Low Season – The Subarctic Transition Theory.

Nooa Marjamaa at Rajakylä DIY. Photo/Lassi Polso.

When the sun clocks out and the concrete starts steaming in subzero silence, the northern crew rolls in. “Low Season” just dropped — pure skate adrenaline, straight to the bloodstream. We caught up with Tino Riekki and Lassi Polso to talk DIY temples, mutant deck shapes, and keeping the wheels turning in the long-dark-zone.

Nightwood: Hi Tino and Lassi !
What’s shaking up there in the northern tundra right now?

Tino: It’s all good up in here, got a fever right now but I’m surviving. Me and Wiljam Lankila were just out in Tornio and Luleå on a mission.

NW. Who’s stepping into this interrogation chamber with you?

Tino: It’s me and Lassi Polso but we have a couple hundred kilometers between us.

NW. Who’s repping the crew for this one?

Tino: a bunch of homies from Kokkola and Oulu.

Wiljam Lankila lien to tail at Roskaruka, Kokkola. Photo/Lassi Polso.

NW. Who’s behind the lens?
Filmer? Photographer? The mad scientist documenting the chaos?

Tino: Lassi filmed and edited the whole thing

Lassi: I’m born and based here in Kokkola, Finland, and have been filming these videos for around 5 years or so now on my youtube channel. In the beginning it was just our Kokkola-group, which we’ve had since around 2019. In 2022-2023 we met up with the Oulu/Raahe boys. I think the first proper session together was at “King Of Roskaruka 2023”, which is a skateboarding event I hold every year here in Kokkola. Kokkola is located on the west coast of Finland, around 220km south from Oulu, so we don’t really skate together regularly with the Oulu-rippers. But when we do, I usually have a camera around and it is a party all the time.

Lassi Polso, backside air at Jeppis Wärtsilä DIY.

NW. Give us the origin myth of the gang.
Who is this crew, really?

Tino: Theres too many people so i can’t start naming everybody but it’s just a bunch of homies from Oulu and Kokkola.

NW. How long have you been riding together, and where did the first sparks fly?

Tino: I think it all started in Kokkolas king of Roskaruka event a couple of years ago. That was the first time the whole gang got together.

Wiljam Lankila, eggplant at Roskaruka, Kokkola. Photo/Lassi Polso.

NW. You’re holding it down in Oulu — which is starting to feel like the new DIY capital of Finland.
Is that a fair claim, or are we exaggerating the legend?

Tino: Well Oulu has a couple diys but not quite the capital, I dont think.

Lassi: Oulu is no expection with its DIY scene, pretty much all major cities in Finland have some kind of DIY-skateboarding going on. Everyone is familiar with Suvilahti DIY in Helsinki, but there’s much more. For example Seinäjoki has an active scene: Rytkikorjaamo DIY has probably the best outdoor miniramp in Finland (featured on the video at 5:53). 

Tino Riekki at Pulju, Raahe. Photo/Lassi Polso.

NW. Tell us about Rajakylä DIY — the concrete beast we see in the video.
What’s the story behind it?

Tino: It is the best DIY in Finland in my opinion. The transitions are really tight and theres only stone coping so you can just enjoy the sounds. I don’t think I am qualified enough to tell about the history. But it has been there for a couple years and I think the locals just wanted something fun to skate.

Suvilahti DIY in Helsinki. Photo/Lassi Polso.

Lassi: Oulu is definitely a gem for a DIY transition lover. Rajakylä and Toppila DIY’s are top tier, especially Rajakylä. (Toppila is the one with the white and blue small vert ramp, seen in the “Low Season” thumbnail). Unfortunately I can’t give any deep knowledge or origin story on Rajakylä, but it’s kind of a pilgrimage / cult destination because of the “HOG 2” video. 

I’ve visited Rajakylä once or twice each year, and so far it feels like it has always doubled in size each year when you get back there. But now they have one corner of the area left unfilled, after which the area is like one whole big pool. But yeah, all kinds of different sized transitions and endless amounts of pool coping which equals endless amounts of fun. And for DIY, the concrete is super smooth and well done.

NW. Any other sacred spots seen in the video?
Hidden slabs? Frozen ditches?

Tino: Maybe the Toppila (Oulu, River) mid-vert that was in the video too, it is so much fun to skate everytime.

NW. Legendary sessions burned into memory?

