Brett Rheeder explains the story behind his new project CIRCLES, and gives a sneak peek at what 2024 holds.
Clay thought of the title, and I was down with it for a few reasons: Clay started noticing a theme of circles in the project, from bubbles to lens flairs to the wheels and tires on my bike and travelling around the circular globe. From there, he suggested the name. I loved it and also related to it based on my favourite album, Circles, by Mac Miller. Naming projects can be challenging, and I’ve learned over the years to go with my gut. Circles felt right to both Clay and I, so we went with it.
Initially, this project was supposed to be only in Vernon, BC, but it snowed after our first day, and the trail froze over, which is why you see the snow footage. Basically, mother nature delt us a huge curveball. We shot what we could with the snow, and then, knowing we couldn’t shoot the rest of the trail, quickly pivoted, and booked flights to Chile. After seeing what Andreu (Lacondeguy) had ridden in Chile, I knew I wanted to explore that part of the world, so Clay and I explored a few spots in Chile to round out the film.
We got cut short in Vernon due to the weather, which made us shift the entire direction of the film. We really only had a couple of minutes of footage at that point. With that said, Clay and I were also sitting on footage from a trip to New Zealand earlier that year that we didn’t know what to do with. From there, we figured, why not combine Vernon and New Zealand footage, book a trip to Chile, ride, film and explore that part of the world, and combine everything into a longer film. This is how we got to 9 minutes in length.
Vernon was lots of work. Luckily, the trail was only a Can-Am drive from where I live. However, the trail was long, and we were only able to access the trail from the bottom, and started filming at the very top, so the entire crew had a massive hike every day of shooting.
In total, Clay and I spent roughly 20 shoot days to complete the project.
Working with Clay is amazing. He’s a true visionary and knows exactly what he wants when it comes to filming and editing. I like giving filmmakers creative control, so the project is a collaboration rather than directing everything myself. Clay is a legend, and I trust in his creativity, so it’s super fun working with him.
Recently I’ve drawn interest to psychedelic and abstract artwork. So, when I choose the colour of this bike, I scoured the internet in search for colours that blended together nicely. I came across a colour scheme of purple, red, orange and blue that looked magical, so I pitched the idea to my friends at Fresh Paints of Whistler, and they were able to put their own touch on the colours that I sent.
For 4 years, I’ve been working towards finding a new way of filming and presenting media. We’ve accomplished lots of great projects, but I still strive for something more. For me, it needs to be meaningful. There are a million shred films on the internet, including Circles, and most other mountain bike content. Moving forward, you can expect new media from me. However, I can’t tell you exactly what it will be yet because I’m still working on it. Just know that I take this on personally to find ways to inspire people to become better through my riding and filming.
My biggest focus this year is being kind to myself, finding happiness, learning new ways of having fun, finding love within myself and others, becoming healthy and strong, letting go of things that hold me down, living guilt-free and staying true to myself and my gut feelings. Over the past couple of years, I had lots of guilt for not being interested in riding slopestyle and freeride competitions, so as I move ahead into this new chapter, I will also be focusing on riding my bike the way I want when I want, for the love of mountain biking and creative filmmaking. There are a couple more things I’m excited to share but can’t just yet. Long story short, I’m looking at 2024 with a great perspective and can’t wait to get underway once the snow melts.
Rider: Brett Rheeder
Film & Edit: Clay Porter
Cinematography : Matty Miles & Cole Nelson
Drone : Matty Miles, Heloise Lamberti, Rupert Walker
Titles: Jon Gregory
Photography : Tyler Ravelle, Heloise Lamberti, Neil Kerr
Post Sound : Keith White Audio
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