Marius Syvanen for Habitat – Aalto

Featuring Habitat's Marius Syvanen & Stefan Janoski.

INSIDE THE SOBER MIND & REGULAR HEART OF MARIUS SYVANEN

Original interview posted on Free, and was conducted by @deadhippie. Please support it and visit the page here.

Turn and face the strange. Ch-ch-ch-ch-Changes—the Governor has been through some shit since I last spoke to him after his part in Outliers (2016). He has been sober for the past two years, relocated back to Finland after living in San Diego for 25 years in 2020, and successfully underwent a second heart ablation to address an irregular heartbeat he had been living with since 2015. Now filming for his first video part in years, thrivingon his native soil in Helsinki, and in the midst of a second wind gusty enough to tip over a small sailboat—I got a chance to reconnect with Govs and pick his sober mind about it all.

Interview by Mackenzie Eisenhower

Last time we spoke was for TWS, circa 2016. So a lot has changed I believe.Definitely.

I’ll start with asking you about moving back to Finland in 2020. You were sort of a Finnish kid that grew up in America right?Yeah.

How do you choose between those two good options?They are definitely two very good options. San Diego is one of the best spots you could imagine—weather wise. I’d say SD is number one on the charts for America. And then Finland is the homeland and is amazing too of course.

Was there a girl involved in this move?Yeah, she was definitely a part of it. But I was also just ready for change. I was like, “Why not? I want to go live in Europe.”

Did you get sober back in Finland or did that process start before you left the US?That whole process occurred here in Finland.

Sometimes in AA they talk about “Geographics”—basically making these big moves to outrun our drinking.Yeah, it didn’t really have anything to do with that. The drinking got even worse when I moved back here. People here drink way more than in California. I think because of that I was laying into it even more.

What was the bottom? What made you make the change?I was just fucking done. Seriously, just over it—over feeling like shit, over feeling so low. I was just ready to feel clear-minded. I had my party years, they had come and gone.

Sick and tired of being sick and tired?(Laughs) Sick and tired of being sick and tired. The classic story.

So more of a build up over the years and not a crazy incident?Yeah, I’d rather not go into the deeper part of it. It really got me to the lowest point that I could possibly be at. A very, very dark place. That’s when I was like, “Holy fuck. I need to change something.” I was completely on my own. I got to a point where I thought, “Holy fuck, I’m going to fucking die from this shit.” I didn’t really ever drink at home or anything. When I went out I would have a shot with every beer or mixed drinks to where I would just be fucking hammered. The last straw was actually like a couple day thing. Like a bender. I just got so fucking low. I had some horrible mental thoughts.

Like suicidal kind of stuff?Yeah. I don’t know if I even want to mention that in there. I guess it’s fine because it is a fucking big issue in skateboarding.

It is. We have lost a lot of people. I struggle with it at times. I’ll be honest with anyone.It got to that point where I was about to fucking end it. I went straight to the hospital. I didn’t know what to do. I was having these horrible thoughts. All I knew was “I need to stop the shit that’s causing this.”

Did you detox in the hospital?Funnily enough, Finland deals with issues related to alcoholism and depression so much that they were kind of like, “Go take a walk.” It was pretty wild. They were like seriously, “Grow up man.” It was pretty savage. I was like, “You guys aren’t going to do anything?” And they’re like, “Well, it’s not like you actually tried, your wrists aren’t bleeding. You’re still right here.”

That’s crazy. Here in California if you even mention suicide you go on a 5150 lockdown. They put you in a padded cell for like a 72-hour hold.That’s gnarly. I’ve never even heard of that. But basically, it eventually led to me seeing a proper doctor and going to some meetings and stuff. I couldn’t really do the meetings. They were just filled with older heads. It wasn’t my scene.

So you’re doing it now with no drinking, no program?Yeah, just no drinking and no program. I definitely respect all the people that use a program. It’s not really for me though. For me, it’s more just discipline.

If that works for you that’s rad. How much time do you have now?I celebrated the first 500 days in June 2024. I just got two years to the day on Feb. 12, 2025.

Sick. Congrats G.Thanks.

It also seemed like so much of the marketing around you was based around romanticizing insanity and alcohol—like “Mind of Marius” and all that. Is it different now? Insanity sounds rad until you actually go insane.That is the truth. Oh my God. Ten years ago was so gnarly.

I remember hearing the stories of you wandering around MACBA in a haze with like no shoes or shirt for days on end.Just fucking gone. Barcy fucking ate me up. It was fucking horrible. But on the whole marketing side obviously this is so much better now. Of course it is. Doing that sort of thing nowadays there’s just no way in fucking hell you’re surviving. You’d be fucking done.

