Category Archives: Inspiration

Everest – A Time Lapse Short Film by Elia Saikaly

Posted on by

[VimeeeeO] <— 540,000 I always had dreams and aspirations for climbing Mount Everest ... Thanks to Elia Saikaly - this is good enough for now :) [Mount Everest – The Death Zone]
[Elia Saikaly Homepage]

Kevin Pearce – “The Crash Reel”

Posted on by


[YouTube] <— 3,789

The Crash Reel

Fifteen years of verite footage show the epic rivalry between half-pipe legends Shaun White and Kevin Pearce, childhood friends who become number one and two in the world leading up to the Vancouver Winter Olympics, pushing one another to ever more dangerous tricks, until Kevin crashes on a Park City half-pipe, barely surviving. As Kevin recovers from his injury, Shaun wins Gold. Now all Kevin wants to do is get on his snowboard again, even though medics and family fear this could kill him. We also celebrate Sarah Burke who crashed in Park City and died January 19, 2012.

I find it difficult to write about this film – simply because I strongly believe ‘the crash reel” is something everyone should just watch… and pay attention to. The soundtrack continues to get better with each viewing and the enjoyment of seeing other people finally learn about the severity of brain injuries and the consequences behind them is mind opening.

Love Your Brain - #loveyourbrain - Tee Shirt

#loveyourbrain Tahiti Blue Tee Shirt

There are so many levels of integration as to why this documentary hits so close to home with me…

  • My mom is a brain injury specialist
  • I practically grew up at Craig
  • Half pipe half pipe half pipe
  • Stephen Murray
  • Sarah Burke – CR Johnson
  • Action Sports
  • Directing and story telling

[Interview with Director Lucy Walker]

Yard House “We Are Yard House” Web Video Campaign – Genius

Posted on by


[YouTubeUlar] <— 6,332 On March 5th, 2013 the Yard House decided to drop a new series of videos to support their "We Are Yard House" campaign they started a year ago. I'm not going to lie, this is rejuvenating to me because I feel as if Yard House was a dying brand in my book following their $585 million dollar sellout last year to Darden Restaurants (Red Lobster, Olive Garden, LongHorn, Bahama Breeze, Seasons 52, The Capital Grille, Eddie V’s).

At the turn of the century the Yard House was iconic into where I conducted a lot of business due to it’s atmosphere, music, beer and former leader Steele Platt. Steele created a very unique environment based on good music and beer. His automation ability to control all the music at all times in all of his restaurants using an iMac and MegaSeg was revolutionary and ahead of it’s time – kind of like his first restaurant project, the Boiler Room at the Tivoli in Downtown Denver.

Kids, you have to remember this was before your iPhones, iPods and iTunes and way before Apple owned the world. Free wireless internet was all the rage and to see someone who believed in technology (and beer) the way we do was refreshing. I remember emailing Steele from his Colorado Mills Yard House (opened in 2003) thanking him for the awesomeness he was creating, and I’m pretty we sent him an original iPod as a friendly gesture on behalf of Apple Rockies.

We eventually quit populating our bodies into the Yard House as time wore on… they initiated a 45 minute time limit on their free internet, removed the option to drink out of a full yard glass, and honestly – I think it just became a little too popular and busy for us. In no way is that a bad thing in business, but it certainly is difficult to maintain the same “cool” experience to your initial users as you move forward with sizing.

I have nothing against the Yard House, I just feel as if they haven’t reached out to me lately and their new “We Are Yard House” campaign finally fills that void. These stories are long enough to demand respect, which good work is granted, but short enough to keep my attention clicking through them.


[Bringing the Beats to Yard House] <— 1,579 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qnAY81xIWL4 [Beer Head] <— 1,767 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iecTCKUIEkU [We Are Yard House (2012)] <— 26,932 If I were to re-open my creative services, these are the kinds of videos I would be producing. They are very similar to the Apple videos I've done in the past... only with cooler toys, cameras and shot options now :) [Steele Platt – Yard House bio]
[Steele Platt – Boiler Room – King of Kegs]
[Yard House $585 Million Acquisition]

Stout – A Forever “Bottle Opener” Object by Lance Atkins

Posted on by


[Kickstarter-licious] <— 100 backers $3,345 Congratulations Lance Atkins for your first 100 backers on the newest "Forever Object" - The Stout Bottle Opener. You have 33 days remaining to grab one of these bad boys that you can apparently put anywhere as a permanent bottle opener for all your badassness bottle opening needs.

I would like to attach one of these beautiful bottle openers to a Blackbox Case — or maybe a truck driving around in mud with my GoPro!

Go get em Lance … Forever Objects Rule

[Stout Bottle Opener – Kickstarter] <— 100 backers [Stout Bottle Opener – Facebook] <— 1

TED – Elizabeth Gilbert – Your Elusive Creative Genius

Posted on by


[YouTubeUlar] <— 1,392,643 I was surprised to see the date on this February 2009 TED video and the fact it took over 4 years to reach me. When Elizabeth Gilbert speaks about the genius of creativity and where does it come from… it directly reminds me of an interview I conducted in 2010 with a true musical genius, Doug Smith.

I really enjoy how Elizabeth talks about the source of creativity and her Ruth Stone Example. Doug couldn’t explain where his creativity came from either… other than it hitting him with a ton of bricks from somewhere above. He was simply the messenger to transcribe the grand message and deliver it to our ears through his grand piano.

To conclude, Elizabeth brings up a very good point to ponder…
is creativity directly linked to suffering?

[Elizabeth Gilbert – Facebook] <— 80,049 [Ruth Stone]

The Perlorian Brothers – Social Farter

Posted on by

[VimeeeeeO]

I’ve recently had this idea to change the word “work” to “fuck”. It’s a play on words to call out the people in this world that are always just too busy to do anything worthwhile or fun… the people that always have excuses to not go skiing, or to not grab a drink or to NOT hang out. No no no no no. They are wrapped into their own world of being too busy… “working” all the time.

In your reply to these non-existent people in our lives… swap “work” to “fuck” and see how long it takes them to understand what you are doing.

“Ohhh, I’m sorry you fuck from 9 to 5.”
“You have to fuck on the weekends!?”
“You fuck all the time.”
“Well, when your done fucking – maybe we can hang out.”

The way I envision the advertisement for our public service campaign about getting people out of the office in their mind — would be a mix between Budlight – Swear Jar and the above beautiful ad I found today from The Perlorian Brothers [Vimeo], [Facebook – 2321].

The Social Farter is a genius PSA by the Canadian Ministry of Health’s Quit the Denial campaign.

[Quit the Denial – Social Farting] <— 346 [Quit the Denial – Social Nibbler] <— 10 views [Quit the Denial – Social Earwax Picker] <— 15 views I found these while researching old advertising methods and came across Calvin Cline’s 1980 campaign with Brooke Shields when she was 15 years old.

Boston Bombings Hero – Carlos Arredondo

Posted on by
3

Carlos Arredondo Boston Bombings Hero

Carlos Arredondo is a Trill Boston Hero for helping save Jeff Bauman following the Boston Marathon bombings on April 15th, 2013.

“The man in the cowboy hat in this photo’s name is Carlos Arredondo. Carlos was at the Boston Marathon with his wife handing out American flags to runners. He lost a son to a sniper bullet in Iraq in 2004 and a second son to suicide a few years later – a depression triggered by the death of his brother. Carlos now spends a significant amount of his time on peace activism and working with vets coming home from war and was at the Marathon to hand out flags and inspire people.

Carlos does not having any medical training but when the blast went off, he ran towards the danger, jumped two fences and found the now-famous man in the wheelchair on the ground, both his legs blown off, and suffering from severe shock and critical wounds. He got him into a wheelchair and pinched the man’s artery closed with two of his fingers (you can see him doing so in the photo). Because of Carlos, this man is alive today, having had surgery earlier today to remove both of his legs.

This man is a hero and deserves recognition. This man who lost so much still threw himself into the frenzy of panic and saved another guy’s life. That’s Trill.”

[Carlos Arredondo – The Washington Post]
[Trill – UrbanDictionary]

I Love Awesomeness – Backflip of the Week by Jacob Wester

Posted on by
3


[YouTubeUlar] <— 84,493 Indescribable. This makes me want to backflip on skis again... or just go really really really big, again. Holy shit :)

“While on a backcountry trip through Telluride, CO, Sweden’s Jacob Wester gives us a first-hand look at a 100-foot backflip off a mining trestle that was built in the 1920s. The crew was staying at the Alta Lakes Observatory nearby”

Jacob Wester, you win our I Love Awesomeness athlete of the week award for this ridiculous backie.

As JP Auclair states,

“You can’t go wrong with a backie!”

[Jacob Wester on Facebook] <— 5,940 [Jacob Wester Blog]
[Freeskier Link]
[UnofficialNetworks Link]

Americans Are Awesome – Boston National Anthem

Posted on by
3


[YouTubeUlar] <— 119,401

“Rene Rancourt starts singing, and then the TD Garden crowd takes it home as Boston returns to sports two days after the bombing at the Boston Marathon.”

