Happy accident
In the spring of 2020, Markku Laatikainen ordered a fat-wheeled electric scooter. When the scooter arrived, there was still ice on the roads, and during the first test drive Laatikainen fell badly.
This disappointment bothered him for a couple of months, until he realized that normal two-wheeled scooter is not suitable for Finland’s weather conditions and a different more stable vehicle design is needed for professional use too. During his morning coffee, he drew the first sketch of the vehicle, now known as the Skick.
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After the first drawings, the first model was made with the son’s lego bricks, and after that, it was time for his fat-tire electric scooter to donate some parts to the first Skick prototype. The prototype construction was carried out by Antti Karjalahti, whom Laatikainen found in the Facebook machine inventors group. The men soon also founded Arctic Rides Oy and applied for the first patents and utility models while building the first prototype.
Towards the product to be manufactured
The first prototype turned out to be excellent to drive on snowy surfaces, so the men decided to advance on the path of their choice and look for a suitable vehicle designer. Soon Pasi Paananen joined the team and prototype 2 was in the works. Prototype 2 was used to prepare this new type of vehicle for mass production, convince the investors and present the possibilities of summer use. Skick was announced in November 2021 after a rapid and determined development phase. During the process, several innovations were patented and Skick was registered as a trademark. Since then, many professionals have joined the Arctic Rides team, which is on it’s way of making a local transport revolution with the Skick.
Skick stands for SKI and KICK. These words denote the fact that Skick glides on skis in winter. In addition, although the Skick moves on electricity, it can be helped by kicking with muscle power.
Skick is a registered trademark of Arctic Rides Oy.