In our 20s we can maybe get away with it for a second. But in our 30s or 40s it’s not possible. Now you can pass on the lessons to the younger kids.Yeah, that’s exactly how it is. Although now it has also changed so much. I think kids are partying less now. They drink less than the generations before them.

You also had a second heart ablation in April ’24? You were diagnosed with WPW (Wolf Parkinson White) in 2015, had your first ablation but that didn’t work? Are you good now? Did this play into getting sober?That’s right. I thought the first surgery for it had worked but a month afterwards they checked me because I was having irregular heartbeats still afterwards. I went back in, they hooked me up to all the machines and were like, “What the fuck, you still have it (irregular heartbeat).” The surgery didn’t work. I just pretty much started crying. I felt like my heart was just toast.

Frontside bluntslide pop-out, Marseille. Ph. Sam Ashley

That’s so heavy.Then I just put off dealing with it, I put off trying to have the surgery again for years because I was on these meds that were keeping it somewhat regular. I got so used to the meds that time just flew by. When I moved back to Finland I decided I would try the surgery in Finland. I had been sober then for a while and it just felt like it was time. I went in and they nailed it first try. The operation was immediately successful. Now it’s been just under a year. No more meds and the heart is just fine now.

I can imagine with the drinking stuff, at your bottom having that thought in the background of your heart being messed up too—it must have been hard to handle.Totally. I was a fucking retard dude.

But you’re on the other side of it now.Yeah man. Holy fuck. I think I’m going to have to say that was one of the best decisions I ever made.

And filming your first full part in years? Your first sober part?Yeah, technically my first sober part. Shit. And skating is so much easier now (laughs). Just feeling way more comfortable on the board. Maybe the tricks aren’t easier but just having the comfort back is beautiful.

The brain synapses are firing a little cleaner.Fully. I don’t think I ever really realised how bad I was actually being. When you mentioned “The Mind of Marius” and just walking around hammered in those years—it’s crazy how the industry really does watch you.

At this point in your life are you still looking at giant gap-out-to-rails or does it change your approach a little being a bit older and sober?It has definitely gone a little more banks and bumps. Skating has changed a bit in that realm too. Gapping out to rails? I don’t know. The right ones haven’t popped up but I feel better than ever body-wise. I definitely could if the right gap-to-rail came about.

I feel like the generations before us got robbed. We were sort of told skateboarding was over when you turned like 25. Pros like Sal Barbier and Matt Hensley retired then. Now, we are realising you can really go full force until 50 if you play it right.That’s what it’s seeming like. Skateboarding is still so young I don’t think they had figured out how long you could really do it.

All the same there might be some rude awakenings. I suppose some of us will try a rail in our 40s and just break every bone in our body.There will definitely be some reality checks. Oh yeah.

What’s new with your clothing brand, Times Goods?I was back in Finland, and I had always wanted to do a little clothing company. It seemed like a good moment for it. At first it was meant to be only for women. More on the feminine side. There aren’t too many skate related clothing brands for girls. But then it ended up turning unisex—for everyone. Everything is manufactured here in Finland. Another buddy of mine does the graphics and artwork. I’m pretty much the salesman.

The face.Yeah, exactly.

As someone who started skating in Europe in the ‘80s I trip out on the reversal of focus on Copenhagen, Oslo, and Helsinki from kids here in LA and the US. For us back then SD, SF, LA was like the centre of everything. Now, it almost feels like it flipped all the way upside down. Kids here in Cali dream of hitting Helsinki, Copenhagen, or Oslo skate scenes in the summer. Do you trip out on spots in Finland being heavily visited now by visiting US teams?It’s pretty crazy. Finland is like really big on the map right now. I think it’s from the Koff race and Hel-Ride. We’ve got (Pat) Duffy living here. There are the epic events in the summer and the spots are pretty ridiculous. There have been a lot of teams coming through the past two or three summers and they’re fucking blown away by how good they are. They all go back like, “It was the fucking best summer of my life!” I don’t know what it is but I think it’s the combination of the sun not setting, just the Scandinavian summers themselves—and then all the great spots and happy people everywhere—the party never ends.

