Interview: Getting to Know Emma Olofsson
Born and raised on the flat planes of Sweden, Emma stumbled across biking while on a working holiday in Queenstown where her love of bikes and mountains quickly eventuated. We had a chat with Emma to get to know her a bit better.
• April 18th 2023
Wide Open: Can you tell me a little bit about where you grew up and how you ended up calling NZ home?
Emma: I was born and raised in this small village in southern Sweden called Diö. I lived there until I finished school when I was 19 and moved to Malmö to work as a makeup artist. I always wanted to travel and move overseas since I was a child, but back then I had New York and these kinda cities in mind haha.
When I was 21 I went with a friend to Australia because I was a bit bored of my life in Sweden, I stayed there for 8 months but again, I was kinda restless there too. I wasn't keen to go back to Sweden (as planned) just yet so I decided to get a working holiday visa in New Zealand because I really wanted to work at the ski fields in Queenstown.
Off to New Zealand I went and when winter arrived, I ended up working at Coronet Peak (after a lot of emails begging them to give me a job as they first said no to me). When summer arrived, I started working at Fergburger and they offered to help me get a visa for one more year which led to another year and another and after being here for 5.5 years, I finally got residency here and am allowed to stay here forever which I am so grateful for. New Zealand is the best place on earth and I love to call it home here.
"NEW ZEALAND IS THE BEST PLACE ON EARCH AND I LOVE TO CALL IT HOME"
Have bikes always been a part of your life? When and how did you get into riding?
Noooo, Sweden is very flat, especially in the south. I tried it for the first time in Sweden though and this was in 2014 I believe. My brother and I tried mountain biking out on this small hill that actually has t-bar access and I really enjoyed it from day 1!
I worked every other weekend so I went here like twice a month for a summer before I started moving around and then I picked it back up when I moved to Queenstown at the end of 2017. At this time, my brother lived in Queenstown as well and he found this old DH rig for me to buy for 1000 dollars. He tried convincing me to buy one for a while but I was only meant to stay for a few more months so I wasn't keen to spend a lot of money on a bike I might not be able to sell but with a 1000 dollar bike, I didn't have much to lose.
I'm so happy he found this bike for me because this sparked my PASSION for mountain biking and honestly, if it wasn't for this 2010 Giant Glory, my life wouldn't be what it is today and I would definitely not live in Queenstown.
Image courtesy of Clint Trahan / Crankworx
I see on your Instagram you have a feathery friend called Donald. Who's Donald?
Yep, he is my best little friend! At the start of December my boyfriend brought home this little duckling for me that some boys had found all alone by the side of the road and he was the cutest thing I ever saw. I've raised him and he is now a grown duck, just over 3 months old! Donald is quite the character and I didn't realize how funny ducks were until I had him. Or how messy they are... Check out the adventures of Donald here.
Favourite type/discipline of riding?
Sick flowy jumps for sure! In Queenstown, I really like to ride Wynyard but I still dream of A-line laps and maybe my favorite set of jumps I ever rode, the Blue Steel jump line in Bellingham. Even blue bike park flow is so fun, as long as there are little features you can try new stuff on!
When you’re not on two wheels what else do you like to do with yourself?
I love DIY, it's always good to have some kind of project going! At the moment I am refurbishing my Suzuki Carry and getting rid of the gross grey leather and putting in hot rod spec red pleather panels! I also sew, look after my plants, bake brownies etc. I also love going camping and exploring new places around Queenstown.
What's on the cards for 2023?
I am planning to go to Tasmania for a trail riding trip which I am super excited about because I was there last year and Tasmania has the best trail riding I've ever done! Then I want to make it back to Whistler and Canada for summer there, last year was my first time there and I realized how insane the riding is there and it really helps you progress a lot riding there! I believe I'll also make it to Europe to see my family and then also to ride! I don't have a set schedule yet but I hope to fill it with a lot of fun jump jams/events and a lot of video creation!
Any goals, learnings or things you'd like to achieve this year?
Always! I really want to learn some new tricks this year, barspin on my DJ, get no foot cans dialled, learn indian air, nac nacs, tuck no handers and maybe some sui-combo!
Wide Open: Thanks for taking the time to have a chat to us Emma! It was so rad learning a bit more about you and how you got into riding. We can't wait to follow you this year, see your progress and be continuously entertained by your antics.
Thanks to these Wide Open brands for their continued support with Emma:
