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Mankind – Isaac Lesser MK10

July 31, 2018

Isaac Lesser celebrates 10 years on Mankind with a dialed new video!

You can’t go wrong with a fresh Isaac Lesser video! Isaac recently celebrated 10 years on the Mankind team, so he went to work stacking clips for this video! As always, Isaac brings a bunch of style, a good mix of tricks and plenty of speed for some wild transfer lines. Hit play and check it out! This turned out real good!

“Riding for the same company for ten years is something to be pretty damn proud of, for both parties.​ Isaac Lesser and Mankind​ have been doing their thing together for ten years now and to celebrate Isaac and good friend Mike King decided to film this celebratory video around some of the finest concrete bowls in the UK. We’ve watched Isaac blast transition for the last decade – here’s to another!” – DIG

“It’s sometimes hard to think of a new idea for a video, but when it was coming up to ten years with Mankind I knew I wanted to film something special, especially as I don’t see too many riders staying with one company for ten years these days. I wanted to film something that reflects how my riding has changed which led me onto the idea of filming a video entirely on concrete bowls as over the past couple of years I’ve found a love for working out lines and linking it all together. After running the idea past my good friend Mike King, who also happens to be an amazing filmer, we came up with a rough plan and set the wheels in motion. I just want to say a massive thanks to Mankind for so much help over the past ten years and allowing me to live out many dreams as a sponsored rider. Here’s to ten more years.” – Isaac Lesser

​
“Concrete is one of the toughest, most durable substances found in today’s world. It is strong, almost unbreakable and continues to stand the test of time – this made for a significant and symbolic foundation to film Isaac Lesser’s new video, as we travel the length of the country, on a mission for the UK’s most desirable concrete parks – all in celebration of a monumental checkpoint, riding for Mankind Bike Co for ten years.” – Mike King

Filmed and edited by Mike King
Song: Mr Little Jeans – Good Mistake’

Mike King – 2017 Show Reel

October 22, 2017

It’s always fun seeing what filmers like Mike King is getting into…

Although Mike King isn’t pumping out BMX video after BMX video like he used to back in the day, he’s still filming some pretty dialed BMX projects. Here’s his latest show reel that gives you a taste of what he has worked on this past year from BMX to mountain bikes, racing, weddings, skate, coffee, motorcycles and more. Two of the notable projects featured in this is Jason Phelan’s Lock Down video and Sebastian Keep’s “Walls” video from Red Bull. Take a peek!

“A collection of some of my favourite shots from 2016/2017.

Filmed across the globe in England, Scotland, New Zealand, France, Switzerland, Austria, Ibiza, Australia, Italy, Canada & Argentina.

www.mike-king.tv”

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Shadow Conspiracy – Isaac Lesser Welcome Video

June 28, 2017

It was announced a few weeks back that The Shadow Conspiracy had added Isaac Lesser to their line up in the U.K! Today, Shadow released Isaac’s official welcome to the team video where he goes to work on a bunch of different skateparks, street spots and trails dropping hammers all along the way! Everything about this BMX video from the riding to the film work kicks ass, so hit that play button and take in all the heat!

“We here at Shadow are proud to welcome UK shredder Isaac Lesser to the family. To celebrate the addition, Isaac filmed an incredible edit featuring his incredibly versatile style that works on any terrain. Please help us welcome Isaac by giving this great, new video a watch!

Shout out to Seventies Distribution for making it all happen!

Filmed and edited by Mike King

Music:
The War on Drugs
“Red Eyes”
Lost in the Dream
http://www.thewarondrugs.net
”

Mike King Talks “Walls”

January 27, 2017


Photo: George Marshall / Red Bull

The other week, after over a year of waiting, Red Bull had released the “WALLS” video featuring Sebastian Keep doing some of the gnarliest wallrides ever done in BMX. Not too many people can say they have literally jumped off a bridge on a bike, let alone jumped off one to do a wallride down a 30 foot drop. This project was one of a kind and, believe it or not, it took over two years between the initial idea until the final project wrapped up and premiered for the world to see. We figured it would be rad to catch up with the filmer behind the project, Mike King to talk about what went into making this project happen, and give us a little insight from a perspective you might not have had watching the video! Let’s get into it!

Alright! Let’s start this out from the beginning. When did Bas originally hit you up about working on this Walls project?
I knew Bas a bit from working at Seventies a few years back, but it was early 2014, right before Brighton Ain’t Ready that he hit me up to work on a video together; He wanted to do something ‘different’ but neither of us knew what that was yet. We shot a couple of things at some concrete parks and just kind of coasted along with it. The footage was great but I don’t think Bas’ heart was quite in it, I could tell he wanted something really standout but of course where do you begin? I know he and Joe had some early inspiration from the Fly Bikes guys, I was also pretty into watching snowboard videos and had showed him some clips of those guys building transitions out of snow to sit flush with walls. I don’t remember quite how it sparked but I think it was a mutual thing of like ‘woah, these guys can turn almost anything into something ridable…’
Following that, Bas was the one to actually put the idea into motion.

