#notbad Photo Epic

The Trek C3 Project crew unite every year to do some team rides, photo shoots and film sessions. One of the most debated issues for the team is where to go each February (yes, that is the middle of winter here in the northern hemisphere). In 2013, we had big plans for the team trip. Instead of of dropping your typical 2 minute web edit, we would be working with Anthill Films to shoot an entire team movie called NotBad. We needed a spot that could host world class caliber downhilling, trail riding and dirt jumping. And we had to fit it all in within a month long trip. Queenstown, New Zealand is one of the few places on the globe that has all those things, and better yet, it is the middle of summer in February... voila!

Looking into the core of the C3 project helped define how shooting with the riders throughout the month would unfold. First off we had the slopestyler dirt jump posse of Cam McCaul, Brandon Semenuk, Breet Rheeder and Ryan ‘R-Dogg’ Howard. For them it was to set up shop in Queenstown and spend ample time shredding the Gorge road dirt jumps and shuttling laps with local world cup downhiller and team mate, Brook Macdonald up on the Skyline trails. Trail hunters Andrew Shandro and Rene Wildhaber then joined in the mix and explored all the endless singletracks that line the ridgelines above town. To cap off an all-time trip, we all then headed further south to the Frew Brother's 'Farm Jam' ranch to discover the life of mountain biking that those bros have created, and to experience the ultimate in New Zealand hospitality by camping on their land.


Huge thanks to the Frew Brothers & Frew family, Tom Hey, Brad Rowe, QMTBC, Skyline, Caleb Smith, the Gorge Road Jumps Crew... AND everyone else from NZ who made our trip such an amazing experience. We couldn’t have captured these photos with them!

NotBad is produced, written, directed and edited by Anthill Films and presented by Trek in association with JBL, Shimano, Bontrager, and Pinkbike.com. Additional support for the film was provided by Tourism New Zealand, Air New Zealand, Destination Queenstown, Good Fortune Collective, and Immersive Media.

All images by Sterling Lorence

Pick up your own copy of Not Bad here.

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Stories Sterling Lorence