One version of ‘living the dream’ is a lifestyle based around spending every day riding endless downhill. Like a die-hard surfers living close to the beach, passion-driven riders are building a community around the world famous Whistler Mountain Bike Park. This dream requires sacrifice. But no sacrifice is too big for the committed. In the greater mountain bike community we hold these people up as purists. They are the ones we think of when we feel trapped in our own routines. They are the ones that help keep our dreams alive.
In keeping with the theme of our new community-based film project, Strength in Numbers, we've just released the full Switzerland segment for everyone to enjoy and share. Travelling with your bike is an amazing way to create connections between different riding communities all over the world. This is what we hoped to capture when we followed freeride legend Wade Simmons on his annual summer trip to the Swiss Alps along with fellow freerider and friend Matt Hunter. Hopefully, watching this will leave you inspired and stoked to get out on your own bike adventure. In Wade’s own words: “It’s not all about the trail... it’s about where that trail is."
Earlier this year, Shimano gave us the opportunity to shoot with Thomas Vanderham for the launch of their new Saint Series. Thomas wanted to change things up a bit and create something that would highlight just how much freeride mountain biking has progressed since the launch of the first Saint in 2003. Here's Thomas' own words on his motivations behind the video...
The free online premiere of Strength in Numbers was a huge success. Thanks to everyone who joined us online! We had over 200,000 riders from all over the world watch the film in just 24 hours. This totally exceeded our expectations and really captured what Strength in Numbers is all about – uniting the global mountain bike community. A lot of people thought we were crazy to give away a movie that we spent almost 2 years making. But we believe that films are one of the most powerful ways to grow and unite our sport and we’re just getting started. Today we’re releasing the complete Aptos segment for free online for everyone to experience and share. Enjoy!
The online premiere reflects exactly the concept behind “STRENGTH IN NUMBERS”: a bike movie that is about how all sides of the mountain bike world are connected should be accessible to all mountain bikers!
Right on time with the start of the 2012 bike season, the world’s “who’s who” of mountain biking got together at last weekend’s Sea Otter Classic for the world premiere of the action sports documentary STRENGTH IN NUMBERS, produced by Anthill Films in co-production with Red Bull Media House.
Riding in Nepal on a trail at four thousand meters (13,000 ft) elevation and looking over at a mountain that is eight thousand meters (26,000 ft) tall is a surreal experience. The fact that the trail below your bike has never seen tires on it makes it even more surreal.
Routine is the last thing you expect to encounter on a mountain bike film trip. But we know the routine so well in Green River after a few days we already have the breakfast menu memorized as Carlos verbally reads it to us each morning. Eventually he stops reading it aloud and some of us are simply having the usual. Time seems to slip away in the desert.
Adam Billinghurst is a Whistler local and a featured rider in Anthill’s new film Strength In Numbers. Adam lives to ride the Whistler Bike Park and has done so for 13 years. His commitment to living his dream is an inspirational story that revolves around the park and a man’s love for his downhill bike. Last week, Anthill Filmmaker Jonathan Schramm asked Adam some questions to find out exactly... “Who is Adam Billinghurst?”
There is a piece of contemporary MTB history in the making located at the corner of Trout Gulch Rd. and Cathedral Dr. in Aptos, California. If you show up with a shovel you are more than welcome to be a part of it.
A couple weeks ago during Crankworx we held an autograph signing for Strength in Numbers. A signing is not the easiest thing to pull off at an event like Crankworx because everyone’s schedules are crazy with so many different events, parties, product launches, random bike rides, etc… all going on at the same time.
Anthill Films is excited to follow up the announcement of their upcoming mountain bike film, Strength in Numbers, with the confirmed rider list for the film. Strength in Numbers will feature a diverse selection of riders with some of the biggest names in the sport, including: Andrew Shandro, Brandon Semenuk, Cam McCaul, Danny Macaskill, Gee Atherton, Graham Aggasiz, Matt Hunter, Rene Wildhaber and Thomas Vanderham.
Anthill Films, the production company that brought you Follow Me and the crew behind Seasons, Roam and the Collective, is excited to announce a new film called 'Strength in Numbers' to be released Spring 2012.
Congrats to Jeff Tran from North Vancouver BC who just won the custom Demo 7 from Specialized and Anthill Films. Jeff’s name was randomly picked from the thousands of people who ordered Follow Me off anthillfilms.com or submitted stories about their best day of riding with their friends.
As the official photographer for Anthill Films, Sterling Lorence is on set for our shoots whenever possible. Beyond capturing mind-blowing photos that document the progression of our sport, Sterling’s shots are a great compliment to the film, giving a unique perspective on of everything that goes down in front and behind the cameras. When Sterling agreed to share his slideshow from Follow Me, we thought it would be good to get his perspective on what life is like for being a still photographer working on a film shoot.
You know that saying about the iceberg... Something about the part you see being way smaller than the part you don't. How does that saying go? Anyway, that saying is a lot like making movies.
For all our friends and fans in places outside of North America who wanted to get a digital download of Follow Me you’ve gotten a bit of a raw deal over the last 6 months.
Thomas Vanderham has a big presence in ‘Follow Me’ the 2010 feature film by Anthill. Thomas joined Matt Hunter for a rip in the bike park at Sun Peaks resort near Kamloops, he hosted Sam Hill for a DH tour on the classic North Shore trails and he wowed us with a progressive look at lines within a line in the Whistler Bike Park riding with Brendan Fairclough.
Last week Kurt Sorge, Geoff Gulevich, Jordie Lunn and Graham Agassiz dropped by the Anthill office on their way up to Whistler. Since we were just putting the finishing touches on Kurt’s rider profile for Follow Me, we thought it might be cool to ask him a few questions to go with it. Here’s what Sorge had to say for himself… plus a few shots that Sterling Lorence captured during the filming of Follow Me. Enjoy.
In only a few hours, I was catching an early morning flight with the crew and Stevie Smith to meet Gee Atherton and our host Caleb Smith of Spoke magazine in Queenstown, New Zealand. I was excited.