Was a full edit that was planned or did it kind of just fall into place?
The first spot was essentially a pilot shoot, Bas needed the reassurance himself that it would actually work and we needed to get something in the bag to show the guys at Red Bull.
I remember just being blown away, looking at the footage afterwards not really knowing whether it would go online as this one crazy clip or whether we were about to embark on a mission to have an entire video part full of clips like it! That was a little un-comprehendible!
Each spot was such an overwhelming process with so much footage that I don’t think I ever stopped to think about how it would look as a finished piece, not until we’d shot the first two/three spots at least. I don’t think we ever discussed the time we anticipated to work on this, there was no deadline or anything, just kind of an unspoken understanding that this would take as long as it took.

Over the years you have seen a lot of wild things done on BMX Bikes. What went through your head when Bas originally told you that he wanted to jump off a bridge? Did you take it serious?
For sure, like every BMX filmer out there, there’s been times when I’m all set up and it’s in the back of my mind that if things go wrong, we’re going to the hospital, but never like this. With this project it was really daunting to think that if things went a bit squiggly, he wasn’t going to just dab a foot or casually slide out, he was going to be in a lot of trouble. With that said, I had a lot of trust and faith in Bas, he knew the risks and respected the danger, he wanted to take the time to try and understand how the spots would work, which in my eyes is one of the coolest things about the project. Sure, we could’ve gone to NASA, explained what we were doing and they would’ve given an educated answer to all our questions, but Bas, even aware of the potential consequences, wanted to discover it himself, that’s legend status in my eyes.

This was one of those long term projects that took a long time from start to it eventually launching online. How long did it take from the first clip you filmed to the final video premiering?
From the first clip to the first premier was two years and two months.

Sometimes as the filmer, you have to kind of be the voice of reason for a rider when it comes to doing some of these gnarlier things to either hype up the rider or say “maybe this isn’t the best idea”. Did you ever have any moments like that working on this with Bas?
Like I said, I trusted Bas, I saw the time and energy he put into getting ready, not just mentally but physically too. It was unlike anything I’d ever experienced working on a video, I suppose that gave me a foundation of confidence.
I worried about getting caught and the kind of trouble we might get in, but other than that I don’t remember actually being nervous about Bas for any of the shoots, Croydon on the other hand, was a different story.
I felt sick all morning, I was utterly terrified but again, I’d seen Bas practising for weeks in the warehouse beforehand.
He’d been back and forth declaring whether the spot was doable or not for so long and I just had to stand behind his decision, he needed to be fit and focussed to do it on the day and that wouldn’t of been possible with everyone putting doubt in his mind, he would’ve done it regardless of what we all thought, so I think we all felt like being positive was the only way we could better the chances of him coming away from this in one piece!
On that morning he asked Greg Illingworth whether he would do it himself if there were a million pounds on the line, Greg, without hesitation said ‘no’.


It looks like this whole project took a ton of prep to setup the spots and everything. What went into the prep and what were some of the hardest parts about filming for this project?

The hardest thing about filming this project is actually having a shot that shows everything. The spots were so vast and 90% of them you couldn’t see him either land or take off, I also was constantly trying to film for the documentary, so it was a bit of a juggle to film what was unfolding in the moment but also getting enough cameras up and ready so that when Bas is good to go, so am I. Joe or somebody else would always be free to man one camera but I was usually juggling between 3 or 4 cameras myself. With so much tension in the air I didn’t want to have to shake Bas’ concentration at any point and be like ‘yeah just give me a minute, I still need to put another camera up’. If I noticed a camera went below full battery I’d put a fresh one straight in, I just had to pray they were all still recording when he rode away…

I would assume when a couple guys start setting up kickers and big transitioned landings, people take notice pretty quick. Was there any sort of altercations or crazy situations that came up? Anything not make the final cut of the documentary or edit at all?
There’s a security guard that works below the Hastings spot. Bas was scoping it out one day and he came out and asked what he was doing, I think Bas was having a bad day and he just straight up told him ‘I’m going to jump off there on my BMX’, kinda like the ‘altercation’ in the intro of the riding video. Bas went back a few months later to check it out again and the same security guard turned up but didn’t recognise him, he went on to tell Bas how a ‘BMX rider is going to come and jump off the roof’. Pretty funny, I wonder if he ever saw the video… Other than that, I think the documentary is a very honest representation. Thinking back, it’s so insane that a crowd never formed, nobody ever stopped to watch us, not once.


