Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Erika Vikander. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Erika, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. What were some of the most unexpected problems you’ve faced in your career and how did you resolve those issues?

As a female living in 2023 you would think that living in a first world country, we would be treated as equals. Unfortunately, that is not the case. After facing a multitude of let downs by my male counterparts both in and out of competition, I am constantly reminded that we are still facing a world of inequality. This was made particularly clear to me this last season while competing on the Freeride World Tour. When voicing my opinion regarding safety and overall fairness on the tour in a meeting prior to the first competition I was silenced by the male CEO for being too “emotional.” Despite the fact that the point I was making mirrored my male counterparts in the meeting, because it came from me, it was “too much.”

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

Growing up in the shadow of the Bridger mountains amongst the bigger Rocky Mountains in Montana, the seed of big mountain snowboarding was planted early. Erika spent her formative years in Bozeman where she spent every single weekend hitting the slopes while chasing her older brother and his friends. The idea was to learn quickly or get left behind, needless to say she wasn’t left behind for long, and was soon leading the pack.

Life then took Erika to the great state of Utah where she found herself surrounded by terrain parks after her move to Park City. Fast forward 5 years, and a move to Breckenridge, CO she quickly climbed to the top of the ranks in Slopestyle where she participated and made the podium at the highest level of contests such as The Dew Tour, Grand Prix, Burton US Open and even the Sochi Olympic qualifiers. However, life had other plans and during the race for the Sochi Olympics, she unfortunately tore her ACL at one of the qualifying events and missed the spot to go to Russia.

Never one to let life get her down, Erika took a season off to get extra strong and centered on her snowboard before deciding to pursue some big mountain contests. After taking 2nd place at her first ever big mountain event at the Subaru Freeride Series at Snowbird, she realized her love of competition could be transferred into a whole new realm of snowboarding. Erika spent one full season on the qualifying circuit and made the podium at every single Freeride World Qualifying event to get the one coveted spot for the Freeride World Tour 2018. Her first year on the tour she was on the podium and was also nominated as the Audi Female Rookie of the Year 2018 . After ranking in the top 3 overall for the last 3 seasons, Erika finished this year with her strongest overall finish after 2 wins and a podium at every contest putting her in 2nd overall in the world.

However, things took a turn this last season when she was faced with an impossible decision after the event organizers changed the date of a crucial contest less than 2 weeks before it was meant to take place. Having already committed to guiding a group of 12 women in the backcountry in Japan at the same time as the new contest was meant to take place left her between a rock and a hard place. Erika fought for the equal treatment of the women on the Freeride World Tour and advocated for a wildcard for herself, something that has been granted to many men who were in the same position with conflicting schedules only to be denied based on a rule that only applied to women, particularly from North America. It was at this pivotal moment in her career that she decided that she needed to be the voice for the next generation of women who want to be professional snowboarders and speak out about her experiences in the industry.

In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?

Society needs creatives to inspire the rest of humanity. Without those people who think outside the box, we are doomed to a mundane existence. By buying, art, music, artisan goods and supporting athletes who help to show the world that you can succeed outside of the “norm” we are fueling the world with positivity and perpetuating hope for generations to come.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

My goal is to be the best person I can be. While I identify as an athlete first, my mission is to find what truly drives me as a human being and expand my limits personally through sport and creative thinking. If I can do this while inspiring others to do the same along the way, then that is the greatest gift of all.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.erikathevikingvikander.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/erikathevikingvikander/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/erika.vikander
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/erika-vikander-10843840/

Image Credits
Richard Hallman Zoya Lynch Dom Daher