When I was 12 I’d visit Oslo to skate and it felt like visiting Siberia, skate culture-wise. Now Tiago (Lemos) is chilling in Oslo and it feels almost more relevant than west LA sometimes.I think it’s amazing how equal it all is now. You could blow up in almost any country now and just do your thing right where you are. Having to move to Cali and all of that is long gone now. Maybe if you really want to hook it up with one of the big corporate sponsors, but other than that you don’t really need to go out there.

Do you think skateboarding will continue to expand to new zones?I think right now Japan is kind of on the come up. Super unique skaters and their approach is just so fresh and creative. Even the clothing styles are very next level (laughs).

How did the Koff downhill race start? Ten years deep?A skater homie from Canada named Marku who moved to Finland to study used to do these races back in his hometown. He saw the hill we have here in Helsinki in the Koff Park and was just like, “Oh dude, we should set up a fucking race here.” Since then it has pretty much just grown. The first one we had like 20 homies there. From there it has gotten bigger and bigger every year. Now we have epic sponsors behind it and shit, prize money, and like huge crowds show up.

It’s so simple but so rad. Like the LA Massacre from Thrashin’—Helsinki Massacre.You can ask anyone in Helsinki that is younger and in the scene about the Koff Race and they will just go crazy. Like, “Oh my God! I can’t wait ‘til next summer!” People wait for that fucking day all year. To them it’s just the best event of the summer. And then of course you have seen people eat shit there (laughs).

I think in the ‘90s and ‘00s we were almost too cool for a downhill race. We had to be serious and get those ledge lines. It’s cool to see fun, simple stuff come back to skateboarding.Seriously, that’s the truth.

I wanted to ask even in terms of community engagement and stuff… Back when you turned pro for Habitat, a pro’s job was pretty much to put out a video part and be a good skater. Today it seems like things like being involved in the Koff Race—helping your scene as a pro is almost more valuable than just being “the best”. Do you feel it has changed?I get what you’re saying. A video part today—it doesn’t really mean as much as it did back then. I think it has something to do with the volume of shit coming out every day. People just can’t pay attention to it all.

They just want to roll down a hill and have fun now.(Laughs) Yeah. We’re already planning next summer’s race. I actually got knocked out in the last one. We do the race and then usually we have some type of obstacle. Two years ago we had the Arto (Saari) LA river gap obstacle (ode to the backside flip in Sorry). We got the exact measurements from Ewan (Bowman – former Flip filmer) and everything. Then this year we did the gap again but then we built a floating ledge. I somehow won the fucking race or whatever and I was all hyped and decided to back lip this floating ledge thing. Tried it a good five times… Then I think the ledge was a little crooked. It was floating so every try the angle changed a little. I locked up in a back smith trying to back lip. The ledge was only like a foot wide, so to get into a back lip it almost covers your whole wheelbase. I locked up in a back smith and just stuck—then it pitched me right to the back of my head. Luckily it was wood but I have never been knocked out before. I’ve hit my head so many fucking times. But never got knocked out, and now with thousands of people watching—it was bad dude.

Halfcab kickflip, Helsinki. Ph. Justus Hirvi

It’s like the last thing you want to have happen when you’re trying to make skateboarding look fun and all that.I was out for five minutes. Woke up and just checked if my hands and legs were moving. I thought I was paralysed. I just look around. Look at everyone’s face in the crowd, just devastated, people are fucking crying. People thought I died. Because from like 100 metres away you can’t really tell. Next thing I know I’m in the ambulance, being hauled off to the hospital. I had to put up a post to say, “Thank you, I’m all right everyone.” People were very worried.

That’s just skateboarding though right? You can’t really look back and go like, “I shouldn’t have tried to back lip it” right? Skateboarding is just dangerous?Yeah. I mean hell no. No regrets. That’s kind of the price we all pay to do this.

You had never been knocked out? Not even on the Hollywood 16 sack when Muska took you?(Laughs) No man. I was so fucking tiny. I think my body was just like a rubber band at that point. I think the reason I got knocked out at Koff is because my head hit so fucking hard. Like whiplash. Hollywood 16 was more sack, then hitting the side of my neck. People bring that slam up to me all the fucking time still. It’s been 25 years!

The people want to know Marius. Did you go there with Muska that day? You also had a cast on, I think?Yes. I was getting Shorty’s boards through a good homie. This guy was also the reason Torey (Pudwill) and his homie Oliver got on. He drove us up to LA for the day to skate with Chad.

Were you tripping? Chad was huge then.Yeah, we are chilling at his Hollywood Hills mansion. I’m fucking 12. We went to Redondo High and skated some 10-stair there. I lipslid it a bunch of times. I think it was Chad who was like, “Let’s go to Hollywood High, you got this.” Hyping it up. I was like, “Holy fuck, Muska is hyping me up. I gotta fucking go for it.”

