Let’s begin with a few cold, hard facts…
 
Caroline Djupsjo is a blue-eyed, blonde-haired, Swedish babe. She has the hardest surname I’ve ever encountered and she’s twenty-three years young. I met Carro a couple years ago and although we live on other sides of the world, we’ve always reconnected at World Cup stops. In her first official season in Orlando, I’ve had the honor of having Carro as my roommate. Well, roommate is putting it lightly. We literally share a room and a car. Luckily, we get along swimmingly. We both eat, sleep, dream wakeboarding and we can pretty much finish each others sentences by now. Except when she speaks Swinglish…then I get a bit lost.
 
WW: Tell us the best thing about Sweden?
CD: Well, because we are located so far north, the days are really long in the summer. It gets dark for around 4 hours, which leaves 20 hours of daylight. On the longest day of the year, we have a huge celebration called Midsummer.
 
WW: Whoa, that’s awesome. What kind of festivities does Midsummer entail?
CD: I recommend you just watch Midsummer for Dummies on YouTube.
 
WW: Is this your first season over in the USA?
CD: Yeah, I’ve visited a lot, but this is my first time staying for the whole season.
 
WW: Were you bummed to discover that the women’s Pro Tour was canceled?
CD: Yeah, I mean, honestly it’s been something I’ve always wanted to do. Ever since I started wakeboarding that has always been my goal and now it’s not possible, so it’s a little sad.
 
WW: Now that there are not as many contests, what are you focusing on?
CD: I’m just concentrating on pushing my riding as far as I can. Everything is happening here, so it feels good to be submerged into the industry. I’ve been sticking a lot of new tricks (thanks coach/boat driver/roomie) and it’s already been a really fun season, so I’m not missing the contests too much.
 
WW: I agree. I think there’s so much more to wakeboarding than contests.
CD: Yeah, I just want wakeboarding to grow. When you look at surfing there is a much closer look at the athlete’s personal lives. I think wakeboarding should follow that direction as we are lucky enough to experience so many amazing things.
 
WW: So, how do you think we can make wakeboarding cooler?
CD: Wakeboarding is cool; people just don’t know yet (laughs)!! GoPro has made it possible to document every single aspect of your life, which I think is game changing. I’ve been making it my mission to capture everything from cruising on my board to partying with Betsafe at Gumball to traveling the world. I’m just trying to have as much fun as possible and I think people see that and it’s contagious. 
 
WW: Who do you look to for inspiration?
CD: Athletes that have the courage to do something different really inspire me. I look up to Jon Olsson, one of Sweden’s most successful snow skiers. He’s always been one step ahead of his industry whether it’s creating his own events, starting his own brand or even switching disciplines. On the female side, Sage Erickson continually blows me away. By blending incredible surfing and sharing her more personal moments on social media, she’s making surfing interesting to outsiders. I hope to inspire people the same way with wakeboarding.
 
WW: When I think of Sweden I think of Ikea and snow. How does one start wakeboarding in that climate?
CD: First off, you gotta be pretty motivated with a thick wetsuit. I started when I was thirteen and I went with my dad to a wakeboard camp for the weekend. My dad learned two new tricks; heelside faceplant and toeside faceplant. I was so cold and I didn’t take my wetsuit off the whole weekend, but I instantly fell in love. After that, wakeboarders in Sweden encouraged me to keep riding consistently and also pushed me to start competing.
 
WW: I heard you and the Hoppe brothers (AKA Breddas) went to a wakeboarding high school. What does that even mean?
CD: Incredibly enough, we have a school with wakeboarding on the schedule. They only take one girl and guy each year so I was thrilled to be accepted. We moved out of home when we were sixteen and spent three years studying and riding in a small town two hours from my home. Riding with the Breddas was the best thing that could have happened to me.
 
WW: I’m sure you miss home. What’s the best and worst thing about living in America so far?
CD: Well, apart from all the wakeboarding, I think the best thing is how friendly and welcoming everyone is. I think the worst thing is the food. It’s hard to survive as a vegetarian.
 
WW: You’ve done pretty well in the last couple World Cup events. How does it feel to be the only person representing Sweden on the world stage?
CD: Yeah, it’s a little awkward at the opening ceremonies when I’m the president, team captain and the flag carrier (laughs). I’m super happy to have gotten my first WC podiums. I’ve placed third at both Mandurah stops and the Worlds in Korea.
 
WW: Europeans are known for their good taste in music. Living with you has been pretty awesome for my playlists. What are your top three tracks right now?
CD: Stolen Dance - Milky Chance, Jealous (I Ain’t With It) – Chromeo and Cut Your Teeth - Kygo Remix.
 
WW: What tricks are you working on right now?
CD: Recently I met Derek Cook at Adam Fields place in North Carolina and my image of what is cool on a wakeboard completely changed. Derek has the sickest wrapped heel front 3 rewind and he made me want to start learning grabbed wrapped spins. Right now, I’m working on sticking more mobes like a Pete or a dum dum…oh no…wait. Sorry, just kidding. I’ll pick a different mobe seeing as you just hurt yourself on that one.
 
WW: Way to rub it in! You have some pretty solid sponsors. How have they helped you get where you are today?
CD: When I signed with Betsafe four years ago that changed my life completely. With their support, they’ve allowed me to pursue my dreams of wakeboarding full time. Betsafe is a gambling company who puts a lot of resources into extreme sports and cool events, so I’m thrilled to be included in their team. At the end of last year I signed with Hyperlite, GoPro and Monster Energy. I’m excited to have the support of such great companies and I can’t wait to see what the future holds with them. The Swedish Wakeboard and Waterski Association have helped me out so much along with my other sponsors, O’Neill, Xtravel and Froggy.
 
Of course, I have my mom and dad to thank for everything. They are the ones who encouraged me to never give up on my dreams.
 
Thanks Nicola and WakeWorld for the chat! Next year we will be reporting from Midsummer (laughs).