Lasse, you have won the Hahnenkamm race in Kitzbühel five times. The race in 2016 was overshadowed by three severe injuries. What’s your opinion on the latest developments in alpine skiing? How would you describe the sports’ risks these days?

The sport is evolving, so does the equipment. I do not believe alpine skiing goes in the wrong direction. Just look at the safety years ago. There were hay balls at the side and still in the 90s safety nets didn’t have plastic insides. They were more like fishing nets and extra dangerous, if you were caught in it. All that has changed. So now the discussions focus on equipment. But let’s face it: There are still men flying down the hill at high speed, dressed in tricots, with no protection. You will always have accidents, that’s part of this sport. In my opinion when they look at the equipment, they should also look at the boots.

What was your most difficult situation as a professional skier?

Logistics from race to race. There was no time to recover for the athletes. We would finish the race in Val D’Isère on Sunday afternoon, then jump in a little car and drive all the way to Val Gardena for 12 hours. Looking back, I really wonder, why we didn’t find a better solution. I believe, we lost or performed poorly sometimes, simply because of the logistics.

So, you had little time to enjoy as a professional. What would you say was your favourite place?

Well, I would never restrict “the perfect run” to a certain area. Instead: Follow the weather, follow the sun. If the best snow is in St. Anton, I will go there. Next time it might be in St. Moritz.

Other than Oslo, your hometown?

Alpine Skiing in Norway is quite different to the alps. We do have some great mountains and peaks, yet they are not easily available for skiing. The ski areas are in the part of the country, where there aren’t any spectacular mountains. The Norwegians are more slope-skiers. So it is quite hard to find some great off-piste areas. If you go off-slope, you need to ski in your tracks at least a couple of times, to get enough speed for the flat forest. To enjoy off-piste, you should go to the big mountain ranges like Jotunheime, Romsalpene, Lofoten or Lyngen - with maybe the most extreme and beautiful view in Europe. It is really spectacular when you stand on top of the mountain and look down to the seaside.

Speaking of Oslo, any recommendations you would give a friend, who is visiting for a couple of days?

Oslo is very good for food. We have fantastic restaurants, that beat some of the Michelin star restaurants in France and Switzerland in my opinion. We are traditional in bringing up some of the world’s best chefs and I believe we won the Bocuse D’Or quite a few times in the last 20 years. Just outside Oslo there is lots of nature. If you come in wintertime, you should try to challenge yourself in cross country-skiing in Nordmarka - a forest area North of Oslo. A good place to start is Holmenkollen. From there you go cross country, maybe find a place to stay overnight in the forest and then head back to the urban life the next day.

Restaurant tips? 
Maaemo, Statholdergaarden, Smalhans, Alex Sushi

When you go skiing now. Do you just ski in Norway or do you go on skiing vacation?

In the Norwegian tradition, we have a summer and a winter house - small cottages either in the mountains or at the seaside. Everybody works Monday to Friday, then jumps in the car and goes to the “free time”-house. And so we tend to do activities in that area. I have a small house in Hafjell, where the Olympic games were. Sometimes I do an expedition to Jotunheime mountain area with my plane which have skis on and land in the highlands on a frozen lake at the foot of the mountain, Beautiful. The only problem is: you have to hike up again…

You were still a professional skier, when you first invented the 2-way stretch ski pants. How did the idea grow, to start a business with developing ergonomic ski gear?

As a sportsman you have cooperations with clothing brands. Back in the 90s the main focus was always on fashion, rather than functionality, and that was the motivation to start up our brand. Skiing is a quite physical sport and demands much movement from your body. From experience, I knew what was needed, so the goal was: To make the mountains more comfortable for people. You are out there from the morning to the early evening and need good protection. Inspiration came for example from outdoor industry when thinking about protecting layer. Funnily Motocross when we looked into pants with body mapping, pre-cut and stretch - the athletes are standing more or less the same way as a skier and clothing needed reinforcement in certain areas. Also they already used stretch materials. So finding knowledge and inspiration from other categories together with our in-house skiing specific knowledge looks to be working.

Four years ago KJUS launched a Golf Collection Also you are known as a good golfer. What’s your Handicap?

At the moment: 8! When I retired as a skier, my goal was to improve my golfing. There are lots of nice courses in Oslo. Funny how, since I stopped, my golf suffers from too little time. All four shareholders of Kjus are enthusiastic golfers and we discussed the golf line from day one. We saw the same market as in skiing and the same idea of functionality. In both sports moisture management and freedom of movement as well as weather protection are the key factors - so we could transfer much knowledge and find synergies for the golf collection.

In your professional career as well as with Kjus you always go further. What inspires you to do so?

The interesting thing about this business is: You never stand still. I find the textile industry a bit like skiing: You work in summer, you deliver in fall and are excited for winter, to see, if you have achieved the right things. From each collection, we learn. Once it is on the market, you realize, what you could do better next time. We have an innovation lab in Switzerland that works with scientists from EMPA in St. Gallen to continually improve our knowledge.

Where would you see the brand Kjus position in the market?

We are driven by functionality and innovation. But we also want to provide a great design. Our focus stays for example on fitting - which is one of the most important thing with pants. Over the years they got tighter and reveal more bodyline. So we don’t want extra fabric, that’s flying around and slows you down. Our stretch-material makes the ski pants fit almost like a second skin, so you can be more aggressive as a skier. And they are simply comfortable: One of our athletes, the freerider Stefan Häusl, says he doesn’t want to take them off. He goes to the shops in them, picks up his daughter - that’s how comfortable they are.

How do you define lifestyle for yourself?

I live for the seasons. Starting in June with salmon fishing, enjoying the beautiful rivers and going to the West coast of Norway. Then we have summer with very long days and any kind of water sports. Fall comes with more wilderness and hunting in the forest, followed by winter with skiing in the mountains. Spring is probably the time, when I am the most urban, do things in the house and prepare the garden. I find: Seasons fly by if you have activities, you enjoy.

Having heard so many interesting insights about Norway. Do you ever go on vacation abroad?

Yes! To Sweden, just outside the border of Norway… Sometimes we actually go further south, if we want to enjoy warmer weather or ski bigger mountains.

One last question: Do you enjoy a glass of wine at night?

Of course I do! Reds more than whites. A heavy Amarone from Valpolicella would be mine.

Lasse, thanks a lot for this interesting Interview!

(Anm. d. Red.: Das Interview wurde im Januar 2017 geführt.)