Regarding crews, it's fair to say that Chef (formerly Chef Boyardee) is what you would want from a group of friends. Dedicated skiers, who like to film, and have fun. After producing edits for years, the group of 20-odd skiers came together to drop their first feature film, Exit Strategy.
If there was an Mt. Rushmore for skiers, it’s a fair assumption that Berman, Freedle, or anyone that’s worked behind the Level 1 banner deserves a spot on this hypothetical mountain. Level 1 seems to keep giving back to the Freeski community even after they departed from making annual ski films; Superunknown is still in full swing, short films from Level 1 veterans and unknowns grace their Youtube channel, and a new Rail Jam Tour for the masses has just been announced. The good folks at Level 1 seem to have a lot left in their tank for a media company that chops its teeth in the money scarce albeit culturally rich Freeski industry.
Jonah Williams has stepped down from his partnerships with long-time sponsors Atomic, Dragon, and Obermeyer. I got the chance to chat with Jonah while he was on the road to Utah where we chatted about the ski industry, his humbleness, and the new opportunity to start riding for Rossignol.
IF3 Whistler loosely wrapped up after four days of ski films. The judges this year had to sit through and analyze a whopping 110 films. I don’t envy them whatsoever.
Rudy Lepine sports a bushy beard, big-rimmed glasses, and a soft-spoken personality. You might remember Rudy from the early SIMPLE edits or his recent web series Sensorial Quartet. Recently, the ON3P team member has been silently filming a 2-year street project in and around his home province of Quebec that’s interestingly named, Psychoactive.
Daniel Loosli (@Doosli) has recently found himself in the thick of the freeskiing scene. He is also a talented photographer, so much so that he’s had multiple covers with the late Powder magazine and his own exhibitions. I got the chance to go the rounds with the 32-year old from Zurich, Switzerland to look into his life and how skiing and photography intersect.
Meet Nicholas Suchy, a 21-year-old skier who’s already done tricks almost none of the field has thought of yet, but you’ve probably never even heard of him. Our conversation covered enough ground to be considered, “an interview", a quick glance about his upbringing, an upcoming film project, and being a potential Olympic hopeful for Germany.
The 28-year-old Forster Meeks has been putting out his own personal taste of controlled chaos in the streets during the winter and Mt. Hood in the summer for years. The everso unpretentious Meeks took the chance to sit down and chat about his knee injury, trick selection, his new edit, Summer of the Cap, and what the future has in store for him.
The calm and humble demeanour of 22-year-old Patrick (PC) Dew does little for the madness the guy can do with two planks of wood strapped to his feet. And although he hates the accolade of being "retired" at such a young age. Dew took the time to sit down and chat about the ups and downs about being a competitive skier in today's climate, and what finally let him decide to step away from a shot at making the Canadian Olympic team.
