“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
“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. Next in our release of sections from Vagabond Squad is Justin Schwanke.”
-DIG BMX
“Justin is the main man behind Weird & Revered, affectionately referred to as our CEO. A title like that comes with a lot of responsibility and hard work. If a dozen guys are out riding together, it’s because Justin organized it. If someone gets a flat while riding, it gets fixed with the tools Justin lugs around in his backpack. And when a new Weird & Revered video hits the web, it’s because Justin spent hours hunkered down with his computer piecing it all together. On top of being an excellent filmer, photographer, and ringleader, Justin is also a very talented rider. He got his start in BMX racing and those roots show any time he’s soaring over a set of jumps or pedalling full speed at a street gap. What makes Justin unique, though, is an entirely different side to his riding. The realm of what he considers ‘rideable’ is certainly greater than your average rider. This has led to countless tricks and lines involving garbage cans, lumber carts, cardboard, and playgrounds. Justin is also a perfectionist which means these oddball sessions can last for hours as he toys with an obstacle that no one else considered. When he finally nails it though, the result is always worth it; this DVD section is proof.”
-Derek Bolz
"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
Edmonton, Alberta
Photographer: Austin Schwanke
Spruce Grove, Alberta
Photographer: Tyler Steckly
Spruce Grove, Alberta
Photographer: Jesse Baraniuk
Coastal California
Photographer: Dominic Ennamorato
Spruce Grove, Alberta
Photographer: Janelle Borders-Denault
Edmonton, Alberta
Photographer: Cedric DeRodot
Cuenca, Ecuador
Photographer: Marco Calderon
Honolulu, Hawaii
Photographer: Thomas Henderson
Devon, Alberta
Photographer: Thomas Henderson