Americans are awesome! Nothing more to say.

Boston is one of my favorite cities in the world. When I saw this on the news tonight – it was a hair raising experience. I can only imagine how awesome it would have been to actually be in the TD Garden during this National Anthem.

Lennon & Maisy Stella’s Adorable “Nashville” Lumineers “Ho Hey” Cover

Posted on by
2


[YouTubeUlar] <— 247,624 Ho Hey (feat. Lennon Stella & Maisy Stella) – Ho Hey (feat. Lennon Stella & Maisy Stella) – Single

Last week on ABC’s “Nashville” episode 16, Rayna Jaymes Conrad finally gives into her daughters wish of partying like rock stars and allows them to perform a soundcheck for her. Maddie and Daphne (played by Lennon & Maisy Stella) perform this adorable cover of “Ho Hey” by the Lumineers and instantly give replay credit to their 2012 smashing hit.

Ho Hey – Single – The Lumineers

If you don’t believe these girls are for real, as I didn’t… I suggest you watch this live performance of the two covering the same song last week at 3rd & Lindsley in Nashville, Tennessee.

[YouTubeUlar] <— 37,090

The real life Lennon and Maisy Stella are indeed the real thing. They are real sisters from Canada who grew up on a farm without internet and television and nearly play the same age characters in “Nashville” as they are in real life. Lennon Stella (13 years old) and Maisy Stella (8 years old) made themselves famous last May with this instant YouTube hit video [15,507,340 views] performing their unique version of Robyn’s ‘Call Your Girlfriend’ [3,764,522 views].

In real life, Lennon & Maisy’s parents are real musicians performing as “The Stellas” and moved to Nashville in 2009. They won a 2012 Canadian Country Music Association (CCMA) award for music video of the year for their song “In This House”. Lennon & Maisy are featured in the video and can be seen growing up in the Stellas new song “Riding in the Back Seat” [159,698] music video.

In Episode 3 of “Nashville”, Lennon and Maisy perform a cover of Juliette Barnes’ (Hayden Panettiere) “Telescope” [160,475] during a school talent show which hinted at their future talent ability for the future of the show. Rumor has it, they were signed to appear on “Nashville” before they made themselves famous on the interManets.

To learn more about these future superstars… travel through the links below.

[Stella Sisters Fanpage]
[Lennon and Maisy – Youtube Channel] <— 266,980 subscribers [Lennon and Maisy – Facebook Page] <— 64,054 likes [Lennon and Maisy – A Christmas Interview] <— 433,874 views [Kid President with Lennon and Maisy] <— 527,290 views
[Lennon and Maisy Huffington Post Interview]

John Spriggs – Corbet’s Couloir Backflip

Posted on by
1


[YouTubeUlar] <— 74,524 Apparently this session with John Spriggs backflipping into Jackson Hole's infamous Corbet's Couloir took place last year - but none the less it is still impressive and probably will be for the rest of my life. Teton Gravity Research (TGR) was actually conducting a ski shoot for their upcoming film The Dream Factory and they had this shot into Corbet's covered by 10 different camera angles - but it was this RAW shot by Erin Lunsford who just happened to be at the right spot at the right time to intrigue me to look up this epic morning of shooting for TGRs Dream Factory. Now I want to see the movie. The Dream Factory- Teton Gravity Research

Straight from TGRs Behind the Scenes at Corbet’s video…

“In March of 2012, Teton Gravity Research filmed a segment for The Dream Factory on the most challenging in-bounds run in the United States — the infamous Corbet’s Couloir at Jackson Hole Mountain Resort. On a bluebird day, the TGR crew put together what may be the heaviest session to have ever gone down on this run riddled with history. John Spriggs kicks off the session with a giant back flip, Griffin Post sends the West Wall, 13-year-old Daniel Tisi airs it bigger than most grown men ever have, Matt Phillipi spins a giant 360, Max Hammer throws a huge switch 180 and local Jeff Ledger does his signature front flip. There’s no doubt about it, this session was “all-time.”

[Teton Gravity Research – Behind the Scenes at Corbet’s Couloir] <— 64,085 John Spriggs is a local kid (younger then me) who I have spent some time with in the past. I actually sold my old Sony FX1 camera to him a couple years back for him to shoot his ridiculous skiing antics. It's good to see Spriggs continuing his skiing career to new levels. The Dream Factory- Teton Gravity Research