Nils Jansons is a professional inline skater from Latvia who is respected in the skating community as one of the most stylish figures and an ambassador for active and healthy living who brings a positive message to his fans around the world.
How it all started?
He began his skating journey at the age of 9 and his brother, Martins Jansons, consistently supported the development of his career. Jansons made his debut at the Winterclash in 2007, where he surprised everyone with the level of tricks he presented, attracting the attention of his first sponsors. This led him to join the Hedonskate team, and his career began to take off.
The partnership with Hedonskate opened many new opportunities for Jansons, including closer collaboration with equipment manufacturers such as Remz and BHC. Thanks to the proper promotion, both Jansons and the Latvian inline scene were finally recognized. Numerous video parts, which featured his incredible abilities and the amazing quality production of his accompanying brother, stood out from the rest and were frequently rewarded, winning the “Fan Favourite” title at the Word Rolling Series Uploaded competition twice in 2011 and 2012.
In 2012, Jansons had a particularly productive season. After graduating from high school, the young talent decided to take a break before continuing his studies and fully dedicated himself to blading lifestyle. He placed the second in the PRO category at the Winterclash at the beginning of the year then won the Swedish championships and also the largest German event, Shred Cologne. A lucky streak during the competitions and warmly received video content did not go unnoticed by the scene. In the same year, the American, prestigious ONE magazine rewarded Nils Jansons with the title “Skater of the year 2012” cementing his position worldwide.
The first signature skate!
Despite the enormous success he has definitely achieved, in 2013 Nils Jansons returned to college, but this in no way affected his further development in the skating world. By winning the ninth edition of Winterclash with a historic 540 AO Top Soul, Nils Jansons was promoted to the official PRO status and as a result, received his first signature skate model from Remz. His love for competitions was also felt during the 2014 season, where Nils dominated events such as Barcelona Extreme in Spain, Laced in the UK, and marked his presence in Mexico at the Mariachi Loco event.
In 2015, Remz again based its flagship product on the name of Nils Jansons, offering the Latvian champion his second Remz Pro skate model. However, Nils himself tried his hand at something slightly different. Following the example of competitions from across the ocean, he decides to direct his efforts towards organizing the Nils Jansons Invitational, an international contest that is part of one of the biggest action sports festival in Baltic states. The idea seemed very natural. Therolling.lv team, along with Nils, has been organizing a series of smaller local competitions called ALNIS for years, which have been very successful. Being very popular in the community, Nils had no difficulty in convincing the top athletes to participate. The event was definitely a nice achievement, and more importantly, it is continued to this day under the changed name GG Fest.
The next breakthrough period for Nils was 2017. The phenomenal promo filmed by his brother Martins, presenting Nils' new BHC pro wheel, once again had raised the bar in the field of skate video production. “Perception” can still be a model when it comes to skatepark videos, where its form and content, although fully understandable and easily accessible to someone outside the community, still maintains all the nuances appreciated by industry insiders. This new direction quickly became a recognizable sign of content with Nils Jansons, which can also be seen in the “World's Fastest City Guide” edit, one of Nils' first freestyle videos, where he presents the benefits of large-wheeled skates in a fun way while dynamic skating through the city.
Italy Time!
The 2018 season was the last in which we could see Nils using Remz skates. He secured third place in the Pro category at the Winterclash 2018 in the Remz HR 2.0 model, but the once-respected company has been gradually disappearing from the market, did not allow for further development. The Italian brand Roces took over the equipment support for Jansons and at the next international event of that year Blading Cup, we could see how Nils was performing on with Roces M12 model (2nd place in the Pro category). The first official video promo was filmed in Rome, Italy by Martins Jansons.
Nils' first signature skate from Roces, based on the brand's most popular M12 model, hit the market in 2019. While filming for the skate promo in Thailand, Nils once again went a step further. With the help of Kaspars Alksnis the Latvian powerhouse came up with a separate project named “Mind Your step”. The video was filmed and published in several parts, included an extraordinary segment with the new skates in action, but its key element was a documentary addressing the issue of environmental protection and a clear desire to help improve it. The well-produced footage helped to understand the problems faced by our civilization today. A deep message that was previously difficult to find in skate productions.
The beginning of the new decade was met with great delight from fans of Roces as the company brought the iconic 5th Element inline skates back to life. After several standard editions in classic colours, the market saw the release of the Breeze version, which were Nils' second pro model. As usual, an out-of-this-world promo in the form of a street video shot on Sicily dropped soon after and convinced many to try the refreshed version of the Roces 5th Element.
The COVID-19 pandemic in the 2020 season cancelled most inline skating events, so the Winterclash held at the beginning of the year when Jansons placed second in the pro category, turned out to be the first and last competition of that year. However, Nils did not idle and, despite social restrictions, continued to focus on creating high-quality video content. The online E-FISE, which tried to find a way to hold competitions during the pandemic, was dominated by the Latvian powerhouse, who won the Street category with his submission and an additional third place in the Park category. In 2020, Nils Jansons also regained the title of “Skater of the Year” both according to the American magazine ONE and the European Be-mag.
In 2021 Roces offered not one, but two pro models bearing Nils' name. Thanks to a unique idea, the Nils Jansons Storm inline skates were able to reach a wider audience and were naturally met with a very warm reception. For the first time in history, picking up pro inline skates gave us a little more freedom of choice — compact, stiffer M12 or much wider and flexible 5th Element.
Over the past year, Nils often visited the USA where he managed to win a podium in the summer (3rd place, Pro category) and the fall edition of the Blading Cup. Constantly taking care of his local scene, Nils heavily engaged in the organization of the previously mentioned extreme sports festival GG Fest in Latvia, where they were able to invite the legend of our sport, Takeshi Yasutoko, in 2022.
What's next?
It's clear that each project undertaken by Nils is well-thought-out, consistent, and constantly evolving. The promotion of inline skating, while maintaining their natural, rebellious spirit, is presented in a form that is accessible to everyone. Currently, fresh off his wedding to his dream spouse, he has started his own clothing brand called “NJ” that will offer a range of stylish and functional apparel specifically designed for the inline skating community.
According to Jansons, the idea for the company came from his own love of freestyle inline skating and the lack of high-quality clothing options available for skaters. “As someone who has been skating for most of my life, I know first hand the importance of having comfortable, durable, and fashionable clothing that can withstand the rigours of skating,” said Jansons. The designs will be inspired by Jansons' own personal style and will feature bold graphics and colours that are sure to make a statement on the streets.
Overall, it seems likely that Jansons will continue to be a driving force in the world of inline skating and will continue to inspire and excite fans with his talent and creativity on skates.
It's really difficult to predict what Nils Jansons has in store for us next and how he will surprise us again, so we asked him directly at the end of this post: What can we expect in 2023? Can you reveal anything about future projects?
“For this year the plan is to skate. I'll do my best to take good care of my 30-year-old body so it allows me to perform as I imagine, be a better husband and person and have as much fun as possible. I have plans to be at Winterclash, film projects with Roces, couple visits to the USA for contests and street skating, gather footage throughout the year and just keep creating. I have a lot of ideas and dreams that I want to see come to life, so I better get to work. Thank you! “
