Ben Bird

SKATE Film

This story will open you up to the world of Skateboarding film

It’s the premiere night at the local skate shop. The energy of the large crowd standing around the screen is intoxicating, but knowing that the expectations are high makes me a bit nervous. You see, skateboarding and film go hand-in-hand, and most avid skaters, especially the ones who attend film premieres, value unique techniques in both skateboarding and filmmaking. There is a long history behind the relationship between skateboarding and filmmaking, starting as early as 1965 when the first skate film, “Skaterdater,” was released. Since then, thousands of skateboarding films have been released from creators across the globe. Some of the most well-known skate filmmaking scenes are in New York City, Los Angeles, Colorado, and Oregon. In recent years, however, Austin’s skate film community has developed widespread popularity attracting

Written by Ben Bird

Stephen Wierzbowski holding his Sony Vx-1000 camera

Stephen Wierzbowski filming a skater do a backside big-spin

several well-known professional skate filmmakers, many of whom now call Austin home. One of the best and most well-known Austinbased skate filmmakers is Calvin Millar. Millar is most known for his work in helping skateboarding companies promote their brand, including companies such as NoComply Skateshop and Roger Skateboards. His style has a way of capturing the uniqueness of a brand, and of skateboarding and the individuals who make up the skate community. Millar’s work can be found across several social media platforms and has been featured in various popular skate magazines, such as Transworld Magazine and Thrasher Magazine. Recently, I was fortunate enough to catch up with Millar, so I took the opportunity to ask him about the biggest inspiration behind his work. “I started skateboarding at the age of 14, and got into filming at the same time, ‘’ Millar said.“My friends and I would watch skateboard videos and not only learn how to do new tricks, but also gain inspiration to make our own skate videos. My dad had a VHS camera at that time that he let me use, and I took it with me everywhere. I didn’t want to miss an opportunity to capture a unique moment, trick, or scene while skating with my homies. Eventually, I was able to save up enough money to buy my own camera, a Sony Hi-8 Camcorder.” Once realized he was comfortable and willing to share his experiences with me, I decided to ask him about his most valued accomplishments in the skate filmmaking scene. “My biggest accomplishment is that I’ve turned my passion into a career,” Millar said “I get to film

for the same magazines that I bought and read as a young person. Skateboarding, but more so filming skateboarders, has opened up a whole world of experiences and opportunities I’m very grateful for.” Knowing that Millar’s accomplishments are a dream come true for most, I wanted to know if the reality of his experiences matched the dreams he had as a kid, and his response was surprisingly humble. “Nowadays, I feel blessed to be able to film amazingly talented skateboarders and I love that I get a front row seat to some unbelievable talent.” said Calvin. There are other Austin-based skate filmmakers who have made a local name for themselves, such as Stephen Wierzbowski. Wierzbowski is a young filmmaker with only two years of experience who has gained recognition among the House Park Skate Park community by filming and promoting local young skateboarders. When I bumped into Wierzbowski at House Park a few weeks ago, I asked about the basis of his motivation. “It’s not about the money,” Wierzbowski said. “I love filming for the satisfaction of how the clip looks and how excited the skater gets when viewing it. When the skate and film come together, there is usually no care for how much everyone is getting paid. Usually, filmmakers film because they have a love for the artform.” Clearly, Wierzbowski’s passion for his artwork outweighs his need for financial compensation. Apparently, his passion also outweighs any concerns he might have about the impact skate filmmaking can have on one’s body. “I’ve learned that you have to be ready for anything whether it’s a cracked head or a board coming at your face,” Wierzbowski said. He went on to describe how skate filmmaking makes one more agile and “stay on your feet,” because at any moment something could go wrong. “You have to make sure to keep your camera, and yourself, safe and away from flying boards or falling skaters at all times.” Another young local skate filmmaker is Ignacio Arriagada. When I recently talked about skate filmmaking with Arriagada, he told me he had only been making skate videos for 7 months. This was surprising to me, because he had already gained a lot of attention for his work in the local skate community.

The main reasons behind Arriagada’s rapid success is the style of his filming. “I feel like I differentiate myself from other filmers by showing in my videos that skateboarding is not only about smoking and vandalizing, it’s also about having a good time with friends and getting excited from learning new stuff,” Arriagada said. He went on to stress how important it was to him to change the stereotype that skaters are thugs and criminals, by highlighting the friendships and comroderry of the skate community in his videos. “I see the skate community as a big family,” Arriagada said. “Skateboarding brings all types of people together. It’s a very supportive community, but there is room for growth and for cleaning up its reputation.” His final remark was, “My main goal is to spread love.” And, at only 16 years of age, Arriagada sets a good example for and inspires the younger skaters, many of whom have started their own little film crews. As I stood there feeling nervous about the expectations of the crowd, waiting for the premiere of my skate film to begin, I tried to keep in mind something else Wierzbowski said to me when we were recently talking about making skateboarding films: “Skating and skate filmmaking are primarily about friendship and community.” This thought gave me confidence and helped me relax as I looked around and realized I was surrounded by the closest homies. Calvin Millar and Igna Arriagada

Stephen Wierzbowski filming a skater doing a boneless