probably shouldn’t have done?

What I shouldn’t have done is gone to Saas Fee to break my arm a second time, that was stupid. In Chile, I definitely took a risk riding but falling in soft snow is much better for an injury like that than on an icy park jump. The last line I did in Chile was really gnarly for me, getting dropped off at a square meter area to strap in on, and then just having the steepest little face I ever rode below was unreal. I went through the turns and where I would go so many times in my head before dropping in, but it was a great feeling.

Any good tips for rehabbing a broken arm?

It's easy to get lazy and lay inside and eat candy, and for the first week that is fine. But then I would say its important to start moving around, take walks, eat well, drink lots of water and start rehab as soon as you can. Take it easy with rehab in the beginning and don’t lift too heavy tho, listen to the body!

 

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© Jerome Tanon. Nils & Nate threading lines in Chile
 

Rip Curl 

Nitro

Vans

Drink Water