Together As One.
A few months ago, when applications to participate opened, some people encouraged me to apply, but I was hesitant. I wasn’t sure I could handle it with everything I already had going on with the store and the music show. But in the end, I decided to apply. If I made it in, it would be a great way to see if I could handle multiple tasks.
For the next month, all I did was visualize what the slideshow might look like and start imagining everything in my head, including the feeling of stepping onto the stage. I simply wanted to showcase what I’ve been doing with Bicycle Nightmares all these years—documenting the culture and lifestyle of underserved disciplines of mountain biking. When I was selected, I reached out to a core group of people I thought would be a good fit, and they all said yes.
Initially, I wanted to use either “Sabotage” by Beastie Boys or “You Think I Ain’t Worth A Dollar, But I Feel Like A Millionaire” by Queens Of The Stone Age. It had to be something powerful, not just ambient background music. Later, I found out we couldn’t use music unless the artists approved it, so that plan was out. I kept searching. Then Josh from Serious Talk suggested a song from Space Mesa, Cam McCaul’s band, called “High Tide.” Although that one didn’t fit for me, I picked another track from them, “Candle Wax.” That one had potential. From then on, I played it every day, everywhere, especially while driving. When I asked Cam about possibly using it, he was stoked. It took me another week to finally decide, but I trusted my gut and agreed to use it. It just felt right, and using a song made by a rider would be the perfect addition for what I wanted to do.
At times, throughout the shooting process, I worried a bit whether I was doing it right or wrong, and if I was compromising my entry by not following some of the contest’s requirements and not doing the classic shots you usually expect from this show. Regardless of those thoughts, I stuck to my original plan, and I was able to stay in the moment and experience magical moments with everyone involved.
The post-production was as heavy as I had heard—long nights selecting and editing photos over the first two days, and one sleepless night on the last day. I had never done a slideshow before, and I left the editing until the very last day. From 10 pm to 6:30 am, all I did, with great support from Jano Caamaño, was piece photos together on iMovie. No Premiere, no professional setup. You work with what you have and try to make it happen.
And the rest is history.
Again, thank you so much to everyone who joined me and helped bring my vision to life. I’m forever grateful and will never forget this crazy but beautiful challenge: Rowan Sayers, Garret Sayers, Oliver Marshall, Jacob Lingemann, Joey Delesalle, Michael Delesalle, Matt Begg, Hunter Paull, David McMillan, Nils Heiniger, Brittany Gustafson, Mac Cookman, Caleb Holonko, Lucy Van Eesteren, Ryan Middleton, Alex Volokhov, Christian Rigal, Hugo Frixtalon, Finley Kirschemann, Erik Fedko, and Cam McCaul.