Ok, so we are aware that perhaps we’ve been banging on about Candide Thovex a hell of a lot recently, but let’s face it he is probably one of the most intriguing, not to mention talented skiers in the world. We first saw him at the age of 16 in the Meribel Shaker, a stop on the European Mogul tour, and to everyone’s astonishment he won, throwing a flat spin off the bottom kicker. No one had ever seen anything like it. Having proved himself here against the world’s best (this was the time of the likes of Edgar Grospiron) on the snow he then broke onto the emerging freestyle scene by launching a D-Spin over Chad’s Gap and winning gold at the X-games big air.

His career then sky-rocketed as he proceeded to win gold in every discipline at the X-Games and brought out his Rastafaride film series. However despite his high profile, Candide has all the while managed to remain elusive, perhaps even enigmatic, which only contributes to his appeal. He literally disappeared off the scene for a couple of years, and then came back with the launch of Candide Kamera (possibly one of the best webisodes we’ve ever seen), almost re-inventing himself as a freerider. As if to confirm our suspicions, the Freeride World Tour recently announced that Candide would be a wild card rider at the first leg in Sochi, and he then went and cleaned up with a ridiculous line at the Red Bull Linecatcher.

Of course Candide has surrounded himself with people who have helped shape his career, the most notable of whom would probably be Christoffer Sjöström. Hailing from Stockholm, Swedish photographer Christoffer Sjöström has travelled and worked with Candide since 2000. His images have been seen in every major ski publication in the world, and you would be pretty safe to say that any image you have ever seen of Candide was probably taken by Christoffer.

As a result of all of this, it is fair to say that Christoffer has built up an impressive collection of shots. Thankfully he’s a generous kind of guy and has decided to share these images with rest of the world, in what will be the only coffee table book any of you need ever own. We have kindly been given a preview of the book and it’s fair to say we will definitely be picking up a copy. The shots featured in this article are also from the book, just to give you a taste of Christoffer Sjöström photographic ability. All the vital statistics are below. Any freeskier fanatic out there should pick up a copy immediately, or perhaps suggest to your friends that it wouldn’t be a bad birthday present…

And here’s the official blurb:
Photographer Christoffer Sjöström’s work showcases one of the greatest skiers of our generation – Candide Thovex has influenced and pushed the sport of freeskiing for the last ten years. This coffee table book is an anthology of still frames from some of the defining moments of his career.

The biggest names in contemporary freestyle skiing offer a firsthand perspective on a growing sport and on one of the man who brought it to where it is today; Tanner Hall, Simon Dumont, and Jon Olsson add colorful commentary to Candide’s story through exclusive interviews.

Language: English/French
Size: 226 x 300 mm
Pages: 175
Suggested retail price: 39 €
For purchase online: www.thebookofcandide.com
Publication date: 7th of December

About the Author
Hailing from Stockholm, Swedish photographer Christoffer Sjöström has traveled and worked with Candide since 2000. This book features selected images from almost ten years of shooting with the French freeskiing superstar. Christoffer photos capture both action and life portraiture with a raw documentary style. His images have been featured in all major ski magazines, and others like Sportweek Ita, L’Equipe Magazine, New York Times and Bon. He has also shot advertisements for Quiksilver, Rossignol, Peak Performance and Salomon, among others Christoffer lives with his family in the French Alps outside Geneva.

All images: Christoffer Sjöström

Relevant links:
Buy Online
Christoffer Sjöström
Candide Kamera