Based on the questions from Instagram. I divided the questions into four categories. This category includes the questions that somehow relate to my personal life or Instagram as my. See also:
Instagram Q&A: Photography & social media
Instagram Q&A: Camera and adventure gear (coming)
How old are you?
- I was born on 4th April, 1991. That makes me 27!
Where are you from / Where do you live now / Where do you wish to live?
- Born in Järvenpää, Finland. Such a cute and relatively small town was a fun place to grow in. My family lived in wooden villa called ‘Villa Lehtorinne’. The villa itself is over 100 years old, with three fireplaces and four floors. Currently I have my stuff there as well, but most of the time I’m on the road. Some day I wish to live in Vancouver, Canada!
How are you?
- Thanks for asking! To be honest, I could not be happier now. Physically and mentally I feel strong, and I wish to spread the good vibes around me. Having graduated from University I completed one heck of a project, and now I’m ready for the next one!
What was your childhood like?
- My childhood was colourful time. Over the years I had several hobbies such as playing piano and drums, skateboarding, sailing and even dancing! My adventure soul was born when I attended the Scouts with my friends and slowly became familiar with exploring the nature. I was usually the good kid in school. I think I was raised with love.
When did you decide to choose travelling path and why?
- I am still open to many other paths, but travelling and living on the road fits the current life situation as I have no kids or mortgage.
How long have you been doing this? (Apparently Instagram)
- I started seriously in 2015 January.
Why did you choose Instagram?
- I could say that there were four other Instagrammers, who introduced and encouraged me to join the party. Thanks @konstalinkola, @kpunkka, @dansmoe and @eljackson !
Whats your #?
- This can be only one, if I ever used my own hashtag. #BLISS
What is your horoscope?
- Aries, yet I don’t believe in them at all. 🙂
What is the reason behind that big proud smile?
- I have faced some hard times in my life, as we all. Getting over them and feeling confident about the future makes me smile. I am proud of my friends, family and loved one, and I hope that my smile stays strong.
What is your favourite Finnish food?
- Sauteed reindeer with lingonberries and mashed potato, plus a cold beer!
What was your breakfast today?
- Today I woke up in the middle of the day and went straight away for a good hamburger. Life is spontaneous!
How do you keep yourself organised?
- To be honest, if you look into my room or car you would see the worst mess ever. Even though my items are usually very unorganised, I feel I can easily manage and handle everything. For mental organising I use a lot of notes, to-do lists and time to think.
How often do you check your emails? (Apparently I missed some)
- Sorry! I try to check my emails every Monday and Thursday as those are the days I’m generally working on computer. Very sorry to miss it, please resend to hello@joonaslinkola.com
Do you feel social pressure coming from Instagram?
- I’ve always said that in Instagram you get what you give. It’s like a game, and everybody can choose the essence of their own. For me, Instagram is a positive place, network of encouraging, inspiring and exploring. Sometimes I get social pressure because of my posting frequency, which varies from 1-3 times a week. In the end, it’s more like a portfolio than my daily tool.
Do you ever worry or are you always happy?
- Yes, I worry. I worry for my closest ones, and even more when I am not around. I have broken to pieces in front of my friends and I’m not afraid of having done so. However, I know that I’m myself when I smile. Life is life, come what may.
How do you cope with stress?
- I get shit done. No, seriously, stress has always played a role in my life. It thought me a lesson when I was 20 years old and my heart got a semi serious beating problem due to stressing out too much. After the treatments the doctor said: ”Joonas, do whatever you want to do, but never stress yourself again.”
What is your occupation?
- I have graduated from Aalto University as Master of Technology, more closely Telecommunications Technology. I studied Communication ecosystems & User-centered design. However, I was always interested in marketing, media production and social media, so I studied a lot and became pretty good at them. I also pursued to get some work and since 2015 it has been my part time job / occupation.
Are social media and photography your main income?
- Currently yes. I have also done consulting in marketing, speeches and user-centered design projects. As I love nature, I try to connect it into as many projects as possible.
Do you have a girlfriend?
- Yes I do, the most special person in my life. 🙂
Why have you grown your beard?
- I’m going to be a Viking!
How do you manage to live adventure life and relationship life?
- That’s a good question! I try to have a balance there and connect the various fields in my life. Travelling with my partner is something that I hope to do more. Scheduling projects early enough leaves me quite a lot of free time as well.
Isn’t your work hard?
- Yes, but I love doing difficult and hard things. It’s the attitude. 🙂
Where do you feel at home?
- When I’m in my sleeping bag.
How do you make a living / How did you start?
- I help individuals and companies in pursuing their social media and marketing. It started with my first client, who wanted to produce a short video. I was surprised by the amount of work to produce a video, but it was totally worth the effort!
Do you want to go on a beer with me?
- Heck yes! Hit me up for a pint!
How did you learn English so well?
- When I was 17, I moved to Australia for one year. It was a high school exchange program. Life in Sydney area was memorable, and I hope to return there some day.
What is your family like? How many siblings do you have?
- My parents are in their fifties, and I have a younger brother Konsta (Instagram @konstalinkola) and younger sister Inari. We are a tight wolf pack, always supporting each other and doing fun stuff together. We also have a dog called Anttu, a Labrador retriever.
What is your secret to happiness / What makes you happy the most?
- I seek happiness through acceptance, and acceptance through understanding. Especially understanding other people and the various phenomena in the world. Secret is ’Hike & seek’!
Boxers or briefs or naked?
- Naked is the way to go!
What is your favourite book?
- I’m not good at reading books, but I love listening to audio books. So far the very favourite books include the Millenium trilogy by Stieg Larsson and ‘All the light we cannot see’ by Anthony Doerr.
What does gratitude mean in your life?
- Ok here we go. Gratitude for me is the people help each other and are thankful. I think that there are countless ways to live, and the most important aspect is not what someone does, but why someone does it. I am searching for meaning for me as well, but love would definitely be one. Gratitude is to be loved.
What has been your biggest fear in what you do?
- Getting serious here ay? I don’t fear for myself, but sometimes I’m afraid of the distance between me and my friends, if it grows too much due to my lifestyle. Adventures are sometimes frightening also, but I see them more like challenges. And with decent preparation, knowledge and support you can overcome pretty much every challenge when it comes to adventures.
Are you married?
- Not yet. 🙂
Do you sleep in your underwear?
- Only if I have to!
What inspires you / What inspires you to do outdoor activities or trekking?
- Reflecting myself to the surrounding world, learning to be one with the nature. Outdoors are the best way to also wind down and gain those WOW -moments in your life.