12 September 2012


Jake Blauvelt is back with Naturally. You might have already seen the teaser on transworld, but if you didn't, it's here. And it's really amazing. So we sat with the man, Jake Blauvelt himself and with his producer, Greg Martin. Here is what they had to say : interesting things. And yes, we talked about Adidas Snowboarding.

Jake Blauvelt - Naturally.

So you've seen the teaser for Jake Blauvelt's new project : Naturally. The rest is coming... not so soon. The whole team (Eric Jackon, Kazu Kokubo, John Jackson, Terje Haakonsen and their buddies) will shoot one more year. Next rendez-vous ? Fall 2013, with episodes and a full movie that you will be able to discover online, for free. 

Fluofun interview :

Jake Blauvelt, rider / Greg Martin, producer.

 

Fluofun : How was this first season of shooting ? Tell us about the trips, the spots, the success and the failure of your first winter of shooting ?

 

Jake Blauvelt : The first season of shooting was great. We started things off in Japan in January. It's a great place to get your body warmed up with all the hiking through the trees, and all the features are pretty low consequences. Then we mainly stayed in British Columbia after that. We went way up in Northern BC to Last Frontier Heli in mid February and got to see some insane terrain. Alaskan style. I tweaked my shoulder and had to take some time off, then we started things back off in March, heliing in Whistler. We found some good snow there and filmed some quality riding, but unfortunately I tweaked my shoulder again and had to go in for surgery. It was a little more quality than quantity kind of season.

 

Fluofun : We can see a short but very good list of riders in this teaser. Are there any other joining you for the second year of shooting ? Who impressed you the most ?

 

Jake :  Everyone on the roster was and is always impressive. Eric Jackson was really fired up and riding well in Japan. Terje was flowing his surfy style in B.C, Kazu and John were on a mission to go HUGE, as always !! I'm really down to get anyone in the film who wants to shred pow and have a good time doing it. I'd love to get Nico (muller), Fredi K, Gigi and DCP in the mix, and also some of my good friends that have mad skills but haven't really had their chance to shine yet, like Shayne Pospisil.

 

Fluofun : riders, even more when they have their own project, tend to try to push the boundaries of snowboarding. If you had to describe the direction you want to push snowboarding, how would it be ?

 

Jake : I just want to keep doing my thing the way I've always done it. Do it for the passion and love I have for riding and document it. I don't feel like I have to do anything different, just keep progressing every time I strap in. Things will fall into place as they should.

 

Fluofun : How did you decide to get involved in a 100% web/tv series, with no "concrete" DVD sell ? Was it a hard choice ?

 

Jake : Greg (Martin, producer) helped steer me in the right direction. I was hesitant at first, but I'm glad we did it. I feel it's good to keep switching things up, and this seemed like a perfect opportunity that Friday and Transworld worked out for Naturally. We wanted to embrace the power of the web and document everything that goes into a season rather than just giving a 3 minutes version of a whole season in a video part.

 

Fluofun : With all due respect, how is it to come after That's it that's all / The Art of Flight ? Those guys have set a pretty high bar, it looks ilke you have no energy drink backing you, but the teaser is already really promising. How do you manage that ?

 

Jake : The Art of Flight and TITA have definitely set the bar very high, and my hat goes off to them. I would like to use their success as motivation and not treat it like we have to out do them or even be compared to them. People will judge us to Brainfarm, but we're completely different, and just because your using Cineflex doesn't mean it has to be the same type of film. 

Oakley and Adidas have given us the budget to get the job done, and keeping the crews tight and smart, paired with Greg's creative budgeting skills is putting us in the right direction. As far as energy drinks go, yes they do have a lot of money, but they don't make you ride better and aren't healthy for you, so I don't feel right pushing that to kids who are going to be watching the video.

 

Greg Martin : we have to get fairly creative with budgets, and can’t waste any money. But we also have some great partners in Oakley and Adidas, and it’s possible to achieve a lot with good planning and a tight crew. As for the enrgy drink money - ever since jake and i started working together he has made it very clear that he has absolutely no desire to promote a energy drink brand, which is great!

 

Fluofun : one of the main sponsors seems to be Adidas, with jake, kazu and e-jack starring in the movie. Is that it ? Is Adidas "really" coming into snowboarding ? What should we expect ?

 

Jake : yes, Adidas is in the game ! They're amazing to work with and really want to do everything authentically and correct from the start. They've dabbled in snowboarding here and there, but now they're all in and want to really push the progression of snowboard boots. The resources and technology they have is mind blowing so you can definitely expect some next level boots for the future. I'll be testing them out this coming winter to make sure they're just right for ya!

 

Greg : yes, Adidas is “really” in snowboarding now... They are supporting Jake’s vision for Naturally, in the same way they are helping him develop some amazing products, like the Blauvelt lifestyle boot and his signature snowboard boots. Eric Jackson and Kazu will be a big part of naturally, and i heard a rumor that they are both now riding for Adidas too, as well as helen schettini... Haha!

 

Fluofun : what's the next thing to expect from naturally ? Any planning already set for fall 2013 ?

 

Greg : 2013 will be really busy for us. The crew we have on the project is small, but we all get on really well and share the same work ethic and vision for naturally. I have been working with jake for 4 years now as his manager, and have filmed together for 6 years, so i understand what he is looking to ride, and how he wants it filmed. The other main filmer is Gabe Langlois (who worked on the art of flight), and our editor is mark roberts who has edited all jake’s tv shows and web series... They are both legends! We will start full time filming from the beginning of january, and have trips planned to Japan, Europe, Canada, Alaska and Chile. The output will all be a full length snowboard film and 6 part web tv series... The difference being that it will all be free to view online !

Fluofun : Thanks to both of you, and good luck with the project !