Insight: Subrosa “Get Used To It”

Over the years, a lot of videos have come and gone. Some better than others, some based off week long trips and some based around a few years of hard work and effort. The Subrosa “Get Used To It” video is one of those that falls into the categories of better than others and a few years of hard work.

There are a lot of things that go into making a BMX DVD these days and I think at times with how fast the internet works, a lot of people seem to forget that things they’re seeing could have been years of work cut down into a 40 minute video that you can just pop in and watch before heading out for a session.

We figured with “Get Used To It” being out for a little while now, it would be a good time to catch up with Ryan Sher and talk a little bit about what actually went into creating this video that has been getting a lot of good reviews since its release. You better believe with nearly 3 years of time, effort, broken cameras, team changes, filmer changes, flights, blood, awesome spots, amazing riding and good times, that there’s a story behind it. Let’s see what went into this one!

So the “Get Used To It” video has been out for a little while now. Based on the feedback I’ve been seeing on Twitter, it’s been getting a lot of people stoked all over. Does it almost feel unreal that the video is out now?
Yes it does! I’m very happy with Get Used To It, very happy with the response, and very happy it’s out. I watch it all the time, and each time I get the same feeling. I love our team, and I want to go ride.

Let’s go back to the beginning with this. When did the idea of doing a full-length video come up? Was it something that was planned or did it just kind of happen when you guys realized you had a bunch of clips that needed to go some where other than the internet?
We knew we were going to do a full length from the start. Everyone involved in Subrosa loved BMX videos. It was just a matter of getting all the pieces in place for it, and that’s what we had the most difficulty doing. It was definitely planned, I just needed to develop a stronger plan.

I can’t remember exactly when you guys made the announcement that you would be doing a full-length, but it had to of been close to 3 years, right? Did you guys ever have a set deadline for the project or was it kind of an open-ended thing?
The think with “Get Used To It” was it was a saying that we used when talking about the brand. I was talking to Greg Smee about being a new brand in BMX, and he said something along the lines of “We’re Subrosa, we’re not going anywhere. Get Used To It” It became sort of a motto for us, and then later became the title of the video.

Hoang Tran

I’d imagine towards the end of filming for the video you were getting used to setbacks. What were some of the issues you guys ran into over the course of this video?
Most of the hiccups were the same with any video. I would say team changes, injuries, and equipment were really the only setbacks.

I feel like for a short period things with the video kind of fell silent. Was there ever a point where you guys almost scrapped the project?
Never. That was never an option. We new the guys had good enough clips to stand up to the time, and we had come too far. I don’t think it really fell silent, as much as we were just revising the plan as we went.

Obviously you guys kept trucking with it and ultimately got things back on track with Ryan Chadwick coming in to save the day with editing the footage and filming some of the final clips for the video. Were there any other filmers you guys considered to help take the video over prior to that?
I’m not sure how, but I feel GUTI came out the best possible way, the best possible time, and a great BMX video in everyway. We did have other filmers/editors in mind, and I sort of felt out a few. Most had other things going on. It wasn’t that I decided against any of the other options, I just felt Chadwick made a lot of sense, and since we had worked together on other projects, I knew we could get it done together.

Kyle Hart

Alright, so let’s try to move away from the hell you guys went through to make this one happen. I know you guys clocked a ton of miles over the time span of filming for this project. Where all did you guys go? Which trips do you feel were the best?
We definitely covered most of the U.S., Columbia, Japan, and Spain. Every trip we do together has highlights. Spain was awesome, rented an apartment for a little over a week. It just feels so good to explore a city that way. Just wake up, cook some food, and start pedaling.

I really liked how you could see how guys like Lahsaan and Scott progressed and grew into full blown men during the filming of this video. Do you feel like having as much time as you did for the video was almost a blessing in disguise?
We had so much good footage, and we weren’t just going to throw it away because it wasn’t filmed last week. Regardless of how old the clip was, I knew that rider had worked hard, and was just as proud of those clips. I feel that the old clips really ad a documentary feel to Get Used To It that can’t be replicated in a quickly produced video.

Since the launch of Subrosa you guys have had a pretty consistent team with changes over the years. The current team is one hell of a line up. Who all has full parts featured in this video?
Sometimes I sit back and look at the team and think “Holy Shit”. It’s perfect for what Subrosa is about. We are here for a good time, good quality parts with purpose, and to shred everything and anything in front of you. On a recent Subrosa trip we had a full trails day! I mean, think about it, when I was a kid, riding my bike to school I never say, I better stay on the sidewalk! Whether it was grass, rocks, street, dirt roads, I pedal over everything in my way. That’s BMX! The super pro’s from back in the day would go to a huge contest and enter Vert and Flatland, and then go to the track and race. To everyone at Subrosa BMX doesn’t have rules, just suggestions.

Nick Bullen

Was there anyone you wanted to have a full part from but things just didn’t work out right? Why the hell didn’t you have a full part? I was hoping for that one.
I would’ve loved to have everyone on the Skeleton Crew to have a full part, but there is a lot involved when you have team riders all over the world. It’s near impossible to have a filmer travel around the world and film everyone’s section. Then if the riders film on their own you can get a lot of “Bro-cam” footage, not to mention converting the PAL footage to NTSC formats. There’s just a lot involved.

A lot of the guys were new as well. As you add new riders, they need time to film as well. I just had to draw a line in the sand and say this is it. Hahaha! I wish I had the time for a full part, but there wouldn’t be a “Subrosa” if I was out riding all day every day.

