Who and what is Legs Of Steel?

LOS: Legs of Steel (LOS) officially consists of Thomas Hlawitschka, Bene Mayr, Tobi Reindl and Paddy Graham. We are friends, housemates and we ski together. Actually, people should think of us as like a rock band. Bene is the lead singer, the face of the band, the poster boy. Paddy is the lead guitarist, the crazy guy and crowd favorite. Thomas would be the bassist, because they are always the soft-spoken, mysterious jindo ones, and Tobi is the drummer, the man in the background but the brain of every band.

Legs of Steel: Paddy Graham, Bene Mayr, Tobi Reindl and Thomas Hlawitschka. Photo: Klaus Polzer

How did LOS start and how did you come up with this name?

Paddy Graham: Well like all big crews in the history of big crews, nobody seems to know why it all started. I guess due to the way we ski and the way we workout and train in the summer, somebody called us the "Legs of Steel guys" one day. But in terms of how, I guess it was simply when we decided to live together in Innsbruck, Austria last August.

Paddy. Photo: Bene Mayr

You guys just released your first movie, The Pilot. How does that feel?

Thomas Hlawitschka: It feels great man. It was a challenge to be both producers and athletes for a year, but in the end it worked out and that’s awesome. But I would really like to use this opportunity to say thank you to all of the people who worked with us. From the graphic guys to all the filmers, and last but certainly not least, our editor Fabi Hyden. We love you all, and thank you so much.

Thomas. Photo: Christoph Schoech

You are all part of successful movie projects besides LOS. So why did you decide to do your own movie?

Bene Mayr: We spend every possible ski day filming or training together. We have the same views on certain things in ski movies. It was only a question of time before we were going to take things into our own hands and create something of our own. It was definitely a big step for us but it feels good.

Bene. Photo: Christoph Schoech

What do you think of the ski movie scene in general? Where is the place of LOS within this scene?

Thomas Hlawitschka: Technological advances make it easier to make a ski movie these days, and as a result there are numerous new companies entering the market every year. This makes it hard to do something different or outstanding, but we will always try to be as fresh as possible.

Photo: Klaus Polzer

What’s your inspiration when planning your movies? Do you have a special type of film you’re aiming to make?

Tobi Reindl: We were always inspired by the old ski movies like Happy Dayz and Propaganda. Rock music, a crash segment, not a ton of jibbing and a summer camp outro. Just skiing and having fun. You know, like back in the good old days when Boyd Easley was still shredding (laughs).

Tobi. Photo: Klaus Polzer

Making ski movies is a business. So how does the business side of things coincide with your skiing careers?

Bene Mayr: The business part was challenging for sure. Writing a concept, selling a proposal to sponsors, being in charge of a budget and organizing shoots and filmers was definitely new for all of us. But it was fun and you learn a lot when you have to do all those things by yourself.

Bene. Photo: Klaus Polzer

What are your plans for the next season?

Paddy Graham: Next season is going to be sweet. We’re going to make another movie, only now we’ve joined forces with Andre Nutini, a young filmmaker from Canada. He‘s one of the most talented filmers we ever worked with. Check his stuff out at andrenutini.com and get stoked! It’s going to be sick!

Legs Of Steel The Pilot from Legs of Steel on Vimeo.