Bio

www.worldofoscar.com

From Vol. 34 No. 4 of Powder Magazine (Dec ’05)

Sugar High
Some say he’s the next Jon Olson, but kilo for kilo, is Oscar Scherlin the best skier in Sweden?
By Tess Weaver

The lifts have been closed for two hours and the mountain is as empty as the sky. The arctic alpenglow is the culmination of a windless, bluebird day in April and the rolling round knobs that make up the mountains in west central Sweden provide a pastel backdrop of serenity.

400 meters from the T-bar in Tvr valvet, an above-treeline off-piste area of Are, in the shadow of the 4,659-foot Reskutan, is a 100-foot table Jon Olsson and Laffa, a local shaper, have spent the last two weeks building. Fresh off hosting the Jon Olsson Invivational, Olsson’s body has had enough; he’s home sick.

The table is massive-narrow, with a long, steep landing. The only questionable element is whether the feature, having been moved forward the previous day, offers enough pop to clear the knoll, the beginning of the landing. Some of Sweden’s most promising young skiers have gathered atop to find out.

Nicklaus Karlstrom and Jacob Wester dawdle, wondering who should hit it first. While the group debates individual merits, a pre-pubescent voice pipes up. “ll try it.” says the kid in the Oakley outfit. Before an argument is formed, the skier grabs the tow-rope behind the sled and tells the driver to gun it.

Mattias Fredrickson is positioned below, Nikon F5s camera in hand, waiting for Karlstrom, Wester-anyone but Scherlin-to catapult themselves into the dimming Scandinavian skyline. The 800cc’s empty the artic fairytale setting of its tranquility and replace it with impending adrenaline. Fredricksson can hardly believe it. The guinea pig is straight-airing through space like he’s never coming down. And when he does, it’s with ease and laughter. It takes a moment for the 20-some-odd crowd to realize what they’ve just witnessed. The biggest backcountry table ever built in the region has just been hit by a 13 year-old.

---

Perpetually motivated, consistently stoked to ski and notoriously running on a sugar high, the now 14 year-old Oscar Scherlin has distinguished himself from the gammit of Swedish jibbers with a prowess not only unique for his age-unique period.

Growing up in Östersund, Sweden, Scherlin started skiing at age 2, racing at six. He still races competitively and will continue to do so through next year. He’s a promising young racer-one of the best in his country-but when asked who he looks up to, he doesn’t spout off Scandinavian World Cup champs. “TJ Schiller, Tanner Hall and Jon Olsson,” he says.

Three years ago when photographer Mattias Fredriiksson and cinematographer Henrik Rostrup of Teddy Bear Crisis, noticed a grom out-skiing everyone at the local park in Are (one of the country’s largest resorts 53 miles from Ostersund) they suspected something special.

“He just progresses and learns so fast,” says Fredriksson, who started shooting the 117-lbs, 5’4” Scherlin when he was 12. “His style stands out because he can do the technical tricks and spins, but he also does them with a style that just looks really fluid and comfortable in the air.”

Scherlin began hitting the park in between course laps when he was nine. Last winter in his first season filming, or even skiing outside his home resort, Scherlin progressed from the park to big backcountry jumps. “He’s never not afraid to guinea big jumps or throw switchs, 900’s or bio 7’s on 120-foot tables.” says Rostrup.

Scherlin, who is sponsored by Head and Oakley, credits his expanded bag of tricks on his well-rounded ski background. “I like racing because you can go fast-my favorite disciplines are Downhill and Super G,” he says. “I like to ride park better. Park is fun because you get to ski as you like with whoever you want without coaches telling you what to do. I like the freedom.”

And for this teenager, freedom comes in the form of cab cork 540s, 720s and switch 9s. Off snow, Scherlin also enjoys downhill mountain biking and soccer. And, no surprise here, he’s not bad at either.

Speaking fluent English has also helped Scherlin set himself apart from his peers in Sweden. Scherlin, who spent August in New Zealand with Jon Olsson, Simon Dumont and Jacob Wester, is quick to pick up tips from out-of-town pros and mature enough to hold his own in a group of seasoned pros.

“He really has a great attitude,” says Oakley team manager Greg Strokes. “He’s appreciative and not cocky at all. He gets along with kids his age and is respected by all the Swedish skiers.”

Though every pro who works with Scherlin compliments his maturity and ability to remain cool, “He’s very much a 14 year-old,” says Olsson. “He doesn’t really like food-except for candy.”

Scherlin spends most of his winter between the gates. When he’s not training, Oscar can usually be found in the park or at his father Patrick’s local restaurant, Broken, an American-style burger joint popular with local pros and-what else-gorgeous blonde girls.

Scherlin’s parents, both skiers, support Oscar’s skiing and appreciate his participation in both disciplines. “They like to watch me race and practice,” says Scherlin. “We ski together a lot in Ãre. My mom says I better be doing a good job at this ‘park skiing thing; because that’s all I do.”

---

Jon Olson was so impressed with his progression last year, he extended Scherlin a wildcard invitation to his own competition, the Jon Olsson Invitational, a big air competition in Are with TK of the best jibbers on the planet. Running on no sleep-Sherlin’s nerves got the best of him on the eve of the event he put together an impressive run that almost landed him in the elite eight-member final round.

“It was the best time of my life,” says Scherlin who proved the crowd’s favorite. “It was my first big competition and it went very well.”

As a last minute addition, Scherlin wasn’t expected to advance beyond the prelims. Event officials hadn’t even produced a nameplate for the kid, when he came out of nowhere, stomped a TK and landed in ninth place-one spot shy of the finals.

“I see hundreds of kids who can do crazy tricks,” says Olsson. “But when it comes to contests, you have to step up to the moment and do well when it counts. That’s Oscar’s best skill as a skier. He knows how to win the mental game and he just sticks everything he does.”

As for his invitation to next year’s JOI, Olsson says it’s up to Scherlin. “He doesn’t like to stretch; he’s super stiff. When we were in New Zealand this summer, we made an agreement: He has to be able to touch his toes by Christmas if he wants an invite.”

Two months after his first freestyle competition, and first time behind a moving lens, Scherlin was on a roadtrip with Jon Olsson, Henrik Windstedt and Jacob Wester to Stryn, Norway to complete filming for The Teddy Bear Crisis.

“Stryn was my first trip with pros and filmers, so that was super fun,” says Scherlin. “I watched the pros-what they did and how they did it and then tried it myself. They gave me tips. It’s the best way to learn new tricks.”

“He’s always pumped, always happy, always smiling,” says Fredriksson. “I think of him as the little mascot in the Teddy Bear Crisis crew.”

When the Teddy Bear van pulled into Are, Scherlin returned home to an empty house-his parents were in Stolkholm for the weekend and left the 31 going on 22 year-old Mattias Fredriksson, in charge. Their only mandate? Make sure he eats enough. At 6 am, after an all-night drive, Fredriksson dropped Scherlin off and said to call when he woke up, hoping to get at least half day’s worth of sleep. Fredriksson had barely drifted off when the techno beat of his cell filled the room. It was Scherlin, he was up and he was hungry.

“He wanted to go ride his downhill bike,” says Fredriksson. “I was so tired; I couldn’t even keep up.”

---

When Olsson recovered and the weather cleared, the table Scherlin had first guinea pigged loomed, waiting to be attempted by its creator. Scherlin couldn’t believe he was standing atop a massive backcountry booter with Jon Olsson-his hero, the guy in the Oakley poster hung in his room. Before Scherlin could absorb the situation, Olsson turned to the 14 year-old: “How much speed do you think I need?”