This week in conjunction with Deity components, and Kona bikes, Hill awaits Unsanctioned outdoor entertainment released it's first ever fully produced video part with San Diego's finest, Eddie Reynolds. This project began back in 2023 when I approached Eddie with an idea to film a part. We both have busy schedules and missions were few and far between, but after a couple of years of stacking clips in our spare time we agreed it was time to put this one out.
Coming from a lifelong relationship with skateboarding and entering the MTB industry back in 2022, I have always wanted to film an MTB part reminiscent of the videos that I watched as a young rat growing up. Before the internet we would wait ages for skate videos to drop on VHS. One friend would buy a copy that we would all watch over and over and over, analyzing every trick and spot, hoping that one day we would be in those videos, or visit those iconic spots ourselves. Only a couple videos would come out a year, and we had them memorized, trick by trick and song by song. Nothing was decided by an algorithm, and if it was good, we watched it religiously, and waited patiently for the next to drop.
Fast forward to now, we live in a world of revolving door moments, and it's really hard to create something that stands out, and is played in living rooms on repeat, let alone watched more than once by someone. Not even sure if thats a thing nowadays, but I feel that the time that is put in dictates the variety that is put out, and so many things you see nowadays are shot in a day, and created to support a single moment. Our thought process with this video was simple. We link up whenever it works out, and one day we'll have a full part's worth of footage to edit. Some weeks we'd be out a couple days in a row, and some months would fly by where we didn't link up at all.
Every mission was different. What I thought would include a lot of trips to dirt jumps and trails quickly turned into street missions all over San Diego. We only had 3 days throughout the course of filming where we shot on trails. Eddie made it a point to me early on that he wanted to ride unique spots, some naturally there, and some not. I'd show up and he'd be digging a lip out of a bank on the side of the road, or he'd send me photos of stuff like his ender drop the night before he wanted to go. He'd be like, "I think I can drop this tomorrow", and I'd be like, "Ok, let's go!". It very much reminded me of skating where things are always sporadic, You're not just pulling up to perfect spots every time. You have to cut knobs off of handrails, or bondo cracks to make things work. Eddie embodies that seek and destroy mentality - Hungry as hell, and when he's got his mind set, he eats! The end result of our combined efforts feels to be somewhere lost in between a New world disorder video and Toy Machine's Welcome to Hell. If you haven't heard of either of those, better ask somebody ;)
The variety of spots and styles of riding throughout the video, paired with different cameras used are what dictated the title, "ALL MIXED UP", which Eddie came up with. He knew he wanted to ride every Kona bike in his arsenal across all types of terrain, and that I would be shooting stuff on various cameras including Sony VX1000, Sony A7siii, and Super 8. "All mixed up" is the result of 2 friends out creating something we both hope will influence others to keep things fun and creative.
Huge thanks to Deity and Kona for stepping up to support this project on so many levels and thanks to everyone that helped make this possible along the way. Most of all, thank you Eddie for your passion, determination, and trust in me to make this video as great as you have. If you haven't watched "All mixed up", get there, and prepare for some Unsanctioned outdoor entertainment at it's very finest!
- Jimmy Astleford