Yohan Lovey - Sleepy Grill

Profile and significance

Yohan Lovey—better known by his moniker “Sleepy Grill”—is a Swiss freeski original who treats street and park skiing as a medium for ideas. Emerging from the Buldozlife crew, he built a reputation for segments that reward rewatching: patient setups, unmistakable presses, unusual axes and grabs that still land centered. In late 2024 he dropped “Daydreaming,” a full street part filmed across Stockholm, Umeå, and Andorra and produced by Harlaut Apparel Co.; the cut placed him firmly on the radar of riders who learn from edits as much as from results sheets. At the same time, Lovey became part of Salomon’s creative Départ project—an athlete-and-filmmaker circle stewarded by Sämi Ortlieb—aligning his approach with a brand program that celebrates flow and self-expression over scorecards, and with hardware in the Départ line from Salomon. The synthesis is clear: he is an editor’s skier and a skier’s editor, an athlete whose clips make modern freeskiing legible without diluting its personality.

Competitive arc and key venues

Lovey’s lane is film-first. The résumé that matters is a string of rider-led projects rather than heat sheets: Buldozlife shorts that circulated through the European scene, a 2023 street mini that previewed his current direction, and “Daydreaming,” which stitched together city snowpacks and Pyrenean nights into a single statement. The venues in that part tell you a lot about his process. Stockholm’s winter streets—start at the official city guide of Visit Stockholm—serve up rails and walls with short in-runs where honest speed and clean edging decide whether a line works. Umeå in northern Sweden, described by Visit Umeå as a culture hub ringed by accessible nature, adds compact approaches and changing light that punish rushed takeoffs. Andorra contributes the night-lap cadence that street skiers love; the country’s official portal, Visit Andorra, and Grandvalira’s evening program at Sunset Park Peretol show why the Pyrenees became a second home for European crews who want repetition under lights. In parallel, Départ’s team film “Open” toured with Salomon’s Quality Ski Time Film Tour while the Départ ski line matured on Salomon’s Départ 1.0 platform—proof that Lovey’s art-school take on skiing now has a well-defined stage and toolset.

How they ski: what to watch for

Lovey skis with economy and definition—the two traits that make tricky ideas readable. Into a takeoff he stays tall and neutral, sets rotation late, and establishes the grab before 180 degrees so the axis breathes on camera. On steel he prefers square, unhurried entries; presses and backslides that hold just long enough to be unmistakable; and surface swaps with minimal arm swing. Exits are shoulder-aligned so momentum flows to the next feature instead of dying on the landing. When he experiments with off-axis tweaks or bring-backs, the success comes from organization rather than surprise: edge pressure is prepared early, the skis release cleanly, and the re-engagement feels inevitable rather than rescued. Slow any Sleepy Grill clip down and you will still see a complete sentence—setup, definition, stacked landing—rather than punctuation marks stitched together.

Resilience, filming, and influence

Lovey’s influence compounds through film craft. “Daydreaming” wasn’t just a list of tricks; it was a pacing lesson—shots framed wide enough to show slope angle and honest approach speed, with edits that give the viewer time to grasp why a choice works. Earlier Buldozlife chapters leaned into the same values, using tight budgets and careful spot prep to make ideas read clearly. His involvement with Salomon’s Départ project added a second channel: a brand-backed ecosystem where skiers, filmmakers and designers share authorship, an approach that matches his habit of treating skis, songs, and camera angles as equal actors. Because the footage survives slow-motion scrutiny, it feeds coaches and emerging riders with practical checkpoints. Over time, that clarity shapes taste: once you notice early grab definition and square-shoulder exits in his parts, you start seeing missing beats in noisier edits elsewhere.

Geography that built the toolkit

Place explains the method. The Swiss street circuit forged patience at realistic speeds, with thin cover and quick resets that expose sloppy edging right away. Stockholm contributes civic architecture and winter maintenance patterns that create repeatable rails and banks; Visit Stockholm is a useful window into how the city moves in winter, which matters when timing your sessions. Umeå’s compact urban grid, mapped by Visit Umeå, layers in short run-ins and soft light that reward calm entries and late sets. Andorra supplies nighttime rhythm and park density; Grandvalira’s Sunset Park Peretol—open evenings in season—offers the frequency that turns good intentions into habits. Thread those geographies together and the fingerprints in Lovey’s skiing make perfect sense: patient pop, early trick definition, and exits that keep the line alive.

Equipment and partners: practical takeaways

Lovey rides with Harlaut Apparel and skis within Salomon’s Départ program, whose freestyle shapes—see the Départ 1.0—prioritize pop you can trust and flex you can bend without folding. For viewers trying to borrow the feel, the hardware lessons are simple and portable. Choose a true twin with a balanced, medium flex that accepts a thoughtful detune at the contact points while keeping dependable grip on the lip; mount near center so presses sit level and switch landings feel neutral; avoid binding ramp angles that push you into the backseat so hips can stack over feet. Just as important is workflow. Film your laps, pause on whether the grab is defined before 180 degrees, check shoulder alignment at the exit, and repeat. That checklist—visible in “Daydreaming” and Départ clips—turns style into a skill you can practice, whether the backdrop is a city handrail, a small resort park, or an evening session in the Pyrenees.

Why fans and progressing skiers care

Fans care about Sleepy Grill because his skiing makes creativity readable. The clips favor timing, composition, and line design over noise, which is why they age well and teach well. Progressing skiers care because the same choices scale to normal parks and real streets: stay tall into the lip, set late, define the grab early, hold presses long enough to read, and exit with shoulders square so speed survives for what’s next. With a street part produced by Harlaut Apparel Co., a creative home in Salomon’s Départ, and a venue map that runs from Stockholm to Umeå to Andorra, Lovey offers both a proof and a path: freeskiing that looks inventive on screen and feels repeatable on Tuesday-night laps.