{"id":184104,"date":"2026-11-08T10:58:09","date_gmt":"2026-11-08T01:58:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bluelug.com\/blog\/?post_type=global&p=184104"},"modified":"2026-11-08T10:58:09","modified_gmt":"2026-11-08T01:58:09","slug":"hanging-out-with-matias-stridsland","status":"publish","type":"global","link":"https:\/\/bluelug.com\/blog\/global\/hanging-out-with-matias-stridsland\/","title":{"rendered":"Hanging Out With Matias Stridsland"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/p>\n

What’s your favorite place in Denmark?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

“Right here! Because my family is here.”<\/p>\n

Matias Stridsland answered with a big smile on his face.<\/p>\n

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Surrounded by forests and lakes, Gurre is a quiet, peaceful village located north of Copenhagen, Denmark.<\/p>\n

This is where STRIDSLAND<\/a> is based.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

(The workshop he built behind his house with his friends.)<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

His beautiful thatched-roof home is about 200 years old. Apparently, buildings of this style are legally required to be preserved and maintained.<\/p>\n

Matias explained:<\/p>\n

“After moving from Canada to Denmark, I lived in Copenhagen for about five years. But as my family grew and STRIDSLAND started gaining momentum, I decided to move to Gurre.<\/p>\n

I wanted more space and to be closer to nature.<\/p>\n

It wasn’t easy finding a place where we could live alongside our friends and their family, but we were lucky to find somewhere affordable with such beautiful surroundings.”<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

With plenty of support from his partner, Matias runs STRIDSLAND almost entirely on his own from this peaceful little village.<\/p>\n

His parents are Danish and moved to Canada in their twenties. Matias was born and raised in Canada before moving to Denmark at the age of 17.<\/p>\n

While working part-time at Copenhagen-based cargo bike manufacturer OMNIUM, he started STRIDSLAND as a personal hobby.<\/p>\n

Over time, his work gradually gained recognition, and STRIDSLAND began taking up more and more of his time, eventually becoming what it is today.<\/p>\n

He was already involved in frame design during his time at OMNIUM, but interestingly, his knowledge of bicycle geometry is entirely self-taught.<\/p>\n

Having studied graphic design, communication design, and photography, he initially started drawing frame designs using Adobe Illustrator.<\/p>\n

Through reading online forums and drawing from his own experiences riding different bikes, he gradually taught himself how to design bicycle geometry.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

(A Beachcomber belonging to the family of friends who live next door.)<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

One thing that really stood out to me during our conversations was how intentionally Matias has designed his life around two things he deeply cares about: bicycles and family.<\/p>\n

He wants to spend his days thinking about and creating bicycles while still having plenty of time for the people he loves.<\/p>\n

I imagine that’s a big part of why he chose to live here, and why he continues to run the brand by himself, maintaining control over both the quality of his work and how he spends his time.<\/p>\n

At the same time, he told us:<\/p>\n

“It gets really busy and difficult sometimes, but I want to be in control of everything.”<\/p>\n

It was clear just how particular he is about the things he creates.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The workshop’s bike maintenance area is filled with soft sunlight coming through the south-facing windows.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Everything is neatly organized, yet the space feels open, welcoming, and completely free of tension.<\/p>\n

In a way, it felt like a reflection of Matias himself.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

While we were there, Matias also shared the story behind the STRIDSLAND logo.<\/p>\n

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The design is inspired by the landscape of Canada’s West Coast, where he grew up.<\/p>\n

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Matias grew up on Canada’s West Coast, a region known for its beautiful coastline, abundant nature, and thriving logging industry.<\/p>\n

In the logging process, trees are cut down on mountain slopes and the logs are sent down into the water.<\/p>\n

Small boats called “boomboats” are used to gather the floating logs together.<\/p>\n

Once collected, the logs are assembled into enormous rafts and pulled by tugboats to sawmills.<\/p>\n

But when storms hit, some logs break free from the rafts and drift away, eventually washing up along the shore.<\/p>\n

The people who search for and collect these lost logs are called “beachcombers.”<\/p>\n

When a beachcomber finds a log, they hammer a metal spike called a “log dog” into it, attach a rope, and haul it away.<\/p>\n

Even a single log can be worth a decent amount of money to an individual.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The STRIDSLAND logo is modeled after this very tool, the log dog.<\/p>\n

And as you might have guessed, it’s not just the logo.<\/p>\n

Product names like Beachcomber<\/a>, Boomboat, Barnacle Fork<\/a>, and Anchor Bar<\/a> are all inspired by this coastal landscape and its history.<\/p>\n

I’d also like to share a quote from the Beachcomber product page:<\/p>\n

“I guess I’m drawing some parallels between the rough utilitarian function of those log dogs and my frames and parts, as well as some shared values with the old beachcomber lifestyle.”<\/em><\/p>\n