PowderPeople | Ståle N. Møller

Sweet Protection was founded in 2000 in Trysil, Norway, a small mountain village where a crew of skiers, snowboarders, paddlers and designers realized their vision. However, the roots of the brand go back to the late 1980s, when founder Ståle N. Møller built the first skateboards and protective equipment in his parents' garage.

The breakthrough came with the Rooster Helmet, a revolutionary carbon fiber helmet that combined safety, style and performance. Today, Sweet Protection stands for high-performance helmets, goggles and functional clothing that are not only suitable for skiing, but also for biking, paddling and other outdoor activities.

To celebrate its 25th anniversary, Sweet Protection is presenting the "Block Party Design Collection" - a limited edition series of helmets and goggles inspired by the brand's creative beginnings, early prototypes and community. Each piece is manufactured using the elaborate hydro-dip process, individually numbered and is therefore truly unique. The collection, which will be launched on November 4th, includes numerous highlights, including the Trooper 2Vi Mips helmet, which we have already which we were able to test in advance and which impresses with its design, comfort and safety performance, as well as the Connor RIG® Reflect goggle with a frameless design, contrast-enhancing RIG® technology and wide panoramic vision.

We spoke to founder Ståle N. Møller about the beginnings and development of the brand and the next 25 years.

Foundation, vision & development – The Interview

PG: You grew up in Trysil - in the middle of the mountains and forests. How did this environment shape you as a child?

I think it meant everything to me and my friends. I believe we were especially fortunate by not having everything handed to us while being allowed a lot of freedom to pursue whatever adventure we wanted to. The combination of being relatively isolated and always pursuing untraditional activities fueled our creativity and got everything going!

PG: How did you get involved with outdoor sports - was it skiing, kayaking, snowboarding? And what fascinated you the most, also in relation to the founding of Sweet Protection?

I was involved in outdoor sports from an early age. I guess skiing came first, the ski resort was there from the beginning (but a lot smaller than today) and we went by ourselves from an early age. Then after we saw the movie “Thrashin”, we got completely hooked on skateboarding. It was a hard thing to do in Norway at the time as skateboarding was illegal. Then came snowboarding, mountain biking and finally white-water kayaking which was the closest we could get to pacific surf.

I think every sport fueled our creativity and always kept us busy in our garage trying to either make gear from scratch or trying to improve on what we could get hold of. Skateboarding will always be special, and skiing and white-water kayaking has taken me to some beautiful places around the world that leaves you breathless.

PG: In the 80s, skateboarding was banned in Norway - and yet you still built boards and skated in the forest. What drove you?

It was just the coolest thing. I think I was driven by the aesthetics of the activity, both as an athletic artform, and the art on the boards themselves. It still inspires me, and I have a collection of boards from the 80’s. I really like the graphics made by Jim Phillips and Vernon Courtlandt Johnson, it does the same to me as it did back then, and it inspired me to draw.

PG: What was your original vision when you founded Sweet Protection - and has it changed over the years?

The vision was to create something that was a combination of cool aesthetics, and great functionality. Stronger, lighter, better has always been what we’re driving for, and it’s still the same as in the beginning. I think we have managed to keep the “start-up” mentality in the brand, and we always start a project by saying: “How hard can it be?”

PG: Would you say that Sweet Protection still has the same DNA today as it did at the very beginning?

Yes, it really does. The difference now is that we have even more talented people sharing the passion for both sports and driving development, which is very cool.