WOD VOL. VIII: SAMU TELÉN, SKENELORD

16 hours ago
15 min read

Here is a friendship that started with a bit of internet fandom.

Last Fall, while letting my brain rot and aimlessly scrolling through the godforsaken TikTok, I came across a video of a young gentleman explaining how he’s mediocre at most of the scenes and sports he’s been involved in, and how he’d decided to start documenting the various scenes he loves.

That alone had your local rag dealer sold. Double tapped that shit.

Something about the idea hit home. We’ve also spent our time bouncing between all sorts of scenes, never really being particularly good at any of them. Mediocre at best, if we’re being honest. But that’s never really been the point. The people, the places and the things we’ve got involved with have shaped how we see the world, and inevitably found their way into what we do at BSM.

We like doing shit. We like getting involved. And we like making things ourselves.

As we’ve probably stated a million times before, clothes are nothing without the people wearing them. What matters is what those people get up to while wearing them.

So when Samu — the guy from the video — eventually walked through the shop door, it didn’t take long before I started bombarding him with fanboy questions. It took even less time to realize we had heaps of shared interests, and perhaps more importantly, a similar tendency to just fucking do things.

So we shook hands, exchanged numbers and agreed to cook something up together sometime.

A few days before my annual summer vacay, Samu dropped by with an idea.

How about a Skenelord takeover?

Music, merch and beers.

No need to oversell it. I was sold.

While planning the takeover one evening, I sat down with Samu and figured there was only one thing left to do: find out what the fuck Skenelord actually is, where it came from, and what this guy has been cooking up.

So, without further ado, here’s our chat with Samu:

How's life?

All good! As we always say. To be honest I’m living pretty unpredictable times chasing my dreams and that’s scary. All I know is I’m constantly walking further away from my comfort zone. And that feels like the right thing to do.

Sounds like you're in a pretty interesting place right now. For anyone who doesn't know you yet, who is Samu?

I’ve always been a bit of a weird-bird. A working class boy from the countryside with dreams sometimes beyond even my own imagination. I came to Helsinki to build a career out of my interests. Started with music and now I’m up for something more. I decided to shoot my shot on the Tv/video field.

You mentioned that life has taken you through some pretty deep holes lately. Without getting into anything you don't want to, did those years change what you're chasing?

Definitely. I faced a series of sad setbacks in my personal life and it definitely broke the childlike faith in me that life would always work out the nice way. It made me realize that there is absolutely no reason to not try and make the best out of yourself. I’m not sayin that everyone needs to do something weird and ambitious to be worthy. Just don’t settle for a life you don’t really want.

And Skenelord feels like it comes out of that mindset somehow. It didn't just appear overnight either. Where did all of this actually start?

Yeah. The idea came to my mind first time in summer 2023. I wrote it down on a notebook. I always carry one with me in case of good ideas that I want to storage. The idea was the answer to connecting all of my skills, including the desire to make video projects. I just wasn’t ready for it yet back then.

At the time I was working deep with the music. We were chasing dreams with my band MAGGY SMAKS (which I later left), held up DIY punk festivals and I played my first shows with a pop artist Aatulove.

It took me about 3 years to find that Skenelord notebook again and I felt like the time had finally come.

So the idea had actually been sitting there for years. And somewhere along the way it got a name. Where did Skenelord come from?

The name kinda came with the concept when I got the idea. I was chilling at Mustikkamaa with my friend Ahti when I first wrote it down. My dad used to joke about ”skenes” way back when I was a kid, he used the word to describe different hobbies like the word used to be. We thought it was funny that ”skene” was trending and resonating in the slang as well. But the concept really has very little to do with the Helsinki skene you’d think. I’ve never been to Harju 8…

Then we just added a noble title to complete the name.

“I just can’t get enough of the feeling of learning new things and I realized that is actually the special skill of mine.”

You've never really seemed like someone who's been able to pick one thing and stick to it. Was that ever frustrating?

Yeah of course it is and I think I’m not alone with the feeling. Sometimes I’m even jealous for the folks who found their calling as a kid and have been gotten really good at something specific slowly but steadily. I just can’t get enough of the feeling of learning new things and I realized that is actually the special skill of mine.

Before all the jumping around, though, was there one scene that first made you feel like you'd found your people?

Definitely skateboarding. I fell in love with it as a teenager and loved the freedom to express yourself without too many rules. I found my people in the skatepark because that exactly is a great melting pot of very different people connected with a creative mindset. You’ll always find someone interesting to talk to.

Traveling abroad me and my friends developed a trick. When you need to find something cool to do in a new place, ask a skater.

That's actually a pretty solid rule for travelling. What is it about these scenes that keeps pulling you back in?

I think it’s the community and its ability to make everything happen if you just share the hype together. Events, trips, gigs you name it. Love to see people making stuff happen.

At the same time, you've jumped into a lot of worlds as a newcomer. Have you ever felt like you had to prove that you belong?

A lot and I still do. It’s sad but true that a lot of scenes have pretty closed circles. It’s definitely hard to hop on something new as a complete beginner and without knowing anyone in. That’s exactly the boundary I want to lower by showing example of trying new things even if I’m completely lost starting it.

Which is interesting, because from the outside that could easily look like a lack of commitment. Do you think people sometimes mistake curiosity for that?

In some cases yeah. But I see it more as a good thing. You just haven’t found your thing yet and it never goes to waste to learn more about the world. I want to believe that it clicks when it clicks. I felt the click with this video thing at least for now even though I’m still all over the place with the ”hobbies”. I think I’ll never stop the wandering. That’s just the nature of some people.

So maybe the wandering isn't really the problem. Maybe that's actually the point. When you started working on Skenelord, what did you want it to become?

The idea was to make a cool Tv show with my friends and the goal hasn’t changed. A lot of unexpected ways to get there have formed in the journey so far. Social media content has gotten us into many interesting places and the ideas keep getting wilder. I love the craft but I see it more as a tool to get to the ”real deal”. The goal is definitely full length episodes, not tiktoks.

“The goal is definitely full length episodes, not tiktoks.”

What kind of TV made you want to do that in the first place? What were you watching growing up?

Madventures, Arman Alizad, Mythbusters, The dudesons, Top Gear specials. Friend-like groups doing their thing with passion, mixed with a good adventure.

Honorable mentions for making it happen nowadays: Jaakko Keso, Alha, Andreas Tolonen & Daniel Ahola.

There's a pretty clear theme there: people actually going somewhere, getting amongst it and figuring shit out rather than just talking about it. You're now taking underground culture and putting it on TV. What are you most afraid of losing in that translation?

Hard bites are going to be the ones that are kinda in the grey zone with the law and social norms. I’m not planning to glorify anything that doesn’t match my sense of moral but in my world burning rubber with a motorbike or hosting unsupervised parties isn’t always wrong. I see the world as a playground as long as you don’t put anyone else in danger or disrespect someone’s belongings in a bad taste you know what I mean. But showing some rebellious ug stuff as it is on tv? That’s a different story.

So when you enter one of these scenes, what makes you think: this is a story worth telling?

I’m all in for the stories where the scene means the world for someone. For example a surfer who lives out of a van and spends a lifetime catching the perfect wave. I want to capture that magic to understand how a ”hobby” can become so important that you build your whole life around it. I think it’s amazing and I want my audience to understand what’s these lifestyles about.

“I’m all in for the stories where the scene means the world for someone.”

And there's obviously a difference between documenting a scene and romanticizing it. How do you keep yourself from making everything look cooler than it actually is?

That’s a great question because tv shows are often all about making things look as cool as possible. I try to keep the show as realistic as possible because that’s the whole point. Showing what a scene is really like.

In our content nothing is staged and we film with real people in real events. I think that does the trick. Edit can cut a rainy day out of a skaters life, but the real feeling in the atmosphere can’t be fooled.

Has there already been a moment while filming where you've thought: fuck, this is exactly why I'm doing this?

Hmm.. One great perspective happened kinda accidentally when we were filming drifting scene in an event called Chicagodrift. We did interviews with the drivers and one of them was a Finnish drifting queen Krisse Aalto. Her story from a working class horse girl to an unbelievable drifter kinda caught me off guard. Right after the interview I just knew that we got something amazing. And on top of that we were super lucky to get our GoPros inside her car for a run! We were hyped about the footage and her inspiring story turned out to be a great example of what I want to find for this show. Posting that I really felt like this could make the impact for someone to overcome their fears. And that’s exactly why I’m doing this.

