I haven't been by NS in awhile, so I don't know if one of these threads is already circulating around. Sorry if that's the case and I'll apologize now for my writing. I make movies, I don't write. Either way, thought I'd give my input on the new Stept movie...
I grew up skiing with most of the Stept crew and have never met a group so dedicated to skiing. However, they're different than most skiers. They don't seem to really give a shit about which resort has the best park. They don't seem to really worry about shredding pow, but I'm sure they don't mind getting in a few good days every once and awhile. What these guys really care about is getting into the streets. In fact, I don't even think some members of the crew like Cam Riley ski at a resort all year. Instead he's out trying to find the gnarliest handrail he can, the biggest drop to flat available, or anything you wouldn't see at a resort (or ever really want to hit yourself). Fuck snowmaking machines and perfectly manicured jumps, Cam and the rest of the Stept crew are doing the zaniest shit they can come up with in the streets.
So knowing this about Stept, I always eagerly await to see their new movie each year. When "Weight" arrived at my doorstep last week, I quickly stopped what I was doing, opened it up, and popped it into the DVD player. What did I see? I saw an entirely new level of skiing from the entire group with some of the most creative urban features that I've seen to date. The way they approach skiing and producing a movie is unlike anyone else in the industry. I'm not trying to rank ski movies or riders and I'm not going to compare this to a Level 1, PBP, TGR, or MSP movie. Why? Because Stept is an entirely different genre I'd say. Obviously we will see similar stuff in the movies listed above, but none of these production companies solely focus on urban the way Stept does. When most skiers go out to make a movie segment, they aim to make it as rounded as possible. Even urban skiing experts like Ahmet Dadali or Mike Hornbeck spend a chunk of their winter in the backcountry or in the park. So what interests me is that most of the Stept crew doesn't. Most don't roll with big sponsorship deals and aren't making much money off of doing what they do. So why do they do it? They love skiing, they love hitting handrails, and they love the process off putting this kind of movie together.
While I can say that I've never really found myself doing much of this type of skiing, I've always had a great respect for the guys who do it day in and day out. These guys dedicate their lives to putting a movie together every year; not only as athletes, but also as filmmakers. Most of the riders are also filming and editing the movie themselves, which you won't find in any other ski movie on the market. So if you have a little extra cash and are looking to see a different take on skiing, check out Stept. You won't be disappointed.