The majority of the video is street footage, but Mark Mulville decided to go the trails route with this one and seriously drop the hammer. On a scale of 1 to Mark Mulville how stoked were you on that?
Obviously Mark’s section gets the stoked meter up to 11! I was pushing Mark to have a trails only section. I thought it would be important for Subrosa and the video to show we support all aspects of BMX. Mark just has that Pennsylvania style that makes tricks look amazing. Maybe I’m selfish, but I just wanted to see that.

If you had to pick a favorite part from the video… What would you pick? We’re talking gun to the head, hammer ready to drop on your junk had to pick.
Well right now I’m thinking about how to smack the gun out of your hand, and dodge the hammer! I don’t think I could pick one if I wanted to. Every time I watch it, I like it more and more. I’ll tell ya one thing I hate about it though, the end. I want it to go on and on and on…

Rich Forne

One thing I noticed with the video was that it’s a mix of black and white with hints of color mixed in. I kind of figured it was kind of to go along with Subrosa’s history where it started out strictly black and white and has been slowly adding color since. Was that what you were going for or am I just crazy?
Definitely. I knew all along that the video was obviously going to be black and white, but the discussion did happen a time or two if it was going to have a color version as a bonus, or some parts in color.
I really wanted the video to have a theme. Subrosa has been B&W since day one, but like you said, we’ve added colors in different ways and different times throughout our history.
The whole “Glitch” theme came from the tradegies and triumphs of livin’ that VX life. It’s the theme of G.U.T.I., the catalog, print ads, web ads, our website.

Overall, how do you feel Chadwick did with the video even though he had to come in late and clean this all up into a dialed video?
It’s pretty insane how well we worked together. We lived together at the time, so we spent a lot of time in the planning phase. Just talking about things we liked in videos, and things we didn’t. Also planning what we thought Get Used To It should look and feel like. I was really particular with how I wanted the video to feel and he’s very particular about how he wants his videos to look. It was actually a great match up.
When he had the final version put together, and I was getting to see it together for the first time, I emailed myself a list of the order I thought the riders sections should go in. After I watched it I was freaking out, because we had then the exact same order. Thanks Chadwick.

The music in the video was all different music that I wasn’t familiar with at all really. How did you guys go about picking the sound track for this one?
Well we picked a soundtrack and then found out we had to get clearance for all the music. It definitely added a degree of difficulty, but it really was for the best.
We knew what the riders wanted to ride to, so we did or best to match the song. I not only wanted the song to fit the part, but I wanted them to fit the riders too. Each song, at least to me, fits the rider’s section, and fits in GUTI. If you look at GUTI the whole video flows, instead of just having a bunch of random sections put in a random order. Mike Johnson at Sparky’s had the fun job of contacting all the bands, but he did an awesome job, and it worked out great!

Check out the bands that were down to support a BMX DVD… Ace High Cutthroats, Hozay, Ruby the Hatchet, Schweeps, Crank, Corrupt Autopilot, The Sword, All My Friends, and Paul Gurvitz.

After all was said and done, how many cameras did you guys burn through and about how many hours of footage did you compile?
Approx 5 total. Hahah, the one that works the best to this day was handed down from The Shadow Conspiracy and it was used to film Into The Void. 2 Century Lens’s as well.

The video is out now and can be picked up everywhere Subrosa is sold. Why should somebody pick up a copy if they haven’t yet?
It’s a solid 38 minutes of the Subrosa team showing the world what BMX means to them.

Start to finish, how long did this video take to create?
Well I’m 33 now, so about 32 years and 10 months.

Looking back over everything… Would you do it again? Would you do anything different or would you just send it and see what happens?
In the future I will do things a lot differently, but looking back at GUTI I wouldn’t change a thing.

Any plans for another video any time soon?
Definitely. I love videos, the team loves videos, and GUTI turned out too good not to do it again. When it was all said and done, I was so proud our our dudes. Get Used To It is a perfect time capsule of Subrosa up to this point. Time to document the next chapter.

Can you drop us 3 random facts about the video that people might not know?
1. The first lyrics in GUTI are “If you ain’t feeling this then you ain’t got a soul”, and that’s one of the reason I picked the song. That’s how I felt about GUTI.
2. The video wasn’t finished when we booked the premiere in Talinn, Estonia.
3. The Fugee’s want lower 6 figures for the use of “Oh Lalala” in G.U.T.I. We decided against it…

Scott Ditchburn

Is there anything I missed you want to add?
The BMX DVD will never die. I think videos like G.U.T.I. are proving that they will just adapt to more modern ways to get to the fans. We sold a lot Digital Downloads and we’re on our second run of DvD’s.

How can people keep up with Subrosa these days?
subrosabrand.com
facebook.com/subrosa.brand.fan.page
Instagram: @SubrosaBrand
Youtube: Youtube.com/SubrosaBrand
Twitter: @SubrosaBrand
Tumblr: SubrosaBrand.tumblr.com

Do you have any shout outs or thanks?
Chadwick- He basically took the feeling and the passion that myself and the team have for BMX and Subrosa. He saw our vision, and showed the world. Thanks homie!
The Team, Hoang Tran, Simone Barraco, Mark Mulville, Kyle Hart, Scott Ditchburn, Lahsaan Kobza, and the entire Skeleton Crew in the video or not, Joris Coulomb, Nick Bullen, Rich Forne, Raph, Mike CZ, Scott Greentree, Greg Smee, Jono Hopping, Boy Janssen, Slayer Tom, Chu, Chase Lee, Greg D’Amico, Emil Eriksson, Denis Stepanov, and Tom Smith. God Damn our team is stacked!

Ronnie B, and #teamsparkys. Such a strong army behind the scenes at Subrosa.

BMX- Thanks to the fans, riders, haters, shops, and distros still willing to support a BMX DVD.

S.F.F.S.