For the 52nd daily installment of Big Wheel Blading’s Inline Skating and Life During COVID-19 series we talk to Jonas Hansson. Jonas is a 36-year-old inline skater and filmmaker living in Copenhagen, Denmark. His latest project entitled Desert, documents Matthieu Ledoux skating in Arizona with a special guest appearance from Robert Guerrero. The video was filmed and released right before the COVID-19 pandemic struck.
What is the current situation with COVID-19 in Denmark?
After a couple of months of schools, institutions and many workplaces being temporarily shut down, we are lucky to see most of them slowly reopening again. Larger gatherings are still prohibited, which unfortunately means no Roskilde Festival for the first time in the 50 years since it’s beginning. All in all we’ve been fortunate in Denmark with limited cases and no hard lock downs, where you can’t go outside, like some countries have experienced during the pandemic. It looks like it will take a long time for Denmark’s economy to fully recover.
Were you still skating skating during the lockdown?
Yes I’ve been privileged to have been skating throughout this whole thing. Most of the skateparks were fenced off, but either way, I would have stayed away from them in order to avoid crowded spaces. So we are mostly doing small group sessions in the streets while keeping our distance from each other.
Where are you going out to skate?
They just reopened the main skateparks in Copenhagen, so I’ve been trying to hit them up in the odd hours when there’s not to many kids around. It’s a real treat to skate my local park again after two months, it’s right next to my place and is the largest outdoor skatepark in the country. Blessed.
Is there anything that would make you stop skating?
If I became sick or showed symptoms I would definitely isolate myself to make sure I wasn’t passing it on to others. Or if we had gone into full lockdown, thank the stars it didn’t come to that. I’m very dependent on fresh air and exercise.
Jonas with Richie Eisler.
Are you doing any cross training?
Yes I do recreational skating, big wheel blading and I ride my mountain bike and fixed gear bike weekly. Keeping this body able to blade for years and years to come is one of my main goals in life.
What other activities are you doing to occupy your time?
Spending time with my lovely girlfriend Anna, cooking, drawing, watching movies and going out for joy rides in my car. I’ve been working on stuff in my apartment and spend time editing and sharing videos and photos.
How has COVID-19 affected your normal everyday life?
Other than not being able to do certain things, like having dinner with family and friends, my everyday life has not changed terribly much. My day to day routine has stayed the same in many ways.
What are your major concerns right now and looking into the future?
I’m concerned on behalf of other parts of the world that are taking a much harder hit from this than in Denmark. I sympathize with those less fortunate, who struggle in these times, and the long term effects this will have on society and the economy. But I also try and stay positive and am generally hopeful that the world will get thru this and take valuable lessons away from it, it’s not all negative. However I’m sorry for all who have experienced real loss.
How has your local skate community responded to the pandemic?
I think in the beginning people responded to it differently, some would isolate and others, including myself, continued to skate with caution.
The Teaser for Desert featuring Matthieu Ledoux.
To see the full section go to Jonas’ Sellfy page to purchase it!
Links
- Follow Jonas Hansson on Instagram.
- Visit Jonas’ Sellfy to check out and purchase his skating videos.
- You can also follow Jonas’ YouTube channel for more great skating content.
- Go to Inline Skating and Life During COVID-19 to read more interviews from skaters from around the world.
- Go to Essential Workers – Inline Skaters on the Front Lines of COVID-19 to read about inline skaters from around the world who are considered Essential Workers.
- For our full COVID-19 coverage go here.
- Contact Big Wheel Blading for and questions, suggestions or ideas.
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