951 Dvd Review

Recently Nick Darger of the 951 Crew down in So Cal sent me their latest Dvd. It features riders Nick Darger, Robert (Monkey) McMoran, Nick Donatelli, Jarrod Bruns, and Kody McQueen. As well as a full friends section featuring John Radtke, Tyler Wheeland, Jackson Manzie and more. Video opens with a really solid intro, and then starts up with Nick Darger's section.


What can you say about Nick...He went from being your typical park rider, and in what seemed like overnight turned into one of the most solid over all riders in California. His section blends park riding and street riding so perfectly. It was really fun to watch. You get a feel for just how dedicated Nick is with his riding, and you can see the passion when he rides his scooter. Which is clearly evident at the end of his section, when you watch it...You will know exactly what I'm talking about. Nick is one of the few riders in the sport where you need to try hard to pick out the clips that were sketchy. Because he naturally lands everything really clean and smooth. One problem that I've noticed however with the riders who make everything look so effortless, is that the things they do are sometimes overlooked because of how easy the rider made them seem. Overall Nick surprised me with this section, it never got boring from start to finish and that’s what a good video section is all about.


The next section features two riders, Jarrod Bruns and Kody McQueen, two riders who if you are not from the So Cal area you may not recognize the names. These guys are clearly on the come up. They are both really solid riders, and Kody's barspins are realllyy smooth. I honestly think that if these two keep it up, when the next 951 DVD rolls around, they will each have their own sections.


Up next was the "Friends" section, which features a whole bunch of really amazing riders. Cameron Wards clips shocked me a lot. Most people know him from his park competition riding...but what few clips he did have in this video proves he can ride street really good, and has a really nice style. Another rider who not a lot of people know about, but deserves more recognition is a rider who goes by the name of Jake Show. He had quite a few clips in the friends section, and they were all as smooth as I remember him being when I met him about 3-4 years ago at a competition. The friends section of this Dvd was one of my favorites I've seen so far.


Robert...Monkey...McMoran. If you don't know him, you're missing out on a really sick up and coming, rider. He's been around for a while now, but I call him and an up and coming rider, because he continues…to get better. His section starts off with Monkey being, Monkey and just having fun. Which is refreshing to see. Some riders take their riding really seriously, and it's good to see someone out there having fun. His section was nothing short of amazing. He is another rider who can ride it all. He can spin both ways, and whip both ways, so def. pay attention to his section. I don't know what it is about seeing someone small rip so hard, and go so big, but it's really sick. I Love the enders to his section, and I really don't think he will release a section anytime soon that I won't enjoy.


Which leaves Nick Donatelli, another rider who no one has ever really seen much of until now. His riding really surprised me with how clean it was. This section shows his potential in becoming one of the top street riders in Cali. He does a really solid mix of tricks. Manuals, Grinds, Fakies all that good stuff. With lots of tricks in and tricks out. One thing I would have liked to see with Nick's riding was a little more speed on some stuff. In street riding, especially when you're doing lines you want the least amount of pushing possible. So that’s one thing I felt could have been different. However it is easily overshadowed by some of the bigger tricks he throws down and the mix of tech tricks he tosses in. He does a trick over a 10 set at the end of his section that I've never seen done over a set that big before. Also, at the end of his section he lands a certain trick and I think it really showed the dedication, passion, and emotion that I wish more riders had. Overall, I loved his section.


With that you are left with the credits, and a lot of funny/bails clips to enjoy. The highlight of which being a special appearance by Corey Vanlew! Of course there is also three random guys dancing in a parking lot...can't miss that.


The video ends and it left me thinking. Why don't more Teams/Groups of riders make Dvds? Instead we all stick to making online videos. I really feel like we should have more Team Dvds like this. Not just because it's out on Dvd, but because it takes your video to another level of professionalism. The work that these guys put into this Dvd is clearly evident in the finished product. I think if more riders started to focus on making Dvds with their friends, isntead of just an online video. You end up getting a lot of really solid video sections, and some really good Dvds. Big thanks to the 951 Crew for making the Dvd, and to Nick Darger for sending it my way to get reviewed.



I also caught up with Nick Darger recently and asked him some questions regarding the Dvd.



Steven: So what made you want to make a full Dvd?

Nick: Well, it all started when I saw Transit. That really gave me the idea of making a full length DVD. No one else had made a legit video like them, and I really thought that our sport needed some good videos like the skate/bmx industry. So I started filming for all of 2008, but the footage wasn’t quite good enough to make a full video. So I released 951 3. From then on, I started filming as much as I could.

Steven: Did you know from the start that the featured riders in the video would be your full section riders? Or was there some hard decision making on who would be featured?

Nick: Well I knew when I started who was on the team. I was really hoping for Kody and Jarrod to have their own sections, but filming them was slow. When all of the sections were just about complete, they still didn’t have enough footage. Their styles were both so unique and different from each others, but they just mended so good in their part. So I decided to combine their sections, and get the DVD done while the clips were still fresh

Steven: Do you hope a lot of other Teams throughout the sport start to follow in 951's footsteps, and put out more solid Team Dvds?

Nick: Oh of course! We need more videos like this. They are just so enjoyable to watch, and they help out the teams who make them and the companies who sell them.

Steven: When can we expect the next 951 Team Dvd? And what changes can we hope to see in this one that will make it different from the one before it?

Nick: well I just bought a Canon GL1 and MK2 death lens, so an upgrade in quality. But as far as DVD changes, I want to have more than rider sections. I want to have road trip videos, rider bios, and a full section for each rider.

Steven: Thanks a lot Nick, for the awesome Dvd, and taking the time to do with this ISB. Any last words or shout outs?

Nick: I would like to thank everyone who made this possible, all of the parents who had to deal with all of us kids staying at various houses, the riders involved, and you for doing this interview. I would also highly encourage everyone to buy this DVD. The more that sell, the more that we can do in the next video.



So that does it for the review on the 951 Dvd. I strongly advise everyone to go out and get this Dvd. It is one of the best not only Dvds I've seen in a long time, but also one of the best Team/Crew videos I've seen to date.


Here is a brand new edit/teaser for the 951 Dvd featuring the 951 Crew, DxG, and Friends. Almost all the riders you see in this video are featured in the Dvd. So check it out

Epic Weekend Video 2 from nick darger on Vimeo.