And for every moment like that there's probably about ten things that go completely sideways. Any particularly good disasters from behind the scenes?

A lot of funny things happened in the filming of our pilot episode, especially touring Italy with Maggy Smaks. Too bad we haven’t been able to publish the demo yet, but I’ll tell you stories about it! The episode was about punk scene and we filmed that in Helsinki, London and the grande finale was to film a part of Maggy Smaks tour on Europe. When you combine a Finnish punk band, a shitty van and a self-booked tour in Europe, unpredictable action is guaranteed.

The day before I flew to Rome to catch up with the band, their van got broken into and their instruments were stolen. That made our mission to film gigs on the road a lot harder right from the beginning. The band didn’t give up and we drove from Rome to Turin as planned.

The last show was booked to a squatted church in Turin and I was going to hop on the stage with a guitar to experience a real taste of touring with a punk band. Rumors told that the place is going to be awesome and really ug. The guys had met the organizers before, once again at a skatepark!

We finally arrived to the venue and the place was totally astonishing. A local hippie commune had squatted an old church and basically lived in it. The place felt like walking into a medieval castle full of life. A huge fireplace was lit to bring warmth for the evenings event and people were doing all sorts of preparations for the night. For example cutting firewood with a petrol powered table saw older than my grandparents.

We finally got to setup the stage and started doing the soundcheck. All of a sudden when the lead singer Dante approached the microphone to test its working. ZAP! Dante looked at us with his hair all fuzzy and said he just got a serious electric shock from the mic. We laughed at it and joked that these little zaps are just normal when working with old music gear. Part of the game. After it happened a few times more and Dante started to look really concerned I went and tested it myself. Holy shit. I think my heart skipped a beat. This was a real blast that could get you passed out, not just a small good old zap from old instruments.

We later realized that the electricity for the whole venue was brought in by a power cable from some ripped electric box in the neighbourhood. Also Italian church builders probably didn’t understand grounding of the electrics as well as we are used to in Finland. Turns out a strong current runs through the wires all the time and when you approach the microphone holding the guitars metal strings, your body closes the circuit.

It was funny to watch the shows of the opening bands, keeping an eye on the singers getting hair fuzzing blasts every time going too close to the mic. I borrowed a guitar from some Italian punk rocker right before the show (because Maggys spares were stolen before) and hopped on the stage. The show went great, besides Dante being a little afraid of the microphone. What an experience!

That's quite a way to learn a scene. After all those experiences, what have the people inside them actually taught you?

Approach people with an open mind. After a while they’ll be happy to tell you about the scene they love and take you in to share the fun. People inside these rarer scenes are often used to getting weirded looks from the strangers and often expect some kind of complaining when a stranger is approaching. Don’t be a fool and understand that there’s space for everyone even if it’s not your piece of cake.

“Don’t be a fool and understand that there’s space for everyone even if it’s not your piece of cake.”

You've been doing this from inside these communities rather than simply observing them. So how do you actually see yourself in all of this?

I see myself as a documentarian. I dream about traveling the world with a backpack making journalistic observations about the things that resonate in me. I believe I have an eye for stuff that interests people and the ability to make an impact with my work. I think that’s where I have the most to give to the world out of myself and that’s what I’m aiming for.

And what's the part of making Skenelord that nobody really sees?

I think like in many creative projects it’s the loneliness no one sees. The product of course seems like I’m always on the go climbing new mountains with cool people. But the truth is these projects take a lot of time alone. Editing, prepping and simply taking care of my life takes the most of my time. It’s hard to find colleagues to open up to because no one really understands your project like you do. And of course there’s days that I’m not so hyped about what I’m doing and everything feels like shit. But on days like those ”slipping on the job” is only fooling myself.

You've spent a lot of time inside these scenes now. Is there something about underground culture that people on the outside consistently get wrong?

Underground doesn’t always mean that people necessarily want to be in their hidden circles under the radar. Ug-like activities are often a product of lacking resources and a DIY solution for something that people really want. I think it’s a great phenomenon that people are ready to take matters in their own hands and for example cities should remember to leave a little space for that.

I think the Suvilahti DIY case is a perfect example of that. Skaters built it because the city didn’t have a suitable place for that kind of pool skating and free event organizing. It turned out massive and skaters were happy that people came to enjoy it from all over the world. The place benefitted a lot of Helsinkis cultural world even outside of skateboarding. And all they needed was the empty space, the rest is built with love for the sport to fill the needs.

