Veteran Surfer and Snowboarder Jan Leutola Brought Design to the Slopes
You could easily call Jan Leutola, a carpenter from Rovaniemi, the 'Grand Old Man' of snowboarding. It’s no exaggeration to say that everyone in the scene knows who he is. He’s been skateboarding, surfing, and snowboarding since he was a kid—back when today’s popular board sports were far from mainstream.
– We moved from Sweden to Korkalovaara in Rovaniemi in the 1980s. Back then, there wasn’t much for a young person to do around here. Luckily, I discovered skateboarding and snowboarding. We had a small slope on an old landfill site—even a tiny lift, Jan recalls.
After his military service, Jan left the North behind, moved to Helsinki, and trained as a carpenter.
– Working with my hands felt natural, since I’d been doing woodwork with my grandfather ever since I was little. One of my teachers noticed I had a special interest in the craft and suggested I pursue an apprenticeship in fine carpentry. That’s probably where the whole Ilahu story really began.
After meeting his future wife—who is half Spanish—the couple moved to Spain, where they got hooked on surfing.
– We lived in a hippie van and surfed our way along the coasts of northern Spain, Portugal, and France. Eventually, we settled in the Cádiz region, where our now-grown children were born, Jan says.
Around 700 Snow Surfboards Have Left the Workshop to the Slopes
When their children reached school age, the family returned to Finland and settled back in Rovaniemi. It was 2010.
– On the snowy hills of Lapland, I was racking my brain trying to figure out what to do. There were no ocean waves to surf anymore. Around that time, I founded the company Treeform together with my friend Maxim Narbrough, who is an industrial designer. We both loved the outdoors, and our shared passion became creating beautiful boards, Jan says.
The two men developed an innovative snow surfboard, which they could design exactly to their own liking.
– We wanted to adapt the features and shapes of a surfboard to the snowy waves of Lapland. A board you ride without bindings. That’s how the Ilahu snow surfboard was born—made to bring joy and open up snowy hills and fells to new forms of play. The board is made mostly from natural materials, and we take care to respect nature in both design and production.
Jan plans to continue the Ilahu story for as long as he’s able. The product is constantly evolving, thanks to valuable feedback from riders. So far, around 700 snow surfboards have been made and found their way to riders around the world.
– It’s great to develop the features of snow surfing together with the users. I get a lot of feedback from professional riders too. This is an ongoing product development project. What I’m especially proud of is that it’s Made in Lapland—designed and built right here!
*This article has been translated with artificial intelligence