New home for champion skier Matti Heikkinen

Even though we have already presented the Housing Fair attractions themselves, I thought I would present one of them today a little “under the surface”!

After all, without their inhabitants, the sites would be nothing but stone, wood and other building materials. It is the inhabitants who make a house a home, and behind each inhabitant there is a story. One fascinating story relates to target number 29, the Lakka stone house on the Daaliati where, after the fair, skier Matti Heikkinen and his family will make their home.

Heikkinen, who hails from Kainuu and has since become a “Jyväskylä native”, is the world champion in cross-country skiing in the 15-kilometre traditional race at the 2011 World Championships in Oslo. This coming winter, many Finns will be looking to Heikkinen when the medal hopes for the Falun World Championships start to be listed.

In addition to just pictures and facts, I was of course interested to ask a bit more about Mat’s thoughts on the building project (especially the sauna, of course) and to hear what summer training is like for a top skier. I approached Matt with an interview request, below are the champion’s answers & the questions posed by the “amateur journalist”!

How has your summer training season been going and what kind of exercises does it include?

“Summer training is at its busiest in July in terms of hours. I train at home on a 5+2 system, so there are 5 training days a week and 2 days for rest. My own and the national team’s training camps are a good break from the 5+2 system and bring longer training sessions. Cross-country skiing, running, road cycling and potty training are the summer training disciplines I use, in the order of importance mentioned above!”

Several skiers from Kainuu (you, Anne Kyllönen and Kaisa Mäkäräinen in cross-country skiing) have already broken through to the top of the world. Is there something in the Kainuu mentality that makes for good endurance athletes?

“Personally, I can say that I belong to the category of Kainuulians described by Pekka Vähäsöyring: a small and suitably “f*tty” guy ;). The latter, and perhaps the most important characteristic, is perseverance and determination. I believe that persistent and honest work is rewarded in life in general.

Is there a particular event or tradition that you always try to participate in during the summer, if your schedule allows it?

“Spending Midsummer at the cottage and heating up the sauna on the beach is always on the agenda if I’m in Finland during Midsummer”

What does the Finnish sauna mean to you personally?

“Sauna is a very important place to calm down, recover and relax”

When you started designing your Lakka stone house, what were your ideas about the implementation of the sauna and washroom facilities? Did you already have a clear vision of the kind of floor plan you wanted for these spaces, or what kind of wood materials you wanted to use for the sauna floorboards and panels?

“My architect (Serum Arkkitehdit Oy) created a floor plan for the house, where the washrooms and saunas were spacious and there was enough natural light. From the very beginning we chose tar wood as the wood material, and I think the end result was very successful.”

Why did Sun Sauna’s Relax collection laude stand out from the various options and become your choice?

“The experts at Sun Sauna recommended this particular model to me. Even though I’m quite a “big consumer” of saunas myself, I still trust the expert’s opinion on these matters!”

How much were you involved in the design of the sauna and how much did you leave the details to the Sun Sauna designer?

“I made my own wishes based on my architect’s plans, which I wanted to have in the sauna and washroom!”

If you were free to decide for yourself, where in Finland would you build your summer cottage with a sauna on the beach?

“There are so many beautiful places in Finland, both in the southern and northern parts of our country, that it’s better to leave that decision for the future!”

Your favourite sauna insect?

“Cold water or beer”

Your most special or best sauna experience?

“As a child and in my youth, I used to go to the gym at Kajaani Swimming Hall and swim a couple of times a week. The workouts always ended on the sauna benches. I used to sit on those benches and listen to all kinds of stories. Listening to the colourful stories of the older and wiser sauna-goers made me reflect and learn the facts of life. In the sauna you see many things in a new way, and when you sit on the benches and reflect, you always get a new perspective.”

You can read more about Mati’s career and future ambitions, and see photos of his highlights here “.