“I wanted the opportunity to film away from competition and showcase the riding that I love, the type of riding I do every day, this is what gets me excited for mountain biking”.
‘Eclectic’ is the latest project from Thomas Genon, filmed on two continents and showcasing his unique style and progressive riding across DH, Trail Riding and Dirt Jump.
Thomas Genon has always been inspired by other sports, having ridden BMX from a young age he was not only inspired by classic MTB videos. His riding has been well documented from his 2012 Red Bull Joyride win to top 5 finishes at Red Bull Rampage. With ‘Eclectic’ however, Thomas wanted to step back from competition and produce a film that really represented his approach to everyday riding, taking inspiration from other sports.
Thomas met professional BMXer and Videographer Christian Rigal in 2018 during Whistler Crankworx and the two were quick to begin discussions for a future video project. Rigal, known primarily for his street riding and video segments, turned his head to film making in recent years alongside his new-found passion for MTB.
“Filming and riding have always gone hand in hand for me, so I try to look at everything I shoot as both a rider and a filmer. Although this isn’t BMX and I’m still quite new to filming and riding MTB’s, this project with Thomas was the perfect opportunity to mix our talents together to see what we could come up with. We’re stoked on the end result and hopefully it gets people motivated to go out and ride their bike!” Christian Rigal.
Thomas was keen to explore Christian’s home town riding in San Diego and with no creative guidelines or deadlines in place the pair were able to build this project together naturally and feed off each other every step of the way.
“I have been a fan of Christian’s riding and would watch his online video segments as both a rider and a filmer. His progression into MTB was natural and I felt like he could really look at this project with fresh eyes. I respected him both on the bike and behind the lens, that is a rare combination” – Genon.
With the initial plan to film for two weeks and complete the project in California, the two were hit with persistent rain, meaning more time digging than riding and only half the footage they had hoped for. After returning home Thomas’s bad luck continued and he was left unable to ride from a shoulder injury. The pair knew they had enough for a strong online clip but felt there were boxes left to tick.
“We were unlucky with the weather in California. We were sitting on some great clips and I knew we just needed another trip to finish it up. adidas and Canyon really let us do what we wanted with this project. It gave us the time to really plan this second trip after a long time off my bike from injury.” – Genon.
After a productive week of dodging the rain and stacking clips in the south of France, the project was finally taking shape!
“Thomas killed it all week on all his bikes and after going through the footage together and picking a song we both like, we knew it was finally time to start editing!” – Rigal.
‘Eclectic’ is four minutes of heavy hitting riding, showcasing Thomas Genon as the rider he truly is. From trail bikes to DH and dirt jumping, his style and approach to riding needs no gimmicks or storyline, this is riding in its purist form and for all the right reasons.
‘Eclectic’ presented by adidas 5.10 is the latest project from Thomas Genon, In partnership with Canyon Bikes and directed by Christian Rigal.
#eclectic @thomasgenon @christianrigal
