MEET INARI AND MINTTU

Finnish social media influencers Inari Fernández and Michele “Minttu” Murphy-Kaulanen have both come a far way to Lapland: Inari from Helsinki and Michele from Tampere, where she ended up originally from Los Angeles. They have in common their popularity in social media, but also a recent love of snowmobiling. We met Inari and Minttu in Lapland during a sled adventure and talked – needless to say – about snowmobiling.

HOW DID YOU GET STARTED WITH SNOWMOBILING?

Inari: When we moved to Lapland with my family two years ago, I had a preconception that it is impossible to live here without a snowmobile. I thought that everyone has a snowmobile here at home – just like a car. During the first winter here I got a Lynx sled. Soon I realized that I couldn’t imagine living here without it. It has enabled me to move around and explore wilderness even in midwinter.

Minttu: The other home of our family is in Tampere, southern Finland, but after finishing our new home in Ylläs, Lapland, we have spent more time here in the north. Covid-19 has also kept us more here and we've had to come up with some new spare time activities. My husband Sampo became interested in snowmobiling which was his important hobby when he was younger. Of course I tried it too but I could have never expect that I would get so excited about it. I got excited because finally I had found a way to get into the nature by some other way than walking. Soon we had to purchase another Lynx.

WHAT KIND OF SNOWMOBILING DO YOU DO?

Inari: I love making cross country skiing tracks in the woods in our home village. First, I take my children to a campfire to grill sausages and then I go into the woods hauling a trail groomer with the sled. My other favorite way to go riding is just ride on trails just by myself. I have also connected with a ladies' snowmobiling community on social media and we have made a few longer journeys together. During the first two winters I have over 3000 km’s in my sled’s odometer. Snowmobile is a tool for me for everyday life and adventure!

Minttu: I ride mostly on trail. I’ve ridden on trails in Ylläs, Levi and Saariselkä. This is my first season on sled and in the beginning my speed was very slow. I blamed my sled for my slowness, until Inari passed me on trail with an identical sled. I realized that you can ride faster with that too. Through experience and example given by my riding friends I’ve managed to gain speed and confidence in my riding.

YOU HAVE MET EACH OTHER THROUGH SNOWMOBILING. HOW DID THAT HAPPEN?

Inari: Minttu’s husband Sampo visited my podcast and he told that they had purchased snowmobiles. Sampo thought we would get along well with Minttu and thanks to his tip, I started to follow her on Instagram. We started to keep in touch with Minttu and soon we were riding together in Levi. I immediately felt that we were getting along really well. Later our meetings have been related to snowmobiling in one way or another.

Minttu: I’ve always believed that something significant follows when women join their forces. I immediately liked Inari’s high-flying stories and I really appreciate her raw honesty. Snowmobiling has really connected us.

Inari: Snowmobiling only is not enough for friendship, for sure. But sledding brought us together and gave us a reason to meet each other in the first place. I appreciate Minttu’s authenticity and the fact that she dares to say her opinion.

UPOZNAJTE INARI I MINTTU

Finske influencerice na društvenim mrežama Inari Fernández i Michele “Minttu” Murphy-Kaulanen došle su daleko do Laponije: Inari iz Helsinkija i Michele iz Tamperea, gdje je završila podrijetlom iz Los Angelesa. Zajednička im je popularnost na društvenim mrežama, ali i nedavna ljubav prema motornim sanjkama. Inari i Minttu susreli smo se u Laponiji tijekom avanture sanjkama i razgovarali – nepotrebno je reći – o motornim sanjkama.

KAKO STE POČELI SA VOŽNJOM MOTORNIM SANJKI?

Inari: Kad smo se prije dvije godine s mojom obitelji preselili u Laponiju, imala sam predubeđenje da je nemoguće živjeti ovdje bez motornih sanjki. Mislio sam da svi ovdje kod kuće imaju motorne sanke – baš kao i auto. Tijekom prve zime ovdje sam nabavio sanjke Lynx. Ubrzo sam shvatio da ne mogu zamisliti život ovdje bez toga. Omogućilo mi je kretanje i istraživanje divljine čak i usred zime.

Minttu: Drugi dom naše obitelji nalazi se u Tampereu, u južnoj Finskoj, ali nakon što smo završili naš novi dom u Ylläsu u Laponiji, proveli smo više vremena ovdje na sjeveru. Covid-19 nas je također više zadržao ovdje i morali smo smisliti neke nove aktivnosti u slobodno vrijeme. Moj suprug Sampo zainteresirao se za motorne sanke, što mu je bio važan hobi kada je bio mlađi. Naravno da sam i ja probao, ali nisam mogao očekivati ​​da ću se toliko oduševiti. Uzbudio sam se jer sam konačno pronašao način da uđem u prirodu na neki drugi način osim hodanja. Ubrzo smo morali kupiti još jedan Lynx.

ŠTA RADITE SA MOTORNIM SANKAMA?

Inari: Volim praviti staze za skijaško trčanje u šumi u našem rodnom selu. Prvo odvedem svoju djecu na vatru da peku kobasice, a onda idem u šumu vukući frizera sa sanjkama. Moj drugi omiljeni način jahanja je samo vožnja po stazama. Također sam se povezao sa zajednicom ženskih motornih sanki na društvenim mrežama i napravili smo nekoliko dužih zajedničkih putovanja. Tijekom prve dvije zime imam preko 3000 km prijeđenih kilometara na sanjkama. Motorne sanke su mi alat za svakodnevni život i avanturu!

Minttu: Uglavnom vozim na stazi. Vozio sam se po stazama u Ylläsu, Leviju i Saariselki. Ovo mi je prva sezona na sanjkama i u početku mi je brzina bila jako spora. Za sporost sam krivio svoje sanjke, sve dok me Inari nije prošao pored mene s identičnim sanjkama. Shvatio sam da se i s tim može voziti brže. Iskustvom i primjerom mojih prijatelja jahača uspio sam steći brzinu i samopouzdanje u svojoj vožnji.

UPOZNALI STE JEDNO DRUGO KROZ VOZANJE SNJEGOM. KAKO SE TO DOGODILO?

Inari: Minttuin suprug Sampo posjetio je moj podcast i rekao da su kupili motorne sanke. Sampo je mislio da ćemo se dobro slagati s Minttu i zahvaljujući njegovoj dojavi počeo sam je pratiti na Instagramu. Počeli smo održavati kontakt s Minttuom i ubrzo smo se zajedno vozili u Leviju. Odmah sam osjetio da se jako dobro slažemo. Kasnije su naši susreti na ovaj ili onaj način bili vezani uz motorne sanke.

Minttu: Uvijek sam vjerovao da nešto značajno slijedi kada žene udruže svoje snage. Odmah su mi se svidjele Inarine visoke priče i jako cijenim njezinu sirovu iskrenost. Vožnja sanjkama nas je stvarno povezala.

Inari: Samo motorne sanke nije dovoljno za prijateljstvo, sigurno. Ali sanjkanje nas je spojilo i dalo nam povoda da se uopće upoznamo. Cijenim Minttuinu autentičnost i činjenicu da se usuđuje reći svoje mišljenje.