Clocking in at 10 minutes, taking 2 years to produce, fluctuating over 4 x songs and approaching 50k views after a few weeks of being live. Beyond the numbers and from a biased perspective, how good is seeing local characters take over the world of BMX, at least for a moment. 

A Bundaberg boy, now Gold Coast based, linking up with an ex-Sydney homie, now Brisbane based filmer and personality, Troy Charlesworth. It's good stuff. The links to LUXBMX are strong too, Boyd being one of our pro riders and Troy having worked in our media division in recent times, let me start by saying that this project is incredible and you should both be super proud of this achievement.

As any good video should, it's over before you know it, which is impressive given it's run time of 10 minutes. As I've mentioned to a few of the boys whilst working on this, having watched a thousand BMX videos, it takes something of note to impress these days. Knowing the skills of both these lads, I had huge hopes for the quality of this project. Even still, to my surprise, it surpassed such expectations, standing as one of the more remarkable biking videos of 2024.  

Crunch Time

While 2 years seems like a long time, I think it's a perfect balance of sufficient time to reach the highest highs while also not leading to dated footage. In the case of these boys, things were slow going for the majority of this period, with the final 2 months being high-pressure, high-stakes. You must remember, it would be difficult for someone like Boyd who has obligations with various sponsors, being Odyssey, Vans, S1, Federal, LUXBMX and Monster. So with Troy based in Brisbane and Boyd constantly being on trips, the dudes took a patient approach, chipping away until crunch time, September 2024.

It's also interesting to note the approach of Boyd with respect to his careful management of fatigue, injury and competing priorities. For example, the dude would avoid filming for 'No More Bets' when there was an approaching trip, a means to avoid ruining an overseas opportunity (most likely supported by one of his sponsors). We will touch on this later, but there was also an awareness of the mental aspect in this scenario, Boyd highlighting that his ability to focus on the present was more difficult when the thought of injury threatened one of these overseas trips.

Another example (in reverse) is Boyd making the tough call to miss the 2024 ACT Jam, so that he could clock a few final nuggets for the video, the stand out being the curved wall to wall pegs to bar at 8.00. Some interesting context for next time you watch.

On this, got the inside scoop that Boyd is currently working on a range of future projects including a Monster video with Rich Forne and an Odyssey video with Zach Krejmas. Something exciting to anticipate. 

Mindset

The mental aspect of a bikers approach to filming always works to intrigue. As we know, it is equally as important as your physical skill set. While it might appear that Boyd doesn't need to have regard to this given his incredible ability to ride a diversity of spots and in his consistency, it was cool to learn that this is not the case.

In fact, the dude puts in a tonne of consideration to ensure a high chance of success, including studying the spot and visualising the trick going down, identifying dangers (like poles, branches etc.) and even getting down to the minutiae in terms of picking up sticks and rocks in the run up and run out. As he mentions, you get hurt when you're not focussed or too comfortable and in all honesty, the ones you're scared of are different because you're hyper focussed, your mind almost slows down as you narrow in on all the tiny moments.

When you have all the various mindset components in check, it's business time. The switch can be turned on and it's all commitment from there. There was also a recognition that it doesn't always 'click' internally, with some spots just not feeling right. In this instance, Boyd talked to finding the trust within yourself, to push past these boundaries in the pursuit of a killer clip, identifying that it's probably not going to be project worthy unless it's scary. As a general rule, if you do anymore than 3 setup laps, don't even worry about doing it, your body would have gotten used to pulling out and you're mentally doomed.

This process was in effect for the second stage gap over pegs (8.24), as one of the final clips in the video, a high-risk, terrifying spot that has been begging to be done for all of Brisbane's biking history. Boyd talked about having wanted to do this for a long time and when the opportunity presented, it was taken. To find the right energy, Boyd had scoped it out earlier in the day, fired out a clip at another spot nearby and then with careful planning - went and handled it first try. 

I love setups like this which require a full team effort and some problem solving. With a security door right next to the top of the rail (and building entrance) and a fire door also in the way, this forced Boyd into an over pegs (including avoiding the pole at the bottom of the rail). Manoeuvring these elements, it was then down to the crew and a discrete approach what with it being a busy road and a highly active/surveilled building, Raph watching one side of the street, Declan the other side, Spenny on long lens, Newman holding the door and Troy shooting fish on the stairs.

With careful planning and attention to detail, as well as keen awareness around the mental preparedness, what is ultimately a super risky moment has been able to be managed into a position of likely success. Well done all. Oh and cool to note that Boyd came up on a 5er ascending the stairs, taken to be a sign of 'its on'. 

