Luck | The world is celebrating Lena Salme, 71, from Helsinki, who skates and starts her day with ice cream

Finnish happiness is promoted by the British Broadcasting Corporation BBC’s foreign service in social media and on the podcast.

Finland, chosen as the happiest country in the world for the seventh year in a row, is represented by a person from Helsinki Lena Salmi71, who is also known, at least among young skaters, as “skate grandma”.

In a video shared on BBC World Service’s social media, Salmi skateboards while swinging a Marimekko skirt and says that she starts every morning with ice cream.

Strait was involved in the Helsinki Happiness Hacks campaign organized by Visit Finland and Helsinki Partners, which brought 14 tourists from around the world to Finland two weeks ago to learn about Finnish happiness.

The campaign also attracted the attention of the international media. In addition to the BBC, for example, Good Morning America interviewed Strait.

“I had to clear Street with my boyfriend,” Salmi tells HS.

“Street’s enkulla” Salmi means rally English, so to speak. There is usually shame attached to it, but he refuses to feel that.

That was actually the first secret of happiness that Salmi wants to share: In her opinion, in Finland you can be weird and eccentric.

“I’m more than happy to be a village madman if it’s a release valve.”

To Finland Salmi introduced street and city culture to the arriving tourists. Among other things, the group made graffiti and skated together – and of course started the day with ice cream.

Salmi wants to inspire people to take up things that interest them. Age is not a barrier. He is the best example of that.

The list of things that Salmi has done or does is breathtaking: during the conversation, at least longboarding, skateboarding, skateboarding, surf skating, snow skiing, graffiti, punk music, volunteer work, jogging, skiing, swimming and diving.

In addition, he is a former sports journalist and media researcher, who is working on a dissertation on Sami sports.

In Salmi’s opinion, free Finnish education, school meals and healthcare should not be taken for granted. He also helps people to see that in life you don’t have to rush from point A to point B, but you should make time for the journeys. That’s why, for example, he takes a different route to familiar places as often as possible.

Salmi finds happiness early in the morning at the skate park.

“When the birds sing and the sun filters through the trees in Eltsu [Eläintarhan skeittipuistossa].”

VIDEO: HS photographed Lena Salme in 2019.

Strait reveals one more, surprising secret to happiness.

What makes him happy is that he personifies inanimate things. For example, the name of his car is Karkkipussi.

“I have noticed that if you take care of objects, you also take care of human relationships. If you don’t take care of objects, then you usually don’t take care of human relationships much either.”

Salmi thinks that if she feels well herself, she will also be able to share her joy with those around her. That’s why he likes to teach others, for example, the secrets of skateboarding.

“I have received quite a lot from Finnish society, and now I want to share it back.”