Come at Me v2. (By Jordan)

I don’t usually bother to back myself up when hated on for my opinions, but after I posted the Dan Barrett video last night, there was a bit of a backlash (48 comments now, as well as everything on Facebook). So I’d like to take a moment to tell you why I made the comments I did, and a little bit more in general about my opinions on videos.

First of all, I was not “hating” on Dan. I have no problem with him going out and drinking, the majority of everyone does it, and he is perfectly legal to do it as well. The fact that I put the video on Inside in the first place shows that I did like the video, and everything I say about the video is constructive criticism. You are sadly mistaken if you think I’d post a video that actually sucked. Obviously I thought Dan’s riding was amazing, like it always is. He’s been one of my favorite riders pretty much as long as I can remember, and has always been a nice guy.

Why did I choose to address the party thing with his video? Why don’t I say anything about Elyts videos, when they have party clips? Perhaps it just pushed me over the edge. Not only did the party clips bum me out but the song, and other riders (because I thought it would be a solo edit of Dan) ruined the vibe for me. I do not want scooter riders to be seen as Mac Miller college partyboy type people, which is the vibe I got from the video. As far as Elyts, thats all they’ve ever been since the beginning so I never took their videos seriously in the first place to even bother commenting on it. Its the same way with Stan Smirnoff, he is known just as much for his smoking habits as his high airs and transfers (he had weed leaves on his signature wheels for God’s sake), so nobody thinks twice when he has a clip of him smoking in his videos.

I can understand the point that party clips help show who the rider is in a video. But if nearly everyone does those things, does it really show who you are? If what you are outside of riding is a weed smoking, alcohol chugging partygoer (not saying thats what Dan looks like, I’m speaking generally now), is that something you want to show people? You want to show you and your friends? Do something more creative, more original. Party clips are like the next cheesiest b-roll footy you can have after bird footage and cloud time lapses. Show another hobby you have, or you at your job, any kind of random moment that happens while out riding even. In Proto Catalyst there was a clip I believe of Sanchez flipping onto a bed in a hotel. Thats the kind of thing thats cool to watch, not a bunch of people just drinking beer.

Please, if anyone still has a problem, leave a comment here or send me a message on Facebook. Thanks to all three of you who will actually read and understand this.