Well, you went for it.(Laughs). I remember them too, like, “You don’t want to warm up on the 12 or anything?” I seriously thought I had it. No shirt and with the cast on my wrist. I remember Muska watching me fall just like, “Oh shit dog.” Some random pedestrian walking past on the sidewalk called an ambulance. They saw it and right away called 911 instantly. The ambulance showed up, we explained what happened and they’re checking my vitals like through the fence. They gave me a little oxygen mask through the fence because the gates were locked. They checked me for 10 minutes and were just like, “Somehow you are okay.” We jumped back out into Chad’s Muskalade and I remember just going back to his house, sitting on the couch and tripping on it all. When I got home to SD I remember my mom losing it, like “What happened?” I ended up lying and telling her I had a collision at the skatepark (laughs). I couldn’t tell them I tried to lipslide the 16.

Best memory from being a Hawk Clothing kid?Holy shit. I gotta give Rodney Johnson a shout out (former Hawk Clothing TM and beloved Oceanside skateboarder who passed in 2020). Rest in peace Rodney. He was kind of the reason we were all on there and that that little team even existed. The team was fucking crazy. David Gonzales, Tyler Bledsoe, Danny Cerezini, Lamare Hemmings…

Was Birdman involved or was it more just in his name?I saw him here and there but it was mostly just in his name with Rodney running it. We did a bunch of trips but Tony was only on one of them—the Boom Boom Huck Jam Tour (Laughs). We were in Boston or somewhere. Up in some dope ass hotels. I think that was my first ad too. My first photo in a magazine was a Hawk Clothing ad. I kickflipped a rail off this loading dock. I had the full on cast. My wrist was always fucked.

Any memory of arriving in the USA at age four?Woooo… Let me think. I kind of remember Finland before the move. I just remember it being dark all day long. Freezing and having those seven layers on. Taking them off every time you went inside. Dark and cold. That’s all I remember from Finland before the States. Then when we moved to San Diego I think my first memories are just sunny and warm—the beach—I couldn’t believe the beach! I was four or five.

Can you describe meeting Wes Kremer in 1st grade in SD?It was literally the first day, 1st grade. We had been in the same kindergarten class too. We didn’t start skating until the summer after kindergarten. By the first day of 1st grade we somehow both realised that we skated. Like, “What the hell? Let’s go skate fool.” The rest is history.

First legit setup?I had some Wal-Mart board, but I also remember there was this Gator board in the neighbourhood. Someone had this old Gator setup with the swirl on it that we all skated. Second or third board though I had that Ali Boulala safety pin Flip board. That one sticks out.

First big pros you would see out at spots in SD in the ‘90s?Wes and I were pretty much just at the Encinitas Y(MCA) in the beginning. Like every day. I think the first pros we saw were Alphonzo Rawls and Chany Jeanguenin. Chany was always ripping the vert. Crazy heads would be there—Tas Pappas, Birdman and all these guys.

How many years have you been on Habitat? Down for life?I think like 15 years at this point. Definitely Habitat for life. As long as Joe (Castrucci) is keeping the company afloat, I’m pretty sure I’m a lifer.

Independent for life?Indy for life. Definitely.

Are you staying put in the EU now? Will you ever live in the US again?I’m actually coming back to Cali for a visit in March. It’s been about three years since I’ve been to SD. I’m looking forward to seeing all the homies. Until my green card runs out. I never got dual citizenship because supposedly I don’t love America enough. That’s what the officer said to me in the end. I finally was eligible for dual citizenship. I did all the interviews and all the tests then in the final interview the lady told me word for word, “You don’t love this country enough.” They look at the last five years, and you have to be at least two-and-half years within that five within the US. I was like 20 days short or something. I believe I can renew the green card and try to apply again but that would mean I’d have to live there.

You can always visit.I think I’ll just do that honestly. Just be a normal tourist, which is crazy because I was there over 25 years, paying taxes and living there.

But you didn’t love it enough.(Laughs) I didn’t love it enough. I couldn’t believe they said that to me. This lady was just not having it. She probably deals with it every day but still.

Okay a few quick ones… All-time best skateboarder?Guy Mariano.

All-time best video?Photosynthesis (2000).

All-time best part?Any Wes Kremer or Tyler Surrey part.

Best thing about professional skateboarding in 2025?Just that I still get to do it. That I still get to live off this shit and have a good time with my mates