One Up

Something I find interesting talking about with dudes of Boyd's calibre is the approach around constant improvement. We all know that you can't release a video part unless it betters the previous, something that is increasingly difficult the longer you ride and work on video projects. As I mentioned above, my personal view is that Boyd has in fact achieved that with this video, quite easily to be honest. While a positive at this stage, it will quickly become a potential stress now that its out.

One comment Boyd made which stood out in this regard were his thoughts around his appearance, in that he is so much bigger than the average biker, being quite tall and donning a helmet. From Boyds point of view, seeing himself ride a flat ledge looks weird, meaning that he seeks out bigger spots to even out his physical appearance. This would be helpful in maintaining an ongoing level of progression, even if it sounds a little strange from an outsiders perspective, I mean, I love watching tall guys ride as they typically have this real cool 'lurched' type style.

The dude also talked about the benefit of being on overseas trips with respect to pushing yourself. It was highlighted that filming on trips can be scarier when you're away from home, however easier to get to the point of 'its on' in that you won't likely be back anytime soon. When you're cruising around at home, your vision might be distorted by silly distractions like a date with the Mrs or trying to force something new on an old spot.

Funny to think that this may have been exactly the scenario with regards to the kinker crash at 1.55. Boyd noted that he'd attempted this previously with Troy on another Odyssey project, not having any luck. This time around, the day was going well so they ventured out to dip the toes. Unfortunately, it turned into a shit hot day and the atmosphere was off, although Boyd went for it anyway and as we've discussed, suffered the consequence of a lack of focus - i.e. one hell of a buckled scorpion. By the looks of it, he got lucky, although mentioned having a weird numbing of his big toe weeks later which would have been freaky. 

Great entertainment nonetheless.  

Release + Response

Linking in with Boyd over a video call was great in that helped to get into the nitty gritty, which may not have happened over email. For example, I asked him how he felt about the project now that it's live, as well as the energy of the premiere and ended up getting into a great discussion.

Most notably, it was cool to hear him talk about being proud of his efforts as well as the difficulty experienced around releasing ender clips in that that there is a missed opportunity to gather more and improve the strength of the project. At some point, you have to make the call, to cut things off and start again. A difficult decision when you have high expectations on yourself. 

I imagine that everyone at the premiere (and those watching subsequently) would not be critical of Boyd having not filmed enough bangers. Sounds like everyone was too busy yelling at the screen and muttering obscenities at how ridiculous the video was. Another interesting point that came up was Boyd's insight into the flow of the video, in that it comprises 4 songs of varying tempos and genres as well as a 'sniper' section which was shot by Spenny as well as the Japanese homie Daichi Teshigahara. Acknowledging the deliberate intention for the video to feel like a journey, Boyd mentioned his contentment with highs and lows, ups and downs, rather than a standard build from the start to a final climax. 

This is understood to have come from a particular experience Troy and Boyd had on a roadtrip down to Byron to catch a surfing video premiere by a Sunshine Coast local (Harry Bryant) called 'Motel Hell'. The experience of absorbing a video from a completely different point of view helped to expand the techniques and style typically used in a BMX setting. This is most notable in the introduction of the video which runs for 2 minutes and doesn't feature all that much riding, rather setting a mood and helping you understand Boyds personality. In my opinion, I love it and am more than happy to watch a video which is in any way unique. 

While there may have been anxieties around taking this route (i.e. biking action as soon as possible), the build to the climax and the longer introduction have (from all accounts) paid off. 

Final Thoughts

With both my children pestering, clawing at the screen as I attempted to further discuss the video with Boyd, it was time to wrap up. 

Offering the dude a chance for final thoughts, Boyd urgently blurted out 'get your mates to watch the street a bit better'. Of course referring to the line ending at 4.15 in which a city bus very, very nearly ends the clip, the video and likely Boyds existence. 

Boyd explained that they'd been at that spot for quite a while, excusing periods of rain and in a sinister way, becoming overly comfortable with the setting - which led to the spotter (or lack of a spotter in this instance) relaxing his attentiveness at the wrong time. Of course, the one time that Boyd made it to the road, the bus lane finally had a bus in it. 

Alternatively, it contributes to the energy of the clip and the video, despite the scare involved. In the end, everything worked out and the spotter will no longer be trusted with the gift of spotting! 

From my point of view, final thoughts may take the form of pride and awe. The project warrants all and any recognition it receives and sets yet another benchmark for both Troy as the producer and Boyd as the biker. Hopefully there is another opportunity for these two to link up in the future, we wait in earnest.