You've talked a lot about entering different scenes, and one of the first things you notice when you enter one is probably what people are wearing. How much does clothing actually matter when you're stepping into a new world?

Of course yes. The clothes and the look is the most noticeable way to show what you are about and also to recognize same minded people in the wild. For me putting on a suitable fit for the scene helps a lot to tune to the mood. The hype usually starts to build up straight from the dressing room. When I get ready to hop on my chopper and hit the road, I get the tingles by just putting on the oily jeans and steel-toe shoes. I feel like the fit is your uniform for the scene you are about to do and it’s very important for tuning in the mood. Fuck yeah, I’m ready!

“I feel like the fit is your uniform for the scene you are about to do.”

Speaking of clothes, is there one piece you've owned that has stuck with you more than everything else?

It must be a long sleeve college shirt that my friend Tuomas styled for me when I was like 15. I had a vision of a shirt that has a text ”Helppo elämä” on it. I caught the phrase from a song of a Finnish band Juliet Jonesin Sydän and it basically means just ”Easy life”.

We went and got a shirt from a cheap retail store and Tuomas designed a graphic to draw on it. The drawing had a picture of a mouse in the middle of it and it ended up kinda unbalanced to the shirt so we added a block of cheese to the picture to center it out. The shirt turned out amazingly pure and unique and I’ve been loving it to this day.

Something about it just feels so important for me. It was the shirt of my youth and I’ve been rocking it ever since. It’s starting to get pretty beat up but the battle scars just add to the value. I even got a tattoo with the same text later on and the phrase kinda became the motto for my life. I’ll wear it to the last thread, it’s seen the whole story.

The internet obviously plays a massive role in how scenes form and find each other now. Has it ultimately made the kind of culture you're interested in stronger or weaker?

It has its pros and cons. It’s a great way to connect people to do something together, like we did on our punk festivals back in the day. Again, it’s a great tool to make something happen in the real world. A few new scenes have also been formed only because of internet, a lot of people find friends with same interests thanks for that.

On the other hand I think internet has weakened the ”come out n play” mindset a lot. The step to get out just to figure out something to do is a lot higher when the internet sets the standard so high. (Insert grandpa voice) When we were kids, we just got out and always figured out something inspiring to do. Staying in was the most boring scenario no matter what. Now it’s different and that isolates people, especially kids.

And oh yeah, that’s exactly the mindset you need for diy and subcultures. Get out and play.

“Get out and play.”

You've said that the journey itself is the inspiring part. If nobody was watching, would you still be doing all of this?

Yeah. Everything you do in life is 99% a journey. It would be stupid to not think of it as the most important part. For me moving forward on this journey means progress and it’s needed to keep me interested.

Doing scenes and staying curious? Of course I would even if nobody’s watching. But Skenelord is entertainment with a desire to make a good impact on people. And what’s the point without an audience?

Getting a message that my work inspired someone to overcome their fears is the fuel that keeps me going. Lets do it together <3

There's obviously a lot you're still trying to figure out. What's keeping you excited about the whole thing right now?

The future! And its surprises. We are constantly pitching the show in many different directions and I have a plan B and C for every outcome. The goal is still to make a cool tv show with my friends and I’ll do my all to get there.

“Everything you do in life is 99% a journey.”

And what's the part you still haven't figured out?

How to make a living out of the things I love. To be honest. Oh it would be awesome to spend a life doing the things you love with full concentration and that’s where I try to find my way. At the time I still work at construction and stress about the rent like a young ambitious person should. The war isn’t over.

Alright, without jinxing the whole fucking thing, what's next?

We have some cool stuff coming up. Again a step up for our game. One thing I learned about show business, bragging about it before it’s done magically makes the things go south. So I’ll leave something for a surprise for now!

Anyone you want to give a shoutout to before we wrap this thing up?

Shoutout for the people in the music families Maggy Smaks and Aatulove. And other friends too, you know who you are. You really mean the world to me.

Special thanks to Pyry ”Producer” Kanerva of course for being the side kick on the whole project besides me.

Special shoutout to Finlands fastest acting camera man Toivo Laiho. When you need something done in a hilariously fast schedule, like I often do, I know who to call.