Tino: Definitely the first segment in the video at the park with the green coping. Everybody from Oulu and Kokkola got to the sesh.

Nooa Marjamaa smith grind at Rajakylä DIY. Photo/Lassi Polso.

NW. How long did it take to film the video?
Was it a structured mission or more of a wandering northern tour?

Tino: It was just a bunch of stuff from around the summer and winter. Not really a structured kind of thing.

Lassi: The filming was probably done in ten sessions during the summer 2025. I lived in Helsinki for a bit over a year, and was there for the summer, so I didn’t get that much footage in stock. But all of the sessions we managed to get in were successful and good times. No structured missions or tours, just documenting the sessions basically. That’s why there’s some imperfections in the tricks and filming, every clip is mainly the first land that was captured. For me the most important aspect of a skateboarding video is that it makes you want to go skate, so I don’t usually bother seeking for robot-perfect landings etc. since they are secondary to me.

NW. Also, let’s rewind a bit —
Back to those DIY decks.
I remember Lauri Kerola building that wild school-project board years ago — something like 10.5 inches wide, short wheelbase, totally unhinged.
Yet somehow the local guys were ripping it like it was standard issue.

What are you riding now?
It almost looks like 1978 crashed into 2026 — wide planks, but modern wheelbases/concaves.
Is that intentional madness?

Tino: In the video I skated Wiljams old boards that he made him self. They are quite wild, really steep nose and tail and a 14 inch wheelbase. But now I am skating a Winkowski board so basically the polar opposite.

Lassi: There are many influences spreading from Oulu, including the decks. And the Oulu DIY boards are something else. I mean you get used to everything, but 13″ is quite short of a wheelbase still.  Wiljam Lankila (@lankowsk1) who is also born and based here in Kokkola was making his own DIY boards with a Kokkola twist. Short(ish) length (30-32″), around normal wheelbase (14-15″), but super steep noses and tails. 

Everyone wants to skate a shaped deck after watching a Erick Winkowski video. It looks just so good, not so much of nostalgia at least for me. And not only does it look cool, it’s also easier!

Lately the 10″ popsicles have been making a breakthrough. The 10″ popsicle offers the comfortability of a wide deck with technical trick abilities due to the normal 32″ length 14.25″ wheelbase, so it’s just more convenient compared to the old school shapes. And now the breaking news is that at least Lankowski is thinking of moving into even smaller 8.75-9″ popsicles!!! No more shape decks!!!

Wiljam Lankila bs layback at Sahalampi, Seinäjoki. Photo/Lassi Polso.

NW. And the influences —
Be honest.
Do you realize you’re skating like it’s 1981 all over again?
Is that nostalgia, instinct, or just the terrain shaping the style?

Tino: I have always liked those crazy videos from the 80s where someone stalls the shit out of an invert, and then thinking “I want to do that”.

Tino Riekki, eggplant at Pulju, Raahe. Photo/Lassi Polso.

NW. You guys live way up north in the long-dark-zone.
What do you do during those endless winter nights?
Secret indoor spots? Snow shoveling missions? Concrete under floodlights at 3PM?

Tino: Oulu, Raahe both have indoor skate halls. So there haven’t been any parking hall missions. Plus, right now the Kokkola homies built an indoor hall which has the best miniramp of all time!

Lassi: Winter in Finland as a skater without an indoor skatepark is comparable to prison. For the past 2 months we’ve been building a DIY indoor skatepark here in Kokkola. Our long-time skatepark in a neighboring town closed last year, so we would have been left without a skatepark this winter. This indoor park project has been keeping us busy and skateboarding so the winter has not been too bad this year. I’ve also been filming a new video about the indoor park and just now starting to put it together.

It still is pretty much mid-winter here in Kokkola right now. Not too much snow but cold as hell. But I’m already looking forward to getting the shovel in hand and clearing some parks out of snow next month. So I hope we’ll be able to go skating outside in March. I’ve been filming a street / spot video and the plan is to finish it this year.

Wiljam Lankila crailslide at Hollihaka, Kokkola. Photo/Lassi Polso.

NW. Any shout-outs?
Tino: Shoutout to all the homies from Oulu and Kokkola that were in the video. Best sessions everytime!

Lassi: Shout-outs to the Juskus crew and the Oulu crew!!

NW. Thanks, gentlemen. Keep the fire burning in the frost.

Now folks! Enjoy the video !