This year’s Mystery Tour stop in Grindelwald was a bit different from last year’s event in Lenzerheide. There was a new park to play in, a new banked slalom course for anyone who was feeling fast, and a new collective in charge of all things “mysterious”. We caught up with Zoë Oetterli from the Super Friendly Society to find out more about their experience there.
How was being a part of the Mystery Tour in Grindelwald for you?
It was really nice! We had never been on a Mystery Tour before and were surprised at how many people came – especially kids! It was fun to experience a different age group of the community, as we’ve mostly had young adults attend our events. We didn’t know what to expect, so it was great to see everyone so motivated to ride and try new things.
You were responsible for the “mysterious” portion of the day. What was your idea for that?
We were asked to host the open session and try to incorporate our “super friendly playground”. This is a concept that we started two seasons ago to have an inclusive, creative and playful park where all skill levels can try tricks and be a part of it. It’s always been important for us to create a space that’s less intimidating to approach – which is what we’re trying to achieve with the playground. For this session in Grindelwald, we only brought a few elements, but it was still really fun!
How many playgrounds have you built so far?
Including this one in Grindelwald, it was our fourth playground. The first one was at the Closing Cup in Laax two years ago, then one in Adelboden and Laax again last year.
One of the interesting features that you bring to your playgrounds is a sign with some powerful statements. What’s the goal with that?
For us, the playground is a a place to feel comfortable, try new tricks, be motivated by others, be creative, and feel confident. Our collective, Super Friendly Society, was created with the goal of being accessible and seen as an open and safer group of people – especially for Flinta* people. Flinta* stands for female, lesbian, inter, non-binary, trans, and agender* people, and is an attempt to find an expression for a group of people who are not cisgender-male that is more inclusive and accurate than just speaking of ‘women’. Unfortunately, other communities, or society in general are not always super friendly or welcoming to everyone – so we try to fight against that. That’s why we think it’s important to have an awareness concept of our playground – some ground rules and values of ours that we want to represent at our events.
I feel like there might be an opportunity to go a bit deeper on those ideas. Maybe we can go through them one by one? The opener is, “Super Friendly Society aims towards creating safe spaces and a more diverse and inclusive ski and snowboard community.” Hopefully that’s something that everyone can get behind, but I also think that there’s more to unpack here… How can we make our snowparks and events feel more safe, and what are some steps that we can take for increased diversity and inclusion?
We prefer to use the word “safer” instead of “safe” because it reflects a more realistic approach. True change starts with open conversations, and simply discussing these topics within our community can be powerful. Societal discourse plays a crucial role in this progress, including the creation of safer spaces at snowparks and events.
Equally important is the recognition of inequality and diversity — not only by individuals but also by brands and organizations — along with a genuine effort to address those needs. In a recent article in “Knuckle Mag”, we explored this topic: A meaningful first step is to start asking your friends and those around you what would make them feel safer and more comfortable — then, most importantly, listen and take their answers to heart.
That makes sense… Let’s move on to the second statement, “We are inspired by all of the movement that is already happening and will take place in the future.” What’s something that you’ve found inspiring so far this season?
In general, we see more and more Flinta* skiers and snowboarders everywhere. We’re starting to see a movement and a change. For example there were a lot of Flinta* snowboard or ski videos that came out this season, as well as Flinta* events like the Uninvited Invitational or a new one for this season, the Taylor Brooke Lundquist Session.
At the Mystery Session we also found it inspiring to see so many kids of all genders, just enjoying the session together. It’s important to normalize sessions like this from early on:)
Absolutely! So point three is, “To contribute to that, we stand for an anti-racist, queer-friendly, feminist space and language, where everyone can feel safe.” What are some things that we might want to be more conscious of when it comes to language? Especially in a country where we’re all often stumbling around with second and third languages?
As explained before, we use the term Flinta* instead of women because it is more inclusive than speaking of women. If people start using and implementing this word, it would be a great start and fight against the binary system that excludes a lot of people. Also, we think it is important to respect each other’s pronouns and not to assume someone’s identity based on their appearance.
Gendering is also a big issue in German: The masculine form is the most used, especially in the plural, and “includes” all other genders (e.g.: Skifahrer/Snowboarder). Gendering goes beyond this and implements gender-neutral forms, which then include all other genders with a feminine ending and a star or a colon (like: Skifahrer*innen/Snowboarder:innen).
Another point would be the use of words that degrade Flinta* people like “being a pussy” or “like a girl”. Comments like these are associated with female sexual organs or feminine stereotypes. And comments like that are still pretty common….
So language has a big impact on the space around you and can say a lot about someone’s awareness of these important issues. Even though it can be challenging to change because it’s so ingrained, it’s so important to reflect on your language and try to adapt!
The fourth request is to, “Be mindful of the impact that your behavior has on your environment.” Can you offer some examples of poor behavior that our community could be more mindful of?
Instead of mentioning poor behaviors, we could focus on positive examples of mindfulness – like communicating openly, asking someone if they would like tips or help before assuming and offering advice (no mansplaining), and being aware of your surroundings, rather than taking up space because you feel comfortable. This leads to respecting other people’s feelings. In general, it’s about getting informed, educating yourself on these issues, and listening to the voices that often go unheard.
Point five is, “When engaging with others, make sure it is done with consent and reflect your actions.” What’s the best way to ask for consent?
As mentioned before, it is important to ask someone before just giving them tips on a trick, for example. Even if it is meant in a “good way”, it is still something that usually happens a lot to Flinta* people. So the best way to ask for consent is just to ask transparently and respectfully. For example, “Hey, may I give you a tip on this specific trick?” or, “Is it okay if I touch your shoulder to show you the move?”.
It’s as simple as that. And, of course, respect the answer!
You end it with, “Have fun, be supportive, show respect and enjoy all the positive energy this community has.” I don’t really have a question here, but I think it’s a great statement to end this with. For my part, I definitely felt that vibe at your playground and hope that we can find more ways to spread this throughout our snowparks and beyond. Is there anything else that you’d like to add?
Try to stay aware and educated on these issues, speak up when you see behavior from an individual, group, or even a brand that is not okay, and simply push for change!
What’s next for The Super Friendly Society?
On March 22nd, we’ll be hosting another playground in Adelboden, together with the people from Knuckle Mag, which we’re very excited about! And then we’ll be back at the Closing Cup in Laax from April 18th to 21st!
Sounds great! Thanks for your time, and thanks to the crew from Burton for bringing the community together. Big love to the G-Town shapers for building such a smooth park, and last but not least, thanks to Jennifer Lang for all of the photos from a really fun event!
