Category Finalist 2007: new creativity

Mattias Fredriksson

After living in Riksgränsen, Sweden, for two seasons as a ski bum, I started my career in print journalism with Vertikal Magazine, eventually landing in Åre as editor of Sweden’s national ski magazine, Åka Skidor. But the meetings and the long hours in the office started to wear on me. So I hit the reboot button. I grabbed my camera, went into the mountains, and started taking photos. Over the next few years I got heavy into the whole action-sport scene. That’s where the bulk of my work is today: living out of a big, gear-filled bag, traveling the world to shoot awesome athletes, trying to keep my points up so I can eat free cake in the Gold Club lounge. I have been a pro photographer since 2000.

Today my work regularly appears in photo-driven, industry-leading magazines like Powder. I also contribute to a host of other magazines around the world like Bike (U.S.), SBC Skier (Canada), Fluid (France), and Skiing: the next level (Germany). My humble services as a photographer and photo editor are also contracted out by Åre-based Peak Performance magazine, Transition (Sweden), and Magasin Åre (Sweden).

And even though I’m a Swede and I can’t play hockey to save my life, I was invited to Canada in 2003 to be a presenter at the World Ski and Snowboard Festival’s internationally renowned Pro Photographer’s Showdown. I like tight-fitting clothes, electro, house, and heavy metal music, and women who like to rub my scalp as if it were a magic ball.

Nationality: Sweden