Justin Schwanke Archives

Weird & Revered – Justin Schwanke “One Man Show”

February 23, 2022

You can always count on Justin Schwanke to deliver when he has a new video to check out! Here’s his latest Weird & Revered video he self-filmed while out cruising spots. This video has a pretty laid back vibe, but the spots and riding are creative and unique, making for a super entertaining watch. You won’t want to skip this one!

“Self-filming is the most obsessive form of bike riding. When I’m riding alone with a camera, it’s all at my own pace. I’m in complete control. There are no cheers, high-fives, or anyone to say, ‘Let’s come back another day.’ When I’m self-filming, I can take as many attempts at a trick as I want. I can also film as many angles as I want. Every single detail can be fussed over. This of course has its benefits for creating a high quality product, but it can also have its downfalls.

I injured my shoulder while working on this video. My physiotherapist says I have supraspinatus tendinopathy and possibly a small labral tear. The precursor to this injury is two-fold: 1) Muscle loss and 2) Self-filming. In September 2020, I unexpectedly began losing muscle mass throughout my body. At my worst, I was down 10 pounds and significantly slimmer. I navigated the medical system with various specialist doctors, tests, and scans. No answer was found for the cause of my issues. In late spring of 2021, I started to see gradual improvement in my condition. Throughout the rest of the summer and fall, I rode hard to finish filming this video.

I’ve always thought of self-filming as a marathon, not a sprint. Capturing one trick can sometimes require multiple hours of attempts. Historically, I’ve prided myself on my ability to focus for long periods of time, manage my emotions, and push through pain to capture those 10 seconds of success on camera. I’ve since had a slight change in perspective. Now 3 months into this injury and another month or two of recovery ahead of me, I can admit that these marathon self-filming sessions were not healthy, especially because I hadn’t fully gained back the muscle I lost.

Contained in this video is 2 and a half years of footage which I’m excited to share with the world. More importantly though, this video contains a personal lesson: Pacing myself goes well beyond a single session. I want this one man show to continue for years to come.” –Justin Schwanke

Riding, filming, editing: Justin Schwanke
Locations: British Columbia, Alberta, and New Brunswick

Weird & Revered – Block Chain

January 26, 2022

The Weird & Revered videos always deliver with the good stuff! Here’s a new one Justin Schwanke released filled with creative and unique clips all based around parking blocks! Take a look!

““Constraints foster innovation. As a Canadian, I’m well-accustomed to long winters. I used to live in Alberta where there was typically snow on the ground for five months of the year. Indoor riding was the norm. I’d either ride the ramps in my parents’ garage or visit an indoor skatepark if one was running. The limited options for obstacles forced me to think creatively. What can I do that I haven’t done before? How can I use this obstacle differently? With patience, I was often surprised by the ideas generated during those sessions. The location constraints imposed by the harshness of winter led to innovation in the form of new trick ideas or better spot use.

In August of 2020, I significantly reduced the constraints in my BMX life by moving to British Columbia. I now live in a province with a significantly shorter winter and abundant spots. As exciting as this is, I sometimes feel spoiled. So I asked myself, “How can I re-embed constraints into my riding?” I came up with two options: 1) Make the bicycle the constraint by removing my pegs and/or brakes, or 2) Make the spots the constraint by limiting myself to a particular obstacle. I chose the latter and committed to creating a concept video focused on the simplest street obstacle of all, the parking block.

Block Chain is neither a publicly distributed ledger, an NFT, or a cryptocurrency. Instead, it’s a video journal for my study of constraints. Before I started working on this video, I paid little attention to parking blocks. I later realized the possibilities for this obstacle are endless. Tricks can be performed off the block, on top of the block, or against the block. The block can also be used as a connection point to other obstacles. My hyperfocus on parking blocks reminded me that anything can be a spot with some imagination. If your riding is feeling stale, I challenge you to implement some constraints into it. You just might be surprised with the outcome. Less is more.” – Justin Schwanke

Riders: Justin Schwanke, Steve Woodward, Justin Wilgus, Jesse Baraniuk, Kostya Chimkovitch, Slade Scherer, Eamon McCaffrey, Joel Sittler, and Jon Fredlund

Filming and Editing: Justin Schwanke

Additional Filming: Steve Woodward, Justin Wilgus, Kostya Chimkovitch, Slade Scherer

Locations: British Columbia, Nova Scotia, New Mexico” – Justin Schwanke

Weird & Revered – Low Heat Mixtape

June 22, 2021

The Weird & Revered squad always deliver when they have a new video to check out. Here’s a fresh batch of clips they’ve been stacking during street and park sessions up in Canada! There’s a ton of different styles, tricks and setups in this, making for a real good watch from start to finish. Check it out!

“Canada’s Weird & Revered crew are back at it with another mixtape. Since the release of their DVD, “Vagabond Squad,” the boys have slowly been chipping away at their next full-length BMX project. Justin Schwanke decided to start the filtering process and has chopped up 9 minutes of footage that won’t make the cut for that next DVD (no deadline yet in place). We present to you, the “Low Heat Mixtape.”

Riders (in order of appearance): Tyler Horness, Kostya Chimkovitch, Thomas Henderson, Logan Kirzinger, Jesse Baraniuk, Cary Lorenz, Derek Bolz, Justin Schwanke, George Brunin, Slade Scherer, Andrew MacLeod, and Mark Stanway

Locations: Alberta and British Columbia (Canada), Oregon and Nevada (USA), Belarus” – DIG

Weird & Revered In Israel

October 21, 2020

The Weird & Revered crew clocked a ton of miles while working on their “Vagabond Squad Video that was released online this past summer. While filming they traveled a ton and one of their trips took them to Israel to cruise the endless spots, along with take in the sights and culture. The best clips from the trip made it into the “Vagabond Squad” DVD, but they still had a ton of other footage that needed a home, so they whipped up this video loaded with goodness. Take a peek!

