Release July 2008

Nikita’s Iceland adventures for comp winners

Back in June, Nikita Snowboard Clip Contest winner Kasia Kwiecien from Poland and Zumiez sales supremos (US) won a trip of a lifetime, courtesy of Nikita.  They spent a few days exploring the Icelandic way with the ruggedly refined Ásgeir Höskuldsson, AKA Geiri, International Marketing Manager at Nikita Clothing and General Manager / Moral supporter, Runar Omarsson.  They were soon aware of the vastly contrasting terrain and experiences Iceland had to offer. 

Their journey began when they arrived at Keflavik Airport, about a 40 minute journey from Reykjavik town centre and Nikita HQ.  They were escorted to the geothermal seawater of the Blue Lagoon for some relaxation, taken on a caving and snorkelling trip by Arctic Adventures in Þingvellir (a designated UNESCO World Heritage Site), had a blast at snowboarding on the glacier and even donned some serious wetsuits to hit the Icelandic surf.   The girls also met with founder and head design Heida Birgisdottir and her design team at the Nikita HQ.  Here’s what they had to say about their trip;

Kasia Kwiecien – Nikita Snowboard Clip Contest winner, 2008

I won the Nikita snowboard clip contest so I got the chance of going to ICELAND!!  On the 16^th June, in the early morning I went to Warsaw’s airport.  I got my flight to Reykjavik through Helsinki.  I was tired but I got some extra power when I saw the crew and video camera on my arrival.  

Then we went to the Blue Lagoon in this big sport-utility vehicle (it’s amazing that most people in Iceland have them!!).  We were chilling and got some beauty masks.  Then I left my stuff in the hotel and went to the Nikita House.  We ate there, drank menthol vodka and hit nails into the big log of wood.J  Then we explored the beauty of Reykjavik through the night.  It was light all the time!!!  

In the morning (everybody was sleepy) and we went to a cave where Geiri showed us real natureJ.  After that we ate dinner ‘with’ the prime minister (*the national park they were in is also home to the summer residence of the Prime Minister of Iceland) and got into these crazy suits. We went snorkeling into this cold water (it was 2° Celsius), jumping from the cliff there.  We looked really weird but that was funny.  After that we spent a few hours in the car which smelled fishy (everybody except me and Shannon ate dry fishes with butter bleeeee), went to an outdoor swimming pool, ate dinner in a great fishy bar near the ocean and finally got to our hotel.  We then went to a party, which took place at the nearest campsite.  We met many funny people there:]  

Next day everybody was super tired!!!  We got into our snowboarding clothes and went to glacier!!!  That road was really crazy dangerous and the surrounding view was similar to that on the moon.J  We got to the top by snowmobile and had to use all of our abilities to get down. Later on we ate bad hamburgers, went for a walk (Runar saved us from some crazy birds) and got to the shore.  We dressed up in winter water suits (so we looked really sexy hehe), got boards and hit some waves!!!!  I coughed my first, and almost sank!!!  We took some pics and came back to the Nikita house. There we ate probably the best pizza in Reykjavik and I got the chance of choosing some Nikita clothes (Yeah!!!! Thanks a lot!!!).  After that I got my stuff and had to head home.

I am sure it was the best trip of my life!!!  I’d like to thank all the Nikita Crew, people who voted for me and my friend Aram who was patient while recording me;)  ISLAND BEST Í HEIMI !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Shannon Johnson – Winner for her super sales at Zumiez

The Iceland trip was amazing.  I honestly want to go back and share my experience with my friends and family.  It is soooo gorgeous there!  Everything we did was so so much fun but if I have to choose what my favorite thing was, it was snorkeling.  The water may have been beyond freezing but it was amazingly beautiful.  It’s crazy how clear the water is.  Not in a million years would I have thought I would be in Iceland snorkeling in water that is like 5 degrees!  

I also loved snowboarding.  I didn’t ride for too long but the top of the glacier was so rad!  It wasn’t too clear up there and Geiri described it best by saying it’s like you’re in a ping pong ball.  Haha he is totally right!  You could only see like 20 feet in front of you.  It was pretty intense.  When it cleared up about halfway down it was really cool to see the ocean and the beach.  Everyone we met was awesome.  Everyone was beyond nice to us.  I have never felt so welcome half a world away.  One super funny thing was when we were caving and Torfi (spelling?) described the end of the cave as kind of like you’re being birthed because you come out of this tiny hole in the earth.  So Geiri is the last one out of the cave and being the crazy guy he takes off his clothes and emerges from the hole with this fake cry.  Haha it was sooo funny.  He is quite the character. 

Jenn Huynh - Winner for her super sales at Zumiez

I thought Iceland was pretty much amazing.  I didn’t expect the actual countryside to be so desolate and beautiful.  Everyone at Nikita was so nice and welcoming.  Initially, I thought the language barrier would be an issue but I was totally wrong. Geri and Bjorn taught us some Icelandic phrases, helped us get acquainted with the Icelandic culture and cuisine and took us on some crazy adventures.  Snorkeling, caving and surfing in Iceland was certainly unexpected.  The boys showed us a good time and I just want to thank everyone at Nikita, especially Runar and Geiri for being so awesoooome!

You can watch a video of the trip at http://www.youtube.com/nikitaclothing and http://www.vimeo.com/1322040 - Just click on the Nikita Iceland Roadtrip 2008

A bundle of great images are also available from throughout the trip, check them out here - http://bjornrosdahl.net/stuff/arcticAdventure/index.html. If there are any you are interested in, just ask.

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