Oakley Sports

Eiki Helgason

Three-Days? That's tomorrow; we need to get going!
Date of Birth: September 5, 1987
Hometown: Akureyri, Iceland
Other Sponsors: Oakley Apparel and Eyewear, Rome, Skull Candy, DVS, Frontline Favorite
Other Hobbies: Skateboarding, Candy, more Skateboarding, and then more Candy
Career Highlights:
- 2008 Snowboarder Magazine Rookie Of The Year
- 2008 Last part in Rome's video "No Right Way", joined Oakley Apparel team on Europe bus trip
- 2008 TWS Rookie of The Year Nomination
- 2008 TWS Readers Poll Riders of The Year Nomination
- 2007 Snowboarder Magazine Cover Shot
- 2009 Snowboarder Magazine Rookie of the Year
- 2009 1st Frontline Rail Jam
- 2009 Video part in Rome's "No Correct Way"

Bio

Eirikur Helgason AKA “Eiki”, hails from a little country called Iceland, and an even littler town known as Akureyri. He’s the quiet type who much like most people with his level of snowboarding talent, prefer their riding to do the talking for them. If you asked him if that was true, he would probably answer with one word, “sure”; but that’s okay because his snowboarding over the past two years has said a mouthful.

Iceland isn’t exactly known for it’s amazing resorts, which makes a lot of people wonder how he became such a great all around snowboarder. Part of that is because Eiki has taken his future into his own hands and earned money working random jobs so he could travel and live in other Scandinavian countries like Sweden, where he spent a few winters. Last year was a big breakout season for Eiki, and because of that, he traveled all over the globe for photo and film shoots with Oakley and his board sponsor Rome. Whether it was the US or Europe on an Oakley apparel trip, he’s made his presence known.

Influenced primarily by snowboard video’s, it’s no surprise that he put all of his energy into filming last season and easily clinched the last part in Rome’s video “No Right Way”. 2008 was a big season for Eiki with a lot from riding the backcountry to traveling in the US, and all though this may be the first time you’ve heard of him, it definitely won’t be the last. Remember the name.

Q&A

First off, your full name is Eirikur Helgason, but everyone calls you Eiki. Who gave you that nickname? Was it just because Americans can't pronounce any names that aren't English? In Iceland every name has a nickname to it, so if your name is Eirikur in Iceland most people will call you Eiki but I use my nickname because it's easier for people to remember.
It seems like there is a good crew of snowboarders coming out of Iceland all of a sudden. Where did you guys learn to ride? We all come from the same town and we have been riding together since we started riding, we didn't have any fancy parks to ride in so we used street rails to practice on.
Who from Iceland was a big influence on your riding and what other snowboarders did you look up to? I look up to a lot of people, but the people that have the most influence on me are my friends from Iceland. We have been pushing each other so much since we started riding.
I know you are a snowboard video guy for sure. What's your favorite shred video of all time and what's your favorite video part to date? My Favorite video of all time is Shakedown. I used to watch it all the time. It's hard to name one best video part because there are so many sick parts nowadays.
You have a little brother who is killing it as well. How often do you guys actually get to ride together? Yeah he is sick! His name is Halldor Helgason and you are gonna see a lot of him in the future. The last 4 years we haven't been riding together a lot because we don't live in the same country any more but we always ride together as much as we can.
You're super into skateboarding. Who are your influences there? So many skaters are way to good now! It's crazy. My favorite skaters are: Chris Cole, Andrew Reynolds, Corey Duffel and Mike Mo.
You got to go on a big trip with Oakley to Europe this past winter. What was that like? What were some highlights? That trip was fun, to bad we had super bad snow but we always found something fun to do. The highlight was the sled race at night time; sketchy!
You filmed with the Rome crew this winter as wellâ€¦what were some of the trips that were the most memorable? Best tripâ€¦and worst trip? The best trip was the backcountry trip to Canada. It was my first time in the real backcountry and snowmobiling. The worst trip but the most interesting trip was the trip to Romania.
If you had to describe yourself with one word, what would it be? If you had one sentence how would you describe yourself? One Word: "Chilled". One Sentence: "Sometimes too chilled".
What's been the biggest highlight of your career so far? This past season! It was sick!
What are you thinking about right now!? What should I do tomorrow?
What are your favorite Oakley Products? I love the apparel and eyewear. For goggles I wear A Frame which is amazing. I like the Frogskins and Gascan. For outerwear I use the Terrain Pant as well as the Infantry Pant and the Major Jacket as well as the Airlift Jacket. The Best!
How long have you been on Oakley for and what does the brand mean to you? I have been on Oakley for 6 years now; from getting Oakley stuff from a local Icelandic store to where I am now. Oakley was my first sponsor ever and has always helped me out a lot, so Oakley means a lot to me.
Say the first word that pops into your head when you see the following words...go!: -Skateboarding:Fun -Oakley:Sick Stuff -Whistler:Sweet -Iceland:Home -Mini-ramp:My Backyard -Airplane:Waiting -Family:Love -Taco:Bell Good -Quiet:Thinker -Candy:My Fuel