By Mike Rogge

I still think Shane McFalls is a good guy. During my final semester at college the newly rebuilt Carinthia Parks at Mount Snow offered a position perfect for any East Coast skid. The job entailed filming and whipping together daily edits of skiers and boarders. At that time the local skiers were Ian Compton, the EC Headwear crew, and a healthy stock of solid rippers. Needless to say, it sounded like the perfect job for a guy not ready to move into a post-college life of not skiing. It was the perfect job for me.

I applied and a week later got a call asking if I could drive from Potsdam for an interview. I was elated to say the least. Just living in a ski town after two and half years of being a weekend warrior was enough. Skipping school, I made the six hour drive to West Dover, listening to ski movie music the entire time and admiring the oranges and reds that had over taken the Green Mountains of what was sure to be my new home state of Vermont. With the sun shining, I pulled into the parking lot determined to impress in the interview.

An hour later, I exited the interview feeling 90% confident the job was mine. Only 90% because nothing is ever certain and my potential future boss said there was “another candidate that’s worked for the Meatheads.” I recall dismissing this comment with, “Whatever. Meatheads are meatheads.” I was sure this wicked good opportunity was in the bag. In typical East Coast fashion, the sunshine had turned to rain and I drove six hours back to Potsdam feeling mildly confident I’d be filming fun in the snow shortly.

A few weeks passed and I heard nothing. My phone sat silent aside from friends calling to rejoice the end of college. The end of college. It was over and I didn’t have a job. The dream was circling down the drain, a metaphor with some truth as that winter kicked off with a month of straight rain. The East Coast shows no pity.

Finally, my former potential future boss called to say that while I was strong candidate, they “were going in another direction.” I humbly thanked him for the opportunity. I couldn’t believe it. I thought it was in the bag. I was so confident. Cocky almost. Right before he hung up, I asked, “What’s his name? The new guy?” A brief silence hit the line. “His name is Shane McFalls. He’s the Meathead guy I told you about.”

F*ckin’ eh right. What a meathead.

Fast Forward. As luck would have it I’d go on to work for Meathead Films, becoming something of a Meathead myself. My first night on the job was in Aspen to accept the award for Best Jib at the 2009 Powder Video Awards on Will Wesson’s behalf. That winter, Shane and I worked together on the follow up to Head for the Hills, Wild Stallions. Shane quit the job at Mount Snow after a year and went on to become the full time filmer for the Traveling Circus. We were both chasing the same idea of endless winter and a paycheck cut from the Ski Industry. In spite of crushing my hopes of getting what I thought at the time was my dream job, I still think Shane McFalls is a good guy.

Here’s the demo reel to my friend Shane’s work. Check out his new site here. And for the record, he’s still a Meathead.