A rock star reception awaited Australian Alexander Roberts in the Finnish northern city of Oulu. Not far from the Arctic Circle, Oulu hosts the annual Air Guitar World Championships, where competitors from all over the world congregate to strum and crown a new winner.
“Make air, not war” is the motto of the competition, now in its 22nd year.
Roberts, whose stage name is ‘The Jinja Assassin,' shared second place with German Patrick ‘Ehrwolf’ Culek, while the American Matt ‘Airistotle’ Burns took home the crown for a second time in row.
Roberts described the atmosphere at the competition as fantastic.
"So many people knew who we were," Roberts tells SBS Finnish. "We were walking around like we were the Beatles, it was quite amazing."
Alexander made his way to Oulu as a wild card through the US air guitar trials. There he was crowned rookie of the year.
Finnish luck
On the world stage it was Finnish luck for Alexander, who played a song by Children of Bodom in the final.
"When I was a teenager I grew up listening and playing melodic metal," says Roberts, explaining his final song choice. "They were my favourite band… They are a great band and very popular in Finland."
Watch the 'Jinja Assassin' in action below:
The toughness of the competition amazed Alexander, who was up for a surprise after a cruisy first round.
“When I got to the regional final in Chicago trials it was a different ball game, people took it really seriously,” he said.
Many of the competitors are known for their distinct styles and the Japanese world championship finalist caught Alexander’s eye.
“He was fantastic," says Roberts. "In the first round he came dressed as a sumo wrestler and in the second round he was dressed as an ancient warrior."
Roberts first came to playing air guitar when he didn’t have time to continue with his long-time hobby, playing the real instrument. A mate suggested it would be something he would enjoy.
Roberts said he is not ready to rest on his laurels and hang up his air guitar yet.
“I would love to go to Oulu and claim that number one spot." he says. "I’m not done."
"To be the true Jinja Assassin one must take the title, grab the crown."
Finnish Crazy Games
In September, Australian air guitar enthusiasts have an opportunity to show off their skills at the Finnish Crazy Games in Canberra. Unfortunately, the Jinja Assassin will not be able to make it back to Australia in time to compete himself.
The first Finnish Crazy Games downunder organised by the Finnish Embassy, are one of many events running throughout the year, designed to mark the centenary of Finland.
Running across the weekend of 23rd-24th September 2017, the games are a celebration of all things Finnish.
Finns are renowned for their appetite for quirky activities. In addition to the air-guitar competition, hobby horse racing and wife-carrying are included in the program.
Katri Doup, Attaché, Public Diplomacy and Administrative Services at the Embassy of Finland says that in addition to the Games, the weekend's celebrations will include Finnish food, drinks and much more.
“Our Ambassador will give guided tours of the embassy, and we even have a mailbox for letters to Santa,” Ms Doup said. *
Although the centenary is marked in Finnish communities around the world, the Crazy Games event is unique to Australia.
Ms Doup said that the Embassy wanted to celebrate the centenary in a very Finnish way.
“We wanted to create an event that celebrated our centenary theme ‘together’ and wanted to create an event suitable for everyone - including Australians and Finns in Australia.”
The Finnish Crazy Games is the main public event of the year. The Embassy in Canberra will play host concerts and an arts exhibition later in the year. More information can be found on the Embassy’s website and Facebook pages.