The Faction Collective has been on a tear for the last few years, producing thought-provoking and beautifully made films featuring the plethora of talented athletes on the brand’s roster. One of those is adaptive freeskier Vasu Sojitra. While Sojitra is more than competent on a ski and a skateboard, it’s his effort to disrupt the social norm, particularly in the outdoors, that has solidified him as one of the most prolific adaptive athletes in our industry.
Born in India, Sojitra first moved to the United States with his family as an infant, and he was just nine months old when he was diagnosed with Septicemia and had his right leg amputated. Sojitra’s family moved back to Ahmadabad, Gujarat, India, for support but ended up moving back to Connecticut when he was seven years old for better access to medical equipment. Sojitra first learned how to ski when he was 10 and has not looked back since.
In the short film “Aikyam,” which is Sanskrit for ‘Oneness,’ Sojitra returns to his home country in an effort to better understand himself and his family’s heritage at the country’s sole ski resort, Gulmarg, in the northern Kashmiri Province. What he finds is a thriving and lively community of skiers and riders, Indian and otherwise, finding solace and purpose in sliding on snow—just as he does a world away in his adopted home of Bozeman, Montana. Just five minutes in length, this thoughtful piece is hopefully just the first snippet of Sojitra’s continued exploration within himself, his heritage and where skiing fits into it all.
