Harald Hellström - Off The Leash Video Edition (2024)

Profile and significance

Harald Hellström is a Finnish street-skiing standout from Helsinki whose heavy urban clips and calm, readable style have pushed him from crew films into the global spotlight. A core member of Finland’s Forre collective, he helped headline the crew’s breakthrough era and later appeared in Level 1’s 25th-anniversary feature “Wasteland,” a placement that brought his skiing to a mainstream freeski audience. In 2022 he turned professional with Surface Skis, which now issues a limited Hellström graphic on his preferred Give’r platform, and in 2024 he joined the footwear label Phaenom. The profile is unmistakable: a rider defined by no-fall-zone street spots, precise rail work, and jump tricks that stay crystal-clear for viewers without slow motion.

Competitive arc and key venues

Hellström’s résumé is film-first. He was a featured skier in Forre’s all-Finland street movie “Forrmula,” a 2021 release that many fans cite as a line in the sand for modern urban skiing. He also appeared alongside The Bunch in “Love You Too” in 2021, proof that his street instincts translate across creative film projects. In 2024 he carried that momentum into Level 1’s “Wasteland,” where his parts read clean even when stacked against a cast of big-name park, pow, and street specialists. Rather than chase federation podiums, he has treated judged showcases and premieres as punctuation marks on seasons built around filming.

The venues behind the footage explain the polish. Early- and mid-season repetitions on the long, consistent lines at Ruka sharpen timing, speed control, and both-way entries that survive TV-style builds. Compact night laps at Talma Ski hardwire movements and make the “first try has to count” reality of street filming feel normal. Back home, Helsinki’s dense winter infrastructure provides the real-world textures—short in-runs, imperfect landings, low-light windows—that make a film part memorable. When a week at Ruka opens the throttle and a night at Talma compresses it again, the result is skiing that holds form from a municipal handrail to a film-festival screen.

How they ski: what to watch for

Hellström skis with measured economy. On rails he stays centered with quiet shoulders, choosing approach angles that look conservative right up to the moment of commitment. Lock-ins carry through kinks and gaps without chatter, and pretzel or continuing-spin exits land with glide so momentum survives into the next feature. He links rails as if they were a slopestyle deck, which is why the final feature still has room for an ender rather than dying on the flat.

On jumps—whether a hand-built step-down in the streets or a maintained booter in the park—the hallmark is clarity. He places the grab early and holds it through rotation so axes are obvious at real speed. Rotation scales to the day’s speed window; he would rather preserve landing quality and line continuity than force a late cork for numbers. That discipline is why his heaviest clips look inevitable instead of lucky and why editors lean on his shots to anchor a segment’s pace.

Resilience, filming, and influence

Street skiing compresses the margin for error: short run-ins, limited light, and landings that punish imprecision. Hellström treats those constraints as a craft. The workflow—scout the spot, measure, shovel and salt, test speed, refine angles, then roll on the version that will cut clean—shows up across his parts, from Forre films to “Wasteland.” That process is also why his clips travel well online: the decisions are visible, the grabs are held, and the makes look as composed as the takeoffs. Within Finland’s deep urban lineage, he reads as a standard-setter for consequence and execution, the skier others reference when they talk about no-fall lines that still look smooth on camera.

The brand and community context matters too. Turning pro with Surface Skis codified his preferences in a consumer-facing way, while appearances in projects presented by major film houses demonstrated how street craft can live comfortably beside backcountry and resort-park narratives. Several Forre releases have been supported by culture staples like Arsenic Anywhere, a signal of the lane he occupies: rider-driven films that reward originality and repeatability more than scorecards.

Geography that built the toolkit

Place explains the feel of his skiing. Helsinki provides dense, renewable spot options and the winter consistency that street crews need to keep a project moving. Talma Ski adds the short-lift, high-frequency rhythm that turns spin-on precision and both-way exits into muscle memory under lights. Northern blocks at Ruka contribute long-season access, firmer mornings, and bigger shapes that keep grab duration honest. Stitch the three together and you get “any surface, any speed” comfort—why a bluebird park day and a frozen stair set both end up reading the same on film.

Equipment and partners: practical takeaways

Hellström’s setup choices are transparent in his parts. His limited-edition graphic lives on Surface’s Give’r, a true-twin park ski tuned for predictable swing weight and stability when you need to exit a rail at speed; if you are reverse-engineering the feel, think centered mount to support both-way spins and switch landings, plus a balanced flex that does not punish imperfect run-ins. Keep a consistent edge tune with thoughtful detune at contact points to reduce hang-ups on steel without dulling pop for lip-ons. Choose boots with progressive forward flex and locked-in heel hold so landings finish stacked when the snow is fast or chattery. For footwear and off-snow moves, his association with Phaenom underscores the “function first” sensibility that shows up in his skiing.

Why fans and progressing skiers care

Hellström matters because he turns fundamentals into footage people replay. If you are learning to read modern freeskiing—freeski slopestyle logic applied to urban features—watch how he preserves glide across multi-feature rail sections so the closer still has room to breathe, how he puts the grab in early and keeps it there so axes remain obvious, and how he scales rotation to the available speed without sacrificing landing quality. For filmers and crews, his seasons provide a repeatable template: plan carefully, accept the constraints, and commit to tricks that will look inevitable at full speed. Add a pro-model collaboration with Surface Skis, appearances in Forre’s cornerstone films, and a turn in Level 1’s “Wasteland,” and you have a rider whose influence bridges core street culture and the broader freeski audience.