I had Ross Champion explain to me once that, “Freeride is much more than just competition.” Initially, I understood what he was saying as meaning the community of freeriders is thicker than the bonds of typical competitors, and he’d be right. But upon giving it deeper thought I realized something else. Freeride wasn’t so much a sport as it was expression. Freeride is art.
After spending years looking through thousands upon thousands of images of freeriders performing some of the most daring, body contorting, gravity-defying moves, it’s a sport blending both man and machine, harmonizing the artificial and the natural, and in turn, creates some of the most impressive images in all of jet skiing.
These thoughts were never more prevalent than while reviewing this brief video from photographer/videographer Loren Haleston or “Loren in HD.” On hand for this past September’s Blowsion Surf Slam in Pacific Beach, Oregon, Loren wrote, “I’ve been trying to diversify my shooting lately and took a day in September to check out the professional stand up freestylers. Having never seen any of this type of sport before it was pretty mind blowing to watch these athletes pull off such moves in such uncontrollable conditions. I’ll hopefully be covering more of these in the future and adding to the range of possible camera angles.”
Although his technical breakdown of the day makes it sound very mechanical, the images that Loren was able to capture perfectly encapsulate the beauty, the fluidity and spirit of freeride. I might be a little late on the take, but I think I finally get what Ross was trying to explain to me. Please this video as much as I did:
