Miro Engström - Off The Leash Video Edition (2024)

Profile and significance

Miro Engström is a Finnish freeski rider whose path runs through the country’s urban scene and youth slopestyle circuit. Coming up with Helsinki-area crews and progressing through junior contests, he has built a name on clean rail work and composed jump technique rather than hype. Early podium-level scores at national youth events and appearances in small-crew street edits, including the Finnish project “Disico – Big Surprise,” helped introduce him to a wider audience. In 2024 he also entered the B-Dog “Off The Leash” Video Edition, the street-focused showcase created by Phil Casabon, a nod to Engström’s orientation toward filming and creative spot use. He is not a World Cup regular; his significance today lies in the bridge he represents between Finland’s dense local park culture and a modern street aesthetic that travels well from neighborhood rails to destination parks.

Competitive arc and key venues

Engström’s competitive breadcrumbs are easy to follow across Finland’s junior pathway. At Ruka he was part of the under-13 national slopestyle field in 2015, placing inside the top group in a venue known for long seasons and well-built park lines at Ruka Ski Resort. A few winters later, as the tricks and rails scaled up, he posted a strong score in the 14–16 “rookie” category at Talma, the compact Helsinki-area hill that has produced an outsize number of Finnish park and street skiers; Talma’s park program at Talma Ski is a frequent proving ground for both contest runs and preseason fundamentals. Beyond Finland, Engström has stacked travel laps at Austria’s Superpark Planai—his spring footage from Schladming’s park scene underscores the step from urban features back to contest-style lines on maintained jumps at Superpark Planai. The picture that emerges is a rider who earned his stripes on youth leaderboards, then leaned into filming while keeping his park touch sharp on big, consistent builds.

How they ski: what to watch for

Engström’s skiing reads as measured and detail-driven. On rails he favors a centered stance and quiet shoulders that let spin-ons and pretzel exits look deliberate rather than forced. Watch for clean lock-ins on kinks, conservative but efficient approach angles, and exits that preserve speed into the next feature—a hallmark of riders who learned to build scores on technical rail decks. On jumps his strengths are axis clarity and grab duration. He places the grab early, holds it through rotation, and finishes landings stacked over the feet, which keeps even medium-rotation tricks readable for judges and unmistakable on film. When conditions change—morning salt, variable speed, or rough inruns—he typically simplifies trick density rather than gambling on amplitude, a strategy that often yields dependable, buildable runs.

Resilience, filming, and influence

Finland’s street tradition is deep, and Engström’s work sits squarely inside it. The “Disico – Big Surprise” release placed him beside a new wave of Finnish jibbers intent on creative, compact spots and quick-footed line choices. His 2024 submission to the B-Dog “Off The Leash” Video Edition reaffirmed that emphasis on urban craft: real-world run-ins, imperfect landings, and tricks selected to read clearly on camera. The filming focus matters beyond culture points. Street missions sharpen the same instincts that deliver in competition—speed control, approach precision, and the ability to make small corrections without sacrificing the make. For developing riders who study edits as much as start lists, Engström’s balance of park polish and street decision-making is instructive.

Geography that built the toolkit

Engström’s toolkit is a product of Finland’s unique ecosystem. Short-lift, high-repetition parks like Talma Ski build timing and edge discipline under night lights, forging rail comfort and switch approaches that carry into bigger venues. Northern trips to Ruka add the long-season rhythm, firm mornings, and full-size jump lines that mirror competition courses. When he heads to the Alps, sessions at Superpark Planai introduce longer lines and higher-speed compressions, a good stress test for tricks honed at home. That mix—tight urban textures, compact city hills, and destination parks—explains why his skiing stays composed across different speeds and snow.

Equipment and partners: practical takeaways

Engström keeps a low profile on headline sponsorships, but his skiing points to setup principles that matter. A true-twin park ski mounted near center supports both-way spins and stable pretzel exits on kinked rails. A consistent tune with thoughtful detune at contact points reduces hang-ups without dulling pop for lip-on tricks. Boots with progressive forward flex and secure heel hold help finish landings clean when the snow is fast or choppy. Bindings set to predictable release values preserve confidence for repeated hits in the park and the many “one-more-try” impacts of street sessions. None of this is flashy—but it’s exactly the kind of predictable platform that lets his style read the same from Helsinki stair sets to Austrian park lines.

Why fans and progressing skiers care

Engström is part of the pipeline that keeps Finnish freeskiing influential: riders who convert dense local mileage into thoughtful edits and credible junior-contest results, then apply those habits to bigger canvases. For viewers, he offers a clear watch if you want to learn how runs are built—note how he sequences rails to conserve speed and how he keeps grabs visible across rotation so tricks read at a glance. For developing skiers, he’s a reminder that the essentials win out over flash: centered stance, early grab placement, and landings that finish as clean as the takeoff. It’s a blueprint that scales from a Talma night session to a spring day at Planai, and it explains why his name keeps circulating among those who follow street-leaning, competition-literate freeskiing.