Desafio.

DESAFIO from Balthazar on Vimeo.



Desafio, a Spanish word meaning “challenge,” is a project taken on by Frenchie-turned-Spaniard  Balthazar Neveu over five months in Barcelona, Spain.  Balth said he first got the idea for making the video when he “first went out from my new flat and realized I was living two minutes from ‘chuchos.’  It's been my local spot for the 5 past months and Marc Pauls is living there and I thought this guy is so badly underrated so basically light shall be made on some of these unknown riders!”  Marc being Balth’s neighbor and sharing the same passion for the sport, made him an obvious choice to be in the video.  As for why he picked Victor to be in the video, he said, “he was progressing every time we rode together and i thought it was pleasant to film the evolution of the butterfly.”  And finally, Javi was an easy pick for cast, being a local hero yet underrated on the international scene.
Just being in Barcelona really inspired Balth during the making of the video.  He said “This place is so perfect, everything's different, food's cheap, sun's like always shining, so much that when it rains it doesn't even matter, spots are just beautiful and well, I wanted something to remind me of these awesome days in Barcelona.  Making videos is something Balthazar really loves- “For me filming videos and making things go forward just makes me live, otherwise scootering would lack of this creative aspect that I really like about it!”

Desafio premiered in a local bar after the Barcelona Street Jam that Balth and some others put on.  All the riders from the jam were in attendance, so it was quite a crowd.  The premier almost didn’t get to happen…Balthazar had had to run back home after the jam to burn the video to a DVD on his flatmate’s burner at the last minute.  So, when it started to play at the Nevermind bar, he was quite relieved. 
Balthazar hopes Desafio will inspire the local Barcelona riders to make more videos, to embark on bigger projects.  He says the scene has huge potential, and judging from Desafio, they definitely have some great riders leading the pack.  Balth says he hopes “they will understand that even if they have amazing parks in the suburbs, they really should learn to love to ride street in their city.” 

Gerome ?, Jandiv, and Helmeri Pirinen at the premier.

Today Balthazar is back in his native Paris, working as an engineer in a photography quality improvement company.  He’s already into another project, called WISE, and says there’s already a video in the works.  He would like to thanks Javi for giving him contacts to organize the premier. 
As for the video itself…I loved it.  Each rider has their own unique style.  It really brings back memories of older French street videos…fast paced tech ledge riding, unique obstacles, original styles.  I really hope the BCN guys will continue to make videos.