Could you give us some background on your history in the Triple Cities, your relation to  BMX, and your background in filmmaking? 

I grew up in a small town called Vestal, which resides next door to Binghamton, NY.  Geographically, our town sits pretty much on the border of Pennsylvania and is referred  to as the Southern Tier, aka the Triple Cities. It’s overcast most of the time, full of odd  characters, shitty street spots, and some of my favorite people on the planet.  

I started riding when I was in 7th grade after I found this incredible Dave Mirra tips  and tricks video at Best Buy haha. I met my homie AV ( Owner of GRINDWORKS ) in  high school, and he became my closest riding buddy along with a blend of kooks from  our neighborhood. Andy ( AV ) has always been a really incredible rider and really  embodied the strangeness of our town in the best way. Highly technical, shoots big  gaps at random, and also is not afraid of doing some silly goofy shit. Just one of the  best. As I progressed together with Andy, I really gravitated towards filming. I was just in  love with video culture at the time; it was an escape I could take home with me on  those bone-crushing winter days. We spent lots of time at very bad trails ( shout out  Circle Dr ), busted street spots, and eventually, we found East Coast Terminal. That was  a big shift in my perspective about BMX. Being exposed to a completely new level of  riding and terrain was a huge fucking learning curve, but it pushed me more than ever.  Soon after that, I heard about this infamous place called HCS, and this crazy dude who  ran it named Derek, Nelson. That was the moment everything changed. I’ll put a pin in  that and talk briefly about my filmmaking journey. 

I studied film in college, but it was more like drinking 40’s in the parking lot and parties  while scoping spots around campus at first. I got my shit together a few years in and  started to find my voice as a filmmaker with my first documentary film, Hacer. I moved  up to Boston after school and lived there for about 12 years, fucked up my knee, and  kind of quit riding for a while and started working in advertising. I made some cool shit,  learned a ton, and then got tossed out on my ass to learn how to freelance. Anyone who  has ever worked in the Ad world knows the game; you just get back up and hunt for the  next thing. Work got brutally slow post-COVID, so I started making movies again as an  outlet, that brings us to the present. 

I think a lot of us knew about Derek Nelson from Road Fools 13, but he flew back under  the radar almost immediately after that video dropped. I'm assuming you had some  familiarity with his exploits at HCS, and also his fabrication skills. What attracted you to  working with him? 

Derek going on Road Fools was a big deal for our little crew. I had known him for a  minute by that time, and I had become a regular park rat by then. He was still riding the  bike he made himself, and I think that was all anyone could focus on during that trip. I  can’t blame them though. That thing is insanely hard to ride, but that’s ( probably ) why he liked it. That bike allowed him to carry an insane amount of momentum, which  allowed for lots of new possibilities trick-wise and just more raw power. One of the  things I learned early on was Derek’s commitment to challenging himself, and the bike  was just an extension of that. Our sport is full of legit, underappreciated athletes, and  Derek is one of the most talented I have ever seen of the lot. Derek has always been  kind, and supportive of riders and skaters of ANY level in their development, and an  advocate for building community for those on the fringes. This is why we called HCS our  home growing up and what led me to my new film, Contact, as a way to reconnect and  support the scene in a new way with our shared perspective and skills. 

I found myself wanting to see more of Derek's original riding style as Contact  progressed. Have you shot with him in the past? 

My film Hacer was also a documentary with Derek as the main participant, but all of the  riding stuff in between the two documentary films was shot with his brother, Andy  Nelson, and a bunch of other cats that rode the place. One of my favorite things is to  just watch him ride; it’s a spectacle in the best way. 

Say I'm coming in dark to watch this project: how would you sell it to me? 

You take equal parts nostalgia, riding, music, chaos, and throw them in a blender.  Contact is what comes out the other side. It’s an examination of process and  transformation wrapped in a sincere love letter to my little scene.  

I had just watched that Secret Mall Apartment documentary a few weeks ago, and while  watching Contact, I was reminded of the art for art's sake statement that came with the  film. What attracted you to documenting this unique sound experiment? And how  important is it to you to document a project that might not make sense to the average  person? 

Derek hit me up last year and told me what he was looking to do and asked if I would be  interested in shooting it. It was a no-brainer for me. I am a big music lover, so the blend  of riding, experimentation, and sound really pulled me in. The film is about the process  of creating the immersive sonic installation, but there is also a lot of subtext for the  viewer to chomp on. As far as making something accessible, I didn’t really worry about  that too much. The story will resonate with an audience, but it’s not up to me to say who  that audience can be. I just guide it out there. 

Through a BMX lens, the Triple Cities scene was largely carried by the presence of  FBM for years. But after Crandall left and FBM shut down, the scene kept happening at  an organic pace. How would you describe the Triple Cities scene through this post FBM  lens?

I actually connected with Crandall for a Bobcat commercial down in RVA, and that shoot  got me so stoked to get involved with riding again, so FBM will live forever to me.  That’s the magic of Binghamton and the surrounding area. We have been left to fend for  ourselves many times over, but it’s the legacy that was left behind by FBM, HCS, ECT  and a slew of others and a real ethos of DIY that keeps the scene alive. The scene is  alive and well, and it’s evolving into something new. HCS is not just a skatepark  anymore, it’s a space for artists, musicians, and riders, which is a pretty unique thing.  John Corts @WorkBMX is also going strong and burning the candle on that end of the  scene, killer frames, and an incredible team.  

And do you think Derek and HCS have been able to transform Binghamton into "worth  staying for”? 

That depends on your mindset. You have to put in the work to see the value, and there  is a real reward for those that do. There are surprising benefits to living in a post industrial town with space to roam and places to create; you just have to reclaim it. No  one person can transform an entire town, but you can change the way people think  about where they are and how they see the world. 

How did you fund this project? 

Contact was mostly self-financed. I did have grant support from Binghamton University  and the Rotary Club of Vesal, NY. Hell yeah, Rotary! We also received support from  Expressway cinema rentals, Rob Bessette at the Color Refinery and some very good  homies, Buck Squibb and Sean Hoffman. Y’all are the best. 

What's your final goal with Contact? 

Final goal after our festival run and private screenings is to jump online (here on DIG) or hopefully land  a distribution deal. Right now we are waiting patiently for our first official selection at film festivals, fingers  crossed.