CHECKING IN WITH SARA LOHJELM

Photos and interview: Kiara Maars, @kiara_maars

The Finnish Blader Sara Lohjelm has made quite a name for herself over the last few years, earning a massive social media following, inspiring bladers from all over the globe, and picking up sponsorships from brands such as SkatePro, Cymatics, and Loca/Razors. Because of the flexibility of her job, Sara leads quite a nomadic lifestyle and is constantly globe-trotting to find new and unique places to perfect her craft. On this particular day, Sara met up with our staff photographer Kiara Maars, at the Léon Cladel Skatepark, located in the 2nd district of Paris, France, near Métro Bourse. Kiara had the opportunity to shoot Sara during this skate session and got to know Sara more personally during the visit.

Sara: “Since I started skating, my whole world revolves around these boots.”

Sara told me this while showing me her skates. As the day went on, I realised she wasn’t exaggerating. Here is the short story about how we made this shoot happen.
Friday night, I got a message:

Sara: “Hey, are you here tomorrow? I’ll be skating most of the day. Are you free?”

Saturday, batteries charged, lenses packed, let’s go.
By the time I arrived at the park, the temperature was already climbing. Luckily, the place was empty. Sara rolled in a little later, straight into a skatepark she had never skated before. It didn’t seem to matter. A quick look around, wax out of the backpack, and she was already sizing up the ledges and banks.

Sara: “I’ll warm up quickly; you do your thing.”

Before we started shooting, she mentioned she wasn’t really comfortable in front of the camera. The moment she started skating, she seemed far more focused on skating than on being photographed. I’d never shot Sara before, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. What surprised me was how little she hesitated. New park, unfamiliar spots, none of it seemed to matter. Quickly trying tricks and seeing what worked. Some of them definitely weren’t the easy options either. Still, she kept moving without overthinking it. At one point, while waxing a ledge, she laughed and said:

Sara: “The skaters are going to hate me.”

A few minutes later, she was back on her skates, moving from one spot to the next. Earphones in, completely focused, she seemed to have her own rhythm throughout the session.

Kiara: What were you listening to the whole session?

Sara: Look, my taste in music is rather odd. Normally it’s something from the 80’s, 90’s or early 2000. I don’t know; the music back then just had ”a soul” so it hypes me up.

Most of the day felt like that. No pressure, no schedule, just skating and seeing what happens. The photos came naturally because the session felt natural. The skatepark sits right in the middle of the city, and people constantly pass through it. Throughout the afternoon, plenty stopped to watch. Sara has a distinctive style, but what stood out most that day was how naturally she settled into a place she’d never skated before. What struck me more, though, was how little attention she paid to it. Her focus? Skating.

Kiara: One thing that surprised me is that people seem to relate to you. Not just your skating, but your whole approach to life. Is that something you think about?

Sara: Skating is only half of what people connect with. The other half is just… being human. I try to be honest about the ups and downs — the injuries, the fear, the joy, all of it. I think people see that I’m not trying to pretend I have everything figured out. I’m just someone who loves skating and tries to live life with curiosity. If that resonates with people, that means a lot to me.

After a couple of hours, we were completely cooked. We had enough shots, enough sun, and definitely needed something cold to drink. We found a terrace nearby and started talking. That’s where I learned a bit more about Sara’s life outside the skatepark. She was on her way back to the UK after spending time in Barcelona. We started talking about travelling, and it quickly became obvious that skating had taken her far beyond contests and skateparks. Since COVID, she’s spent years moving around, living in different places and following opportunities as they came.

Kiara: Was there a moment when travelling became a lifestyle rather than just a trip?

Sara: The minute we got the green light from work to work fully remote, I was gone! That was the moment.

Kiara: You’ve lived in a few different places over the years. Do you still have a place you call home?

Sara: Finland and London. I was born in Finland but moved to London nearly 10 years ago, and there is no doubt I’ve become a bit British; I love moaning about the weather.

We talked about Europe, Asia, new cities, new friends, and everything skating had unexpectedly put in her path. At one point, she said something that stuck with me:

Sara: “Skating made me humble.”

Kiara: What do you mean by that?

Sara: When you go to the skatepark thinking you’re the shit but see kids that are knee-high flying around the park doing technical tricks and flips, it really does humble you. I also started competing only 9 months after starting, so you have to be ok not winning. I wasn’t; that’s why I pushed myself to compete more all the way to the World Championships in Japan. I have always been competitive but ended up in team sports, so winning and losing felt different. For the W’s, you can never take the full pride, and for the L’s, you never have to blame only yourself but in skating… It’s just you.

The funny part was discovering that we both spend a lot of time in Asia. While I split part of my year between France and Thailand, Sara spends most of her winters in Southeast Asia. Somehow, it took sitting on a terrace in Paris to figure that out.

Kiara: What keeps bringing you back to Southeast Asia and Thailand?

Sara: As a solo woman traveling around the world, safety becomes a priority. I feel safe, especially in Thailand. I never have issues there, been there 6 times. Renting bikes is easy, food is delicious, and a lot of like-minded people around.

Kiara: Has travelling changed the way you skate or the way you see skating?

Sara: Absolutely. It becomes very clear that the city you are skating in makes the biggest impact on you as a rollerblader. In London, where I started skating, I loved minis and bowls. I wanted to be a park skater, actually. I didn’t like street; hell, I didn’t even skate ledges in the park. I had one trick on a ledge. Wouldn’t touch a rail even if someone paid. When I moved my base to Barcelona, it all changed, and I think I am a street skater now. A fun fact is that my second-ever street spot was the ever-famous Forum ledges in Barcelona.

Eventually, we headed towards the metro near the Louvre. Sara stopped a few times to take pictures and take in the city around her. No rush. Just enjoying another day on the road. Before saying goodbye, we were already talking about meeting again.
Maybe in Paris, London.
Maybe in Thailand.
Probably.

Kiara: Last question. If you could give one piece of advice to the younger version of yourself when you first started skating, what would it be?

Sara: You know what? I wouldn’t. She went and did exactly what she needed to. Between imposter syndrome and perfectionism, she just had to face the music and learn to cope with the uncomfortable emotions, so I wouldn’t change a thing. The only thing I’d say to her is not to give up, but I never did so…

A day, a city, cool tricks, summer heat, and stories shared between spots.
Thanks for the session, Sara. See you somewhere in the world.
Xoxo,
Kiara

FOLLOW SARA LOHJELM ON INSTAGRAM HERE

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