Richie Eisler is trickling out footage from his seemingly bottomless bank and like all good artists, he is picking his moments carefully. Today sees the release of his Elite Series part in collaboration with Danish film making connoisseur Jonas Hansson. We caught up with Richie for some extra insight into one of the most exciting releases of the year...
 
loco6
 
Where was this section shot and how did it come about?
We shot mostly in Copenhagen, with a couple short trips to Jutland and Malmo. When the rain and rinsed spots got to be too much, I had to return to Canada for an overdue family visit. Jonas came to Vancouver (en route to Blading Cup) to shoot for another week. We got lucky for a few days in Van, but once again met our friend Mr. Rain, so we called it “wrapped”.
 
The project came about after six years of emailing back and forth, trying to get together to work on something. Travel plans, injuries, and bad weather kept getting in the way. Happy to say we finally made it happen!
 
How was the process? Other than rain, were there other hurdles? What were the hardest moves to get on tape?
The process was really fun. Jonas and I both have a similar attitude toward capturing skating, and that essentially comes down to: “no stress.” We are out to have a good time and make something we can be proud of. If it’s a bad day, or bad weather, or whatever… "let it be." There will always be another good day coming and stress will not usually solve anything. So in that sense, we had a lot of “down time” waiting on the rain. Copenhagen is one of my favorite cities in the world, and I have a lot of friends there, so it was a treat to spend some extra time there.
 
Other than rain, hurdles included: the terrible floors in Copenhagen, endless skatestoppers in Vancouver, and a seemingly never-ending search for spots.
 
The hardest moves to get on tape? The 360 makio took too long! I got it really quickly, but then getting a second angle was a mission. My hands got cut up pretty badly on the rough ledge and I was about to give up, but some random Gs came up and asked if we were “YouTubers” so I gave it one more try for them… Got it! haha, That was a happy moment because I have never really done that trick on the streets before. Same goes for the switch 360 pstar. On the first attempts, I got tossed around pretty good and it was getting dark, so we left. The next time we came back, I got both tricks there in just a handful of tries and we were out! "It’s a celebration!” haha That was another proud moment because I felt like it was one of the most challenging tricks to choose for myself. Otherwise, plenty of tricks took a lot of work, and others were easy. Classic.
 
loco1
 
You’re arguably the best 36 years old we’ve ever seen in the sport. What’s your secret to staying in shape and being able to produce a full street section of this caliber?
Thank you! I don’t know if there is really a secret. I was always younger than my age, right from childhood. It used to feel like such a curse, when I was the shortest kid in all of my classes, growing up. Now I realize it was a blessing. My dad had the same story, so there are some genetics there. As for my own influence, I usually skate safe (the rule is “no falling”), I eat healthily, do yoga and stretch all the time, use a foam roller for massage. I think a lot is mental, too. I try to keep a positive attitude and I think that’s probably more powerful than the rest of it, combined. I’m sure that skating outside every day doesn’t hurt and I’m definitely fortunate to have minimal stress in my life, doing what I love with people I love!
 
 
The Elite Series is gathering some of the best heads in the game, is this a format that’s been needed in blading?
I’m happy to be a part of it and grateful to work with Jonas and the guys! Some of my favorite people in the scene have been involved, and yes it is definitely good for blading. Any time you mix passionate, talented people who enjoy working with one another, I think that’s a recipe for success. Jonas has a special eye and talent behind the lens and in the edit suite, so you can always expect to be impressed. Bottom line is quality over quantity, so 100% I support this format. I hope to see more projects like this in the future and look forward to Mr. Burston’s part, too.
 
 loco4
 
 
Can you tell us about other initiatives and projects that you can get behind and want others to know about and support?
I would love it if everyone knew about and supported The Cayenne Project. It’s quite similar in that we are a group of friends, trying to make something special. The entire group is super talented, we have great chemistry blading and traveling together, and I think the end result is that we are able to create something that shines a light on the indescribable nature of this thing we all love. It’s so hard to describe or explain what is so magical about inline skating and I think that is a major reason why we are all a bit obsessed with creating so much media. So yeah, I hope others are enjoying the Cayenne videos as much as we have enjoyed making them. And I hope the support grows so we can continue spreading that vibe around the world.
 
loco3
 
Do you have any other personal projects in the works that you want to share with the community?
I do! I have been collecting various forms of media content, all this time while traveling endlessly. At this point, I have well over five years of footage and photos of myself and many of everybody's favorite skaters. There were various short projects along the way that got pushed back over schedules or being too busy or having nowhere to work on them. Some plans got blocked by various factors that don’t really need to be given attention to. As time went on, I decided it might be best to put all the smaller projects together into one “super project”. This added a lot of pressure and really tested my patience. In the end, I decided to just let go and wait until everything came together in an organic way, whenever it was meant to be.
 
I’m happy to say, that time is now! I am currently finishing Takeshi Yasutoko’s first street section and then will be editing until everything is cohesive and sparkly fresh. I really don’t like editing, but seem to have some sort of “touch”, so will just roll up my sleeves and go for it. I have collected hundreds of tricks and there are endless memories and moments from all over the world, so I hope to share them as soon as possible. Takeshi is a few clips away from finishing his part, and it’s too hot! I can’t wait to share this with the world. Looking to release a full-length video and hopefully a book to go with, so stay tuned for glimpses and teasers as it takes shape. To provide some extra motivation, I’m going to put the pressure on myself here and state that you can expect my best work to date!
 
Thanks, Richie!
Thank you. Thanks, everyone who has supported me along the way. USD UC KIZER LOCO GO NBA, my family, and all my friends and their families for putting up with me and providing shelter along the way.
 
You can purchase the Richie / Jonas Elite Series section from Selfy now for less than the price of a Scandinavian beer: Download section.

loco5

loco8