We’ve got a special episode of 59º North this week, coming to you all the way from Iceland. I’ve been inspired by a handful of podcasts that I listen to regularly as a fan. The Nerdist podcast, which got me into this in the first place. Bill Simmons, for my sports. And more recently, two Swedish podcasts I’ve really taken a liking to. Varvet, hosted by Kristoffer Triumf. And the Huksy Podcast, hosted by Magnus Ormestad, a Swedish-based outdoor adventure sports show.
I reached out to Magnus as a fan in May while I was back in Sweden. We had coffee together in Stockholm at the Bianchi Café, a very cool Italian-inspired coffee-slash-bike shop in the heart of the city, and just down the street from the outdoor store Magnus works at part-time. We shared some cool ideas on podcasting in general, how each of us record, produce and edit our shows, and what inspires us. It was refreshing meeting someone with a similar creative mindset, and pursuing something entirely on his own. As you’ll see, Magnus takes great care in producing the Husky podcast, and is a true inspiration to me creatively. He’s definitely raising the bar in the outdoor podcast world.
During our ‘fika,’ as they say in Swedish, Magnus excitedly told me about his trip to Iceland to visit the expedition yacht Aurora Arktika. It’s skipper, Sigurdur ‘Siggi’ Jonsson, runs sailing and skiing expeditions in the fjords around Isafjordur, in the Westfjord region of Iceland. It’s a remote place, with only about 3,000 locals. Magnus is not a sailor, but enjoyed his time on the boat exploring the fjords and skiing the surrounding mountain peaks, something I dream of doing on Isbjorn.
After listening to the episode he recorded of his trip, I thought it would be perfect for 59º North, and Magnus agreed to let me air his interview with Siggi on my show. What follows is Magnus’ conversation with Siggi about sailing, skiing and his business in the Arctic. Check out this awesome video below to see what inspired Magnus to reach to to Siggi in the first place.
Magnus' interview is only part of the full episode – during the rest, Magnus shares his skiing stories from Iceland – so please go to huskypodcast.com, or search ‘Husky’ on iTunes and subscribe to the show. Like 59º North, it’s free. Only a handful of the episodes are in English, so you’ll be able to catch up quickly, and the full ‘Siggi’ episode is a great place to start.
I plan on having Siggi on the show myself sometime in the future, but I want to do that one in person! I don’t need an excuse to visit Iceland, but this is certainly a good one. One interesting thing Siggi touches on briefly in this chat is that he bought the boat, a former Clipper round-the-world race boat, directly from Sir Robin Knox-Johnston. Being that Magnus is not really a sailor, I don’t think he quite realized the significance of that name when Siggi mentions it, so it’s something I’ll have to probe deeper into when I chat with him myself. See the boat for yourself at aurora-arktika.com.
Thanks for listening!