Photo: George Marshall / Red Bull

What kind of a setup were you working with to film for this project? Was it hard to have certain gear with the almost hit and run style setups that were used for this one?
Two years is a long time, my work and filming style has changed a lot in that time so naturally so has my gear, if you include Matty’s kit it totals to 12 cameras which we used for this. I think the only ‘challenge’ in that sense is trying to remain consistent but I think it all blends together fairly well when I look back on it.

A few people have been talking about how he didn’t ride away from the bigger wallride. From a filmers perspective, what were some of the reasons this one didn’t quite pan out as expected?
Haha! We knew there would be a ‘backlash’ of sorts from the last clip. I don’t think this constitutes as a ’filmers’ perspective specifically; but it’s no secret that in BMX it’s hugely frowned upon to have not pulled your last clip. It’s not as black and white as that, some people really need to see the bigger picture! Maybe I’m biased because I witnessed these things, but the crash doesn’t take anything away from what the film represents in my eyes. It’s a totally unchartered way of riding a bike with absolutely enormous risk involved. Those people that see the video as just a sequence of wall rides really need to open their eyes. I mean it with respect, but I have no shame in comparing it to Mat Hoffman doing the world’s highest air and not riding away from it, it doesn’t change anything. It’s that same concept of taking something that nobody has even attempted before and just sending it! Sounds cliched but both really are examples of breaking new boundaries. There are people that will be too stubborn to agree with that, they can just get fucked.

Have you guys talked about going back again to get it done, or is it something that just isn’t safe enough for another round?
Truthfully, I think part of not riding away from it was down to timing. If Croydon had been the last spot we hit after two years of experimenting, then we would’ve known the ramp would need to be at least twice as big, but with that said, if we’d gone to Luton with a ramp that small then the same thing would’ve happened there, so it depends how you look at it. I guess sometimes you succeed and other times you learn. It was a miracle to walk away from Croydon after crashing twice into such a small ramp, but it taught us a lot. To have left Croydon not in the back of an ambulance is quite a miracle. We’re not in a hurry to go back, sure it would be amazing, but I think in the grand scheme of things it’s actually kind of pointless.

There were two videos for this project, the documentary and then the edit that Red Bull released that was short and was just all of the actual riding clips. If you had to pick, which video are you more stoked on?
It’s a mix really, I like making documentaries but they just take up so much time and work, plus not every body is going to sit through 30 minutes of us openly talking about how we broke the law! I didn’t really make footage compiles during the filming for this project because I just never knew when it would end! It was over 18 hours worth of footage which I had to sieve down for the doc in the end. I like seeing the response and traction a short, choppy riding video has, but storytelling is more of a passion of mine.

Now that this project is wrapped up. What’s next for you? Any new videos in the works you can tell us about?
I guess we’ll have to wait and see, I still love BMX but I’m not so into spending a week cruising around a new city and churning out a quick web edit anymore. This project taught us all some real patience, and as a result it’s been so much more fulfilling to get this out in the open after keeping it to ourselves for so long. I’d like to work on some bigger projects, tell some stories and try to push the ‘cinematography’ aspect a bit more for myself, it’s not everyone’s cup of tea and I think it’s hard to find a place for that sort of thing right now, as long as I still love riding my own bike at the end of the day I don’t really care what I’m making videos about, I just fucking hate vlogs!

How can people keep up with you these days?
Pretty much anything worthwhile I’ll mention on my Instagram, @mikekingtv. But also my website www.mike-king.tv features a lot of my work.

Anything I missed you want to say?
I definitely want to thank the guys behind closed doors that made this project work, aside from the obvious, Bas, Joe, Bakos, Oli, Jordan etc there was so much support from all the guys at Seventies and Red Bull. Thanks to Ride UK for the cover, Matty Lambert for his great work and George for such a fantastic job documenting the process in photos. A final thanks to Bas for not killing me (or himself..) and anyone that watched/shared/liked/commented or even hated the video(s)!

Check out more photos and behind the scenes from “Walls” on the Red Bull Website.

Mankind – Isaac Lesser Signature Getaway Frame

August 24, 2016

Mankind coming through with a banger of a BMX video featuring Isaac Lesser throwing down on street spots and skateparks from the UK to Spain and Australia to promote his new signature Getaway frame! Hit play to watch Isaac absolutely CRUSH it on everything he came across with some incredible film work, then get the full scoop on the frame below!

“The ‘Getaway’ is Isaac Lesser’s signature frame, inspired by his ongoing passion for travelling and exploring the world.
Mike King and Isaac travelled over 21,000 miles, on a mission to shoot a video which embodied the true meaning of the frame and naturally, they had the time of their lives doing so.

Filmed in and around Sydney, Brisbane, London, Essex, Brighton & Barcelona.

The Getaway is available in Trans Blue, Matte Black and Raw.
Available now via Mankind retailers.

Produced by Mike King
www.mike-king.tv

Music:
The Arcade Fire – Half Light Pt.2
”

mankind-bmx-getaway-frame-translucent-blue

The Getaway frame is made from fully heat-treated 4130 Sanko chromoly tubing with a 75-degree head tube angle, 71-degree seat tube angle, 11.5″ bottom bracket height, 8.5″ standover height and a 13.2″ (slammed) chainstay length. You can find a heat-treated Integrated head tube with drilled gyro tabs, a gusset on the down tube, straight gauge top and down tubes, single butted down tube, Mid bottom bracket, Integrated seat post clamp, custom seat and chainstay bridges, wide rear triangle for 2.40″ tire clearance, laser cut 6mm thick 14mm dropouts and removable brake mounts.

The Getaway frame is available in 20.5″, 20.75″ and 21″ top tube lengths with translucent blue, matte black and matte raw (not pictured) for colors and a weight of 4.63 lbs. (20.8″). Available through BMX shops and mail-orders that carry Mankind worldwide now.

mankind-bmx-getaway-frame-head-tube

mankind-bmx-getaway-frame-seat-post-clamp

mankind-bmx-getaway-frame-bottom-bracket

mankind-bmx-getaway-frame-seat-stay

mankind-bmx-getaway-frame-dropouts

mankind-bmx-getaway-frame-matte-black

mankind-bmx-getaway-frame-translucent-blue

We want to hear from you! Let us know what you think in the comments below!

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Mongoose Jam 2016 – Team Ryan

August 8, 2016

For this years Mongoose Jam in the U.S, they decided to do a different format, which was a video contest instead of a traditional contest. Today, the first teams video surfaced online featuring Paul Ryan and crew going to work on Woodward West! Check out what they cooked up!

“Mongoose pro, Paul Ryan put together a diverse team consisting of Maxime Charveron, Lahsaan Kobza and camper Elijah Boecker. Videographer. Mike King captures Team Ryan showcasing each riders unique perspective of Woodward West. This video is a perfect way to kick off #mongoosejam16!”

We want to hear from you! Let us know what you think in the comments below!

VISIT: FRONT PAGE // DAILY SECTION // BMX COLOR APP // BMX VIDEOS // RANDOM

Tall Order – Trails and Wales

July 24, 2016

After a little hiatus of videos from Bas Keep and the Tall Order crew, we find out just why. It turns out the crew loaded up for a trip after NASS to bounce around to a handful of trails spots, skateparks and surfing spots, yeah, you read that right. Above and below are 4 videos giving you a look at what they got into during the trip!

“With Corey Bohan flying over from L.A to the U.k to ride NASS and stay a while we decided to go on the road for a few days in search of a man made wave in Wales and to ride Trails along the way.
In this episode we start out the trip in Hastings , build up some new ‘tall orders’ and hit some decent and fun trails! Featuring Corey Bohan, Matt Harris, Oliver Jack Jones, and Sebastian Keep.
”

“In this episode we travel from Hastings to London to ride with jack Clark .We drive to Wales in search of a huge mechanical man made wave. We surf the wave get barrelled and watch a man get inside a lake in Wales without a wet suit on. Featuring Corey Bohan, Matt Harris, Sebastian Keep, Mike King and Jack Clark.”

“In this Episode we arrive in Cambridge at Matt Priests house. Oli turns up out of the blue! We then ride a rad skatepark in Bury and Oli, Jack and Matt kill it!
Featuring Corey Bohan, Matt Harris, Sebastian Keep, Jack Clark, and Oliver Jones
”

“In this final episode of our trip we ride the amazing Woodyard Trails in Cambridge! Oli overcomes his fear of riding trails! Matt and Corey kill it! Jack does a wild 180 barspin, Dave does one of the biggest 360’s ever done at Woodyard and we finish the trip with a big BBQ”

[Read more…]

Behind the Scenes of Isaac Lesser’s “Build It” Video

January 20, 2016

Last week we got a look at Isaac Lesser’s crazy “Build It” video, but what you probably didn’t know is that this was way more complicated than it seemed! Watch this Behind the Scenes BMX video giving you some insight into the project from building the ramps, breaking his foot and getting healthy and back on his bike to crashes and more. It’s definitely an interesting watch that gives some perspective on the challenges that come with filming.

“Isaac Lesser has been riding ROM Skatepark for almost 15 years. Being the oldest skatepark in the UK, the classic, concrete haven boasts endless lines and haunting transitions.
However Isaac decided it was time to think outside the box, and with the addition of a few wooden extras, was able to open up gaps, lines and transfers that nobody would’ve thought possible.

You’ve seen the riding video, now go behind the scenes and learn what it took to make this project possible.”

Filmed and edited by Mike King

[Read more…]

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