“In February 2019, Thomas Henderson, Justin Schwanke, and Jesse Baraniuk of the Weird & Revered BMX crew travelled from Canada to Israel to film for their full-length DVD project, Vagabond Squad. The trio road tripped around the country with stops in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Be’er Sheva, Eilat, and the Dead Sea. They also travelled by bicycle into Bethlehem, crossing the Israeli / Palestinian border in between. This short web video is a collection of footage that didn’t make the cut for their DVD.” – DIG

Weird & Revered “Vagabond Squad” – Full Video

July 15, 2020

Over the past few weeks we’ve been getting the individual sections from the Weird & Revered “Vagabond Squad” DVD to check out. Now that all of the sections have been uploaded, we get a look at the full video all in one place! If you’re looking for a rad BMX video to check out that has a super good mix of styles, tricks and spots, this is the one for you! This is a damn good watch from start to finish, so get on that play button and check it out!

““Vagabond Squad” is a full-length BMX video from Canada’s Weird & Revered crew. Filmed from 2016 to 2019, the project is community rooted with a strong focus on the Edmonton BMX scene. Although a majority of the clips are from the crew’s home city, the footage spans 9 countries, 8 American states, and 4 Canadian provinces and territories.

Sections:
Intro – 0:00
Thomas Henderson – 3:53
Jesse Baraniuk – 7:53
Logan Kirzinger – 11:46
Joe Weidman & Mark Stanway – 13:38
Duke Thomson-Kurz – 16:24
Team Dad & Friends – 20:13
Cary Lorenz – 28:15
Team Ontario – 31:38
Tyler Horness – 34:28
Justin Schwanke – 37:57
Derek Bolz – 44:36
Outro – 49:35” – DIG

Weird & Revered “Vagabond Squad” – Derek Bolz & Outro Sections

July 8, 2020

The final sections from the Weird & Revered “Vagabond Squad” DVD have popped up online. This time around we get Derek Bolz‘s section that’s filled with wild gaps and drops. It’s safe to say Derek is NOT scared to send it off or over something. After that, we get some laughs, crashes and b-roll to close things out! Hit play and take it all in!

““Vagabond Squad” is a full-length video from Canada’s Weird & Revered crew. Filmed from 2016 to 2019, the project is community rooted with a strong focus on the Edmonton BMX scene. Although a majority of the clips are from the crew’s home city, the footage spans 9 countries, 8 American states, and 4 Canadian provinces and territories.

Closing out our release of sections from Vagabond Squad is Derek Bolz.” – DIG

“Derek is from a small farming community called Provost. About a year into filming the DVD, he moved to Edmonton for school and started riding more regularly with the crew. Derek is highly motivated and reliable which makes him one of my favorite people to film with. Despite a later start to the project, he put in a ton of work to get enough footage for a full section. As we captured and crossed off more and more crazy ideas from his filming list, it soon became apparent that he would have the last section in the video. The boy loves metal and loves a good huck which is the perfect recipe for closing out Weird & Revered’s first DVD, Vagabond Squad.” – Justin Schwanke

Music Credit:
The Mothercraft – Pillars
https://themothercraft.bandcamp.com/releases
Chips Calipso – A Person
https://chipscalipso.bandcamp.com/releases
The Velveteins – Garden Sleeper
http://www.thevelveteins.com

Weird & Revered – Justin Schwanke “Vagabond Squad” Section

July 1, 2020

Here’s one we’ve been looking forward to. Justin Schwanke‘s section from the Weird & Revered “Vagabond Squad” DVD is now online. Justin pulled double duty for this one as the filmer and editor, along with filming a full section packed with creative and unique riding from start to finish. Justin has a unique style that is very unpredictable, and will leave you guessing just what he’s going to do next. Needless to say, his section turned out super good from all the parks and parks he rode, to his backyard and garage ramps. Hit play because this one doesn’t disappoint!

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Weird & Revered – Cary Lorenz “Vagabond Squad” Section

June 10, 2020

The Weird & Revered crew have released another section from their “Vagabond Squad” DVD online for your viewing pleasure! This time around we get Cary Lorenz‘s section that’s loaded with style from park and trails sessions. This one has a pretty laidback vibe, but it’s a real good watch! Take a peek!

Next up in our release of sections from Vagabond Squad is Cary Lorenz.” – DIG

“Cary is an old soul with a young body. If for some reason you were blind to his physical appearance, but were able to see his possessions, observe his mannerisms, and hear his conversations, you’d think he’s middle-aged. Cary likes structure and order; he lives in the kitchen and loves to bake bread; he routinely re-watches old Props videos and Seinfield episodes; he regularly attends ‘country night’ once a week at a local bar; he enjoys bike packing, fly fishing, and backcountry camping; he also occasionally—and passionately—rides BMX (atop a Terrible One Barcode I may add). Of all the people with sections in the DVD, Cary came out riding and filming the least. I should mention we lived together during this time too. You may not see Cary out riding on the regular, but when you do, you can expect his old soul to shine through. As the cliché goes, his riding will ‘age like a fine wine.’ We’re happy to finally have it documented for years to come.” – Justin Schwanke

Music Credit: The Velveteins – Last Night
http://www.thevelveteins.com/