Tino Lehtinen - Off The Leash Video Edition (2024)

Profile and significance

Tino Lehtinen is a Finnish freeski rider emerging from the country’s rail-forward, film-first scene. Best known for street segments with a small Helsinki–Lahti–Jyväskylä crew and for an entry in Phil Casabon’s “Off The Leash” video edition, he represents the new wave of Nordic jib skiers turning local winters into watchable edits. Lehtinen’s name reached a broader audience through the Finnish short “Disico – Big Surprise,” where his clips stood out for clean lock-ins, calm shoulders, and jump axes that read clearly at real speed. He is not a World Cup regular; his significance lies in repeatable, camera-friendly execution that scales from compact Finnish parks to frozen city features and spring shoots abroad.

Competitive arc and key venues

Lehtinen’s timeline is anchored in projects and rider showcases rather than federation rankings. The “Off The Leash” submission validated that his street skiing holds up in a judged, community-facing format focused on originality and consistency. Travel edits have placed him on the creative lines at Austria’s Superpark in Schladming, a venue whose kicker and jib options mirror contest-style flow while remaining film-friendly. At home, the training rhythm is classic Finland: night-lap repetition at Talma Ski near Helsinki for high-frequency rails and halfpipe fundamentals; long-season timing at Ruka Ski Resort in Lapland for bigger, faster park shapes; and regular laps at Lahti’s local hill, which keep his footwork sharp when conditions are firm. When the crew heads to the Alps, the jump and rail variety at Superpark Planai above Schladming provides the speed window and course length to test film tricks under a more “contest-like” rhythm.

How they ski: what to watch for

Lehtinen skis with measured economy. On rails, look for a centered stance, quiet upper body, and approach angles that stay conservative until the instant of commitment. He favors decisive lock-ins through kinks and gap-to-rails, then exits with enough glide to keep momentum for the next feature. Spin-ons and pretzel exits look intentional rather than forced, which is why his lines stitch together without dying on the deck. On jumps—whether a compact street step-down or a maintained booter—he places the grab early and holds it across rotation, keeping axis and trick identity obvious without slow motion. Rotation is scaled to the day’s speed window; you’ll see him protect landing quality instead of gambling on a late cork just to pad numbers.

Resilience, filming, and influence

Street filming compresses the margin for error with short in-runs, imperfect landings, and limited light. Lehtinen’s process—scout, shovel, salt, test speed, adjust angle, then roll only when the make will read clean—shows up across his segments. That discipline is why his clips travel well online and why he reads as the dependable part-builder in a crew film. The same habits also carry into rail-jam or video-contest environments: trick choices are reproducible, grabs are visible, and axes stay tidy under pressure. In a Finnish scene that prizes creativity with real-world features, he fits squarely into the lineage that runs from compact city parks to thoughtful urban lines and back again.

Geography that built the toolkit

Finland’s ecosystem explains his style. Short-lift, high-frequency laps at Talma Ski hardwire movements under night lights, turning spin-on precision and both-way exits into muscle memory. Northern blocks at Ruka add firm-morning timing, longer rail decks, and bigger jump shapes that make full-duration grabs feel natural. When the crew heads south to the Alps, sessions at Superpark Planai introduce higher-speed compressions and longer run length, a good stress test for tricks honed on Finnish steel. The result is a toolkit that reads the same on a municipal handrail at dusk and on a bluebird park line.

Equipment and partners: practical takeaways

Lehtinen 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. Keep edges tuned consistently with a thoughtful detune at contact points to reduce hang-ups on rails without dulling pop for lip-ons. Choose boots with progressive forward flex and firm heel hold so landings finish stacked when the snow is fast or chattery. Bindings should be set for predictable release across repeated impacts. None of this is flashy—but it’s the predictable, neutral platform that lets his style read the same from Talma nights to Planai spring lines.

Why fans and progressing skiers care

Lehtinen matters because he turns fundamentals into footage you want to replay. If you’re learning to “read” modern freeskiing, watch how he preserves speed across multi-feature rail decks so the ender still has room to breathe; how he places and holds grabs to keep rotation obvious; and how he scales difficulty without sacrificing landing quality. For filmers and riders building projects, his workflow is the template: measure the spot, test speed, choose tricks you can reproduce, and make the make look inevitable at full speed. That blend of clarity and composure is why his name is circulating beyond local feeds and into the wider conversation about where street-leaning freeski is headed.