Mizu Mission: Alabama Hills with Jussi Oksanen
If you follow Mizu’s co-founder, Jussi Oksanen, on social media then you’re familiar with all of his amazing photography and epic adventures. He recently ventured out on a Mizu Mission to Alabama Hills for a photoshoot with one of our partner brands, Thule. We sat down with him after to hear all about his travels and highlights from the trip.
Q: Tell us a little bit about who you are and why you chose to do a Mizu Mission.
A: I”m Jussi Oksanen - Co-founder of Mizu. Mizu always travels along with me wherever I ever go, so this was one of my latest adventures where Mizu came along :)
Q: Where did your mission take you and what did you do?
A: Our mission took us to Alabama Hills, just on the foothills of Mt. Whitney. This was actually for a Photo shoot I did for Thule. I took my friend Katie Araujo, we had Thule kit out her car with the latest and greatest adventure gear. We camped, hiked and rode our bikes.
Perfect kind of work and pleasure trip. We captured some incredible images or their new product line and we got to go on some epic Mountain Bike rides after we were done with the shoot.
Q:What are some highlights you’d like to share with our readers?
A: We’ll you can’t actually tell from the photos, but it had over 40mph winds ripping through the first day and all night - so we didn’t get much sleep either. But the nightlight was expiring in the Alabama Hills on the bikes, you could take the little hiking trails and explore in a way it’s not possible by foot!
Q: What inspires you to get outdoors and explore?
A: It’s the best way to recharge and get connected with yourself and nature.
Q: How do you manage to adventure while also taking care of the planet along the way?
Well, obviously using reusable products is the best way to leave nothing behind - also ,always make sure you clean your stuff - try to leave no trace.
Q: What was your favorite Mizu product/s used through the mission and why?
A: I love the original stainless steel M8 - no paint - it’s just timeless and clean and it can take a beating along the way. Also I like how light it is - I also like V5 and camp cup for morning coffee, it's the best
Q: Any tips and tricks for keeping a low footprint while hitting the road?
A: Try to car pool when you can - that will reduce a lot of emissions. Use reusable products as much as you can and clean your mess. Also, I always travel with extra trash bags - that way you can pick up some trash along the way as there is never a shortage of that.
One year we were in this beach town in France and the beach was terrible, filled with all kinds of trash - My mom and I picked up at least 10 large trash bags just in that small area - it was nuts.
Want to see more content from Jussi?
You can check out his website here: JussiOksanen.com
Give him a follow on Instagram here: Jussi Instagram
