Soccer (Football)
Meet freestyle football's rockstar siblings Erlend and Brynjar Fagerli
Ahead of the Red Bull Street Style World Final in Miami, find out about the brothers from a tiny Norwegian village of 300 people who are currently conquering the freestyle football scene.
When the Red Bull Street Style World Final gets underway in Miami, USA on November 15, brothers Erlend and Brynjar Fagerli will take a moment to reflect on a journey that has taken them from a tiny Norwegian village to the bright lights of one of the most famous cities in the world.
Defending Red Bull Street Style champion Erlend (22) and Brynjar (25) are not your average brothers. If you type their hometown of Svorkmo into a search engine, the top results are of an Ikea wardrobe with sliding doors. However, the two freestyle footballers are now putting the remote Norwegian village of around 300 people located 60km from Trondheim on the map for an entirely different reason.
The Around the World freestyle trick they spent days perfecting outside their house a decade ago has taken them around the world and they're now widely considered as two of the greatest athletes in their field, having won everything there is to win between them.
Before they get judged by the likes of Nani and Pável Pardo at the official world championships of freestyle football, we spoke to both brothers to find out how they made it to the main stage.
Erlend Fagerli won Red Bull Street Style in 2018
© Kin Marcin/Red Bull Content Pool
1. It all started with a YouTube video
Despite growing up in a climate more suitable for winter sports, the young brothers took a different path and spent thousands of hours honing their freestyle skills after being inspired by a YouTube video.
"I started when I was 11 years old, in May 2009," recalls Erlend Fagerli. "Me and Brynjar were watching some old freestyle videos on YouTube, which really inspired us. We saw there were so many possibilities."
"I was 14 years old," adds Brynjar. "The freestyler we were looking at on YouTube was called Touzani. We got so inspired and it didn't take long before we were hooked on freestyle."
2. They're the definition of dedication and have been grafting since 2009
What started out as a hobby quickly turned into a burning desire to be the best in the world. Practice, practice, practice made perfection.
"It is hard to say how many hours of practice I've done in my whole career, but for the past five years I've trained freestyle football specifically for around 3,000 hours," says Brynjar. "The first five years, I practised maybe 2,000 hours, so a rough estimate would be around 5,000 hours of my life spent training."
Erlend turns on the style to win Red Bull Street Style 2018
© Dean Treml/Red Bull Content Pool
3. Struggling for validation on the freestyle scene in Norway
The brothers had to travel to Norway's capital Oslo to meet fellow freestyle football enthusiasts. It wasn't always as easy to get acceptance for their chosen career path closer to home.
"The community wasn't the biggest where we lived. Most of our friends and family understood how it could be an engaging activity to do, but of course some people didn't see the point – at least not to put as many hours into it as we did." recall Erlend. "'You can't do that on the field' was a normal expression. As we got better and better, though, people validated it more as a sport on its own and I think most people now understand that it's a possible career choice."
4. Sibling rivalry, or brotherly love?
Winning has become a habit for the Fagerli brothers, both solo and when they combine to compete as a team. Does the intense nature of their training, competing and travelling together have an effect on their relationship?
"Competing against Erlend is, of course, very difficult, simply because I think he's the best freestyle footballer in the world," explains Brynjar. "Having said that, it's always a pleasure to battle against him and I know every trick he has up his sleeve. Competing alongside him in the double routine competition is something truly special."
"Honestly, I wouldn't call it a sibling rivalry, even though we definitely push each other on. If we have a battle against each other, though, that's left behind and it's all about winning," adds Erlend. "It makes it more special that we're doing it together, it makes us really close. We both have very similar goals with what we want in freestyle, so to chase those goals with someone I know and care about that much is really special."
5. Erlend's already considered one of the best of all time
Many experts and former pros in the freestyle scene have already called Erlend the greatest of all time – some achievement for a 22-year-old. The scary thing is that he thinks he can get even better.
"Of course, I like that tag. I really appreciate that people think that of me and I'm very happy to be an inspiration for others. I genuinely think I can take it further, though," he says. "One of the main reasons I'm still putting in so many hours training is that I still feel my level improving. I really want to prove that even though you're in the world elite and have won world titles, you can still become a lot better."
Brynjar has tricks aplenty
© Kin Marcin/Red Bull Content Pool
6. They both want to win Red Bull Street Style 2019
Erlend is the current champion of Red Bull Street Style, having lifted the title in Warsaw, Poland 12 months ago. He can make history by defending the crown in Miami this weekend, but Brynjar also wants to get his hands on the trophy.
"It would really mean a lot to defend the title, as no-one has ever done it before, but at this point it actually means more to me to be able to show my true potential, landing my best moves and to give memorable experiences for the people watching," says Erlend.
"My main goal is obviously to win, but I don't expect that from myself beforehand and I try not to focus so much on it. This is because I think it's important to not be so result-oriented before and during the competition, as I'm afraid that will affect my performance in a negative way," Brynjar offers.