Weird and Revered Archives

Weird & Revered – One Man Show 2: Township Tour

December 7, 2024

Justin Schwanke is back with a fresh edit!

Whenever we see Justin Schwanke‘s name pop up on a new edit, we know it’s going to be packed with creative and unique riding, putting all sorts of unique spots to good use. This time around he goes to work on random spots around his hometown. These might not be big city spots, but he definitely made the best out of what he did come across. Take a look!

“As much as rural Alberta is my homeland, it doesn’t really feel like home. It’s where I grew up and where I’ve spent most of my life—a place with both its charms and its challenges. I often wrestle with a desire to leave, and in 2017, I did. I moved to Edmonton, then Abbotsford, British Columbia, and even Albuquerque, New Mexico for a short time. Yet, in the spring of 2023, life brought me back to this familiar place. While I still see my time here as temporary, this video project, Township Tour is a tribute to my homeland. Perhaps one day, I’ll create a video that reflects my permanent home. Until then, I’ll be spot hunting, riding, filming, and editing wherever life takes me.” – Justin Schwanke

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 – Jesse Baraniuk’s Vagabond Summer

August 31, 2020

The Weird & Revered crew always deliver with their videos. Here’s one giving us a look at what Jesse Baraniuk got into this summer from street spots to skatepark sessions. This has a bunch of rad clips from Jesse, along with appearances from a bunch of the guys from the squad. Hit play and enjoy!

“Jesse Baraniuk has been living full vagabond style in an RV. He recently put together this video from his travels across Canada in 2019. Some words from the man himself:

“For a few years, I had been talking about buying a van or RV to live in. Early in 2019, things began to line up and I pulled the trigger. I moved out of my place, sold my car, bought an RV, rented a post box, and hit the road in April. Most of the next few months were spent driving, riding BMX, or surfing. I drove from Edmonton, to Tofino (on the west coast), all the way to Halifax (on the east coast), then back to western Canada where I spent the winter. This is the first video I’ve edited, and most of it is self filmed. I hope you enjoy it!” -Jesse Baraniuk

Riders: Jesse Baraniuk, Andrew Gobbo, Kostya Chimkovitch, Eamon McCaffrey, Thomas Henderson, Joe Kubik, Justin Schwanke” – Weird & Revered

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