When I first met a younger Mike Spinner, rocking cut-off Dickies, riding a bike with a non-existent seatpost and what’s since come to be one of his trademarks, a ancient topload DK stem that resembles a brick, I was impressed to say the least. Mike had skills, but there was a lot more to his riding than flips and spins. Mike could do it all, from impossibly difficult tech lines that involved tailwhip nosepicks or backwards manuals, to burly yet-unseen box jump moves such as 1080s, along with vert-inspired tricks such as tailwhip 540s. Not only that; Mike was personable and appreciative of everything that had come his way (which, at the time, was just a few free bikes and a few free trips to contests). Earlier this year, in between a very hectic contest schedule, Spinner set out to film for the inaugural Nike 6.0 video, Writing On The Wall. What follows is a short discussion with Spinner about the filming process and his section, plus info on how you can see it here first on DIGBMX.com.
IS THE NIKE 6.0 VIDEO YOUR FIRST OFFICIAL VIDEO PART?
This is gonna be my first ever official video part. It’s crazy. I’ve always had fun doing tons of Web edits over the years. It was always like, “Oo yea, my friend that films is gonna be at the skatepark today, so we’ll film some stuff, then put it online.” I’ve actually never really had a street section before, even in a Web edit.
WHAT WENT INTO FILMING YOUR SECTION? WAS IT TOUGH?
This was like a challenge for me for sure. I knew Dennis, Garrett and Nigel have all done video parts before, but we all ride pretty different. I pretty much had a list of things in my head that I wanted to do. It was awesome filming with Glenn PP [Milligan.] He has worked on a ton of videos in the past, and he knows what looks good and what doesn’t. I would always ask him what he thought…
WHAT WERE YOU HOPING TO ACCOMPLISH?
To try and get a lot of street clips I was happy with. One thing I realized with filming for a video is that it’s all about quality, not quantity. We had one year, and we traveled the world. Plus I got to film at Dave Mirra’s warehouse, ride street in Miami. Those are my local spots and I had stuff I always wanted to get done. And this video pushed me to do it.
IS IT MORE STREET OR PARK?
I’d say 50/50, which I’m stoked on. I’m not trying to hide my park riding. I love riding skateparks, but it was definitely important to me to get a bunch of street clips I was stoked on!
WHAT DO YOU ENJOY MORE; FILMING VIDEOS OR RIDING IN COMPS?
I would have to say contests. For me, it’s awesome to know when a contest is. I just ride a ton and work on new tricks before hand. Most contests that I ride in are 60 seconds, where you try to do your best tricks. I love that feeling when you actually can do everything. All the time and effort you’ve been putting into getting ready for the contest all paid off at that moment. It’s the best feeling.
WHERE DID YOU TRAVEL TO FILM FOR THE NIKE VID?
Oh my god. Arizona, Vegas, Miami, Spain, China, Australia, Greenville, Orlando, Atlanta. I probably missed a few places too…
WHAT’S ONE OF YOUR MOST MEMORABLE MOMENTS FROM FILMING?
One clip, I spent two hours on two different days filming for. I’ve never done that in my life. A few years ago, I would maybe spend a half hour or 45 minutes trying to get a trick done, but Glenn was filming and I put pressure on myself knowing that I wanted to get this clip done. It was like 100 degrees out in Miami. I fell a bunch of times trying this one line, and I was definitely freaking out. But once again, I have to give credit to Glenn. He knew what he was doing.
ARE YOU PSYCHED ON THE OUTCOME?
Sooo stoked! Nobody understands, this video shows me the best I think it can. It shows my personality and what I can do on my bike at the moment. When filming for this video, I knew it was gonna be hard because I had a ton of ideas in my head, but it doesn’t always transfer into the riding. But I had so much fun filming this video and hanging out with the whole team all year. I could not have asked for a better outcome!
WHAT’S NEXT FOR MIKE SPINNER ON THE VIDEO FRONT FOLLOWING THE RELEASE OF WRITING ON THE WALL?
Flip at Albe’s asked me about filming for the Albe’s video. I definitely want to take filming for a video slow just for the fact that I don’t want to overdo it. Quality over quantity for sure. I’m just excited to go to Cali to see the video all put together. I hope everybody is as stoked on it as I am!
On Saturday November 22, 2008, Spinner’s section will be exclusively available for viewing here on DIGBMX.com, starting at 10 PM(PST).
The entire Writing on the Wall movie will then be available as a free download beginning from 10 AM on Monday Nov 24th at www.nike6.com/writingonthewall
We also have a Spinner-related competition running right now where you can win the frame Mike rides (Mirraco Black Pearl) and the shoes he wears! