is loading

EN DE

Johanna Juzelius by Sarah Meurle

Baby Rabbits & Black Metal

Johanna Juzelius and I got to know each other when we were around 13, 14 years old. I grew up in the southern part of Sweden, outside of Malmö, and she grew up in a suburb of Gothenburg. The first time we met was at a skate camp at Bryggeriet in Malmö, where we would skate all night and eat caffeine pills to skate way past bedtime and fall asleep in our sleeping bags in some sort of indoor camping arrangement. One time, I went to visit her and we skated the streets around the area where they lived, and she showed me heavy metal music videos on her computer. I thought she was cool, she was really different from anyone I’d ever met in my hometown. Throughout the years, we have met here and there, but three years ago, I moved to Gothenburg and, since then, we’ve gotten to know each other much better. She is a really great person and a really great skateboarder, so I thought you should meet her.

What hobby would you get into if time and money weren’t an issue?

Maybe professional ice skating. It is really pretty and quite similar to skating. A little more dancing to it. And a little faster, too.

What music would you skate to?

Maybe Enya. Or some epic melodic metal like Nightwish. [laughs]

Perfect. When was the last time you climbed a tree?

I think it was two weeks ago.

Where?

Somewhere in the woods.

What songs have you completely memorized?

I don’t listen to the lyrics but melodic-wise: Only Time by Enya. Or Caribbean Blue. I listened to that a lot recently.

crookedbonk

What hobby would you get into if time and money weren’t an issue?

Maybe professional ice skating. It is really pretty and quite similar to skating. A little more dancing to it. And a little faster, too.

What music would you skate to?

Maybe Enya. Or some epic melodic metal like Nightwish. [laughs]

Perfect. When was the last time you climbed a tree?

I think it was two weeks ago.

Where?

Somewhere in the woods.

What songs have you completely memorized?

I don’t listen to the lyrics but melodic-wise: Only Time by Enya. Or Caribbean Blue. I listened to that a lot recently.

What are some small things that make your day better?

Coffee. And sunshine. And maybe a nice text from someone. Just some simple things that I like.

What TV channel doesn’t exist but really should?

I don’t know. Last time I watched TV, I got rather stressed. So maybe something not so stressful. More nature channels without commercials. I liked Planet Earth. It’s exciting and calm. TV nowadays is really fast-paced.

What’s the farthest you have ever been from home?

Probably India or California.

What is the most annoying question that people ask you?

“Can you do a kickflip?” is a common annoying skater question. But it’s not that bad. I don’t get that many annoying questions. Maybe I get annoyed, but I can drop it later, so I don’t remember.

What is something everyone should do once in their life?

Skate.

What would you rate ten out of ten?

The Malmö trip I did with you and our friends recently. It felt good.

How does a perfect day of skating look like?

I like to have time. I like to prepare, like, sit and talk to my friends, drink coffee, warm up for an hour or something. Then skate around, do some creative tricks, maybe an easy spot and then go to a bigger spot. Good weather. Friends. Lots of time. A mission maybe.

I feel like you like to push yourself a lot. When you were young, you did a lot of daring stuff, like throwing yourself down big stairs – maybe you don’t do it as much now, but you still have that fire in your eyes when you skate. I can see it sometimes.

Yeah, it’s there. I like to push it. But without pressure, just when I feel like it.

What is the most impressive thing you know how to do?

Um, I don’t know.

You have a pretty impressive voice, I think.

Yeah, I can imitate animals or heavy metal singers – if you consider that impressive. But I’m not thinking about it that much. I guess I can do a lot of impressive things without knowing about it.

What about skating?

One foots and kickflips. My favorite tricks. So they feel good.

If you could make one rule that everyone would have to follow – what rule would you make?

Don’t snake in the skatepark. Just kidding. Be nice. Or something like that. Yeah, be nice.

Have you ever saved someone’s life?

Do animals count? I saved a little rabbit in Malmö. A cat was biting in its neck and I was chasing it till it let go.

You saved a baby rabbit’s life. I was there to witness it. If your life was a book, what would its title be?

[Black metal voice] Inferno!

What would your spirit animal be?

I’d wish a wolf or something. But my friends say more like a rabbit. Maybe a baby rabbit.

If you could have a video of any event in your life, what event would you chose?

I had a really good day earlier this month. That would be nice to have. Maybe not everything. I was at the Tivoli, having fun. No, that’s not so fun to watch for others probably. Just for me. Maybe when I did the trick with you. I was happy that day, so that was nice. Maybe also some moment in the forest. I don’t know.