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Back in January Dissidence began to tease a contest called "This is Scootering" and the whole community stood still in anticipation for what could be on the horizon. After months of waiting it was made clear that the mastermind's at Dissidence were planning on conducting a video contest that would follow their extremely well received "Coalition" contest that has been happening annually since 2017. Due to the crazy year our world has had and issues with being able to travel, Dissidence decided to use the coalition concept to create a new contest on a larger scale. Four national teams, Australia, USA, Europe, and World each made up of ten riders and one filmer/captain, were handed the task of filming a ten to twenty minute video that would showcase all aspects of the sport we love. THIS IS SCOOTERING
TEAM WORLD:
TEAM: William Holm CAPTAIN: Jared Adelson
Tommy Dang
Leonid Arbatski
Leon Lindgren
Bart Oskroba
Beau Wing
Oiva Lehtonen
Jose Contreras
Zakhar Mikhin
Chema Cardenas
Our very own Jared Adelson was chosen to be the captain of the world team and managed to put together a squad whose diversity gave them strength. While some could look at a video with this many different cameras and styles and call it a bit disjointed, it became clear to us that a team from around the world should feel that way. When a team is created that is supposed to represent riding from all over the globe it is expected that you will get a taste of what each rider has to offer where they are, and when it all comes together it is a beautiful thing. This contest has allowed us to see many riders work together that we would never otherwise have been able to see and it is fascinating to be able to compare riding from different areas all in the same project. So much young talent was shown in this video which gets us excited for the future, while also giving a nod to some legends of our sport who proved with every clip that they have no trouble keeping up with the pack. Everyone involved should be extremely proud of what they accomplished during this hectic month.
TEAM AUSTRALIA:
TEAM: Juzzy Carter CAPTAIN: Dylan Connell
Luke Burland
Kai Saunders
Max Peters
Will Scott
Angus Hugues
Alex Woodbridge
Zeidon White
Reece Jones
Levi Knight
The boys from down under came to play in this contest producing one of the most visually appealing videos we have ever seen. Masterfully put together by Dylan Connell, it was obvious that he, as well as the rest of the squad, had a very clear understanding of how they wanted the video to feel right from the get-go. The team as a whole covered all of the bases including long time rippers such as Max Peters, Luke Burland, Juzzy Carter, and Reece Jones, while also giving the new generation of young riders their rightful place to shine among the best of the best. A good majority of the footage gathered for this project was in the streets, however the few riders chosen to represent the park scene went to work to ensure that all of the bases were covered, which included a clip on the only full size wooden mega ramp in the whole contest. These guys put their heart and soul into this one and it was made clear from start to finish how much they love what they do. This was one for the history books and we hope that everyone involved knows how much of an impact a video of this caliber has on scootering.
TEAM USA:
TEAM: Nick Tedrick CAPTAIN: Rudy Garcia
Cody Flom
Brian Noyes
Chris Farris
Cooper Klaar
Devin Szydlowski
Jake Sorensen
Austin Coates
Tommy Christiana
Jason Cheety
As expected, the Americans put on quite the performance in this year's video, but their road to the final product was far from ideal. Sixteen days into the contest Rudy's bag containing the camera's and hard drives was stolen, forcing them to start from scratch with only fifteen days remaining. With the help of Daniel Cardenas, the team managed to pick themselves up and get back at it with new cameras and a daunting deadline. For most riders in the world this challenge would prove to be too much...but this is no ordinary team. Against all odds the guys managed to produce arguably the most well rounded video in the contest which gave a spotlight to nearly every aspect of our sport. Whether it was Jake and Cooper slaying a bowl, Devin hucking himself off roofs, Chris and Cody going huge on the mega ramp, Nick and Austin giving handrails a new purpose, Jason and Brian getting creative like only they can, or the whole team cruising a pool, these guys did it with a smile on their face and a fire lit underneath them. Creating a video of this caliber in fifteen days is unheard of, and these boys proved with every clip why they were chosen to represent the States in this contest.
TEAM EUROPE:
TEAM: Maxime Bouzid CAPTAIN: Martin du Champ
Luis Barrios
Roomet Saalik
Lucas Di Meglio
Richard Zelinka
Jack Ward
Dante Hutchinson
Matis Neyroud
Jonathan Perroni
Didine Terchague
The European boys left the community at a standstill after the release of their video. Filmer/editor Martin du Champ assembled a team that was up to the challenge of creating a video that pushed all areas of riding to a higher standard and will be forever looked at as one of the best videos that scootering has to offer. Martin's beautiful production kept the viewer on their toes as he strategically shifted from 4:3 to 16:9 aspect ratio to indicate different sections of the video. All of this combined with the powerhouse lineup made for an experience that was nothing short of incredible. Each member of the team has a very specific skillset and understood their strengths, which when put together into the final product fit together like a puzzle. These riders encapsulated perfectly riding as an artform and are not only some of the best scooter riders in the world but could be considered some of the best action sports athletes period. This one makes us proud to call ourselves scooter riders and we hope everyone involved knows that they have successfully changed the game.
THIS IS SCOOTERING
A piece by Benji Zacharias (@benjizeee) for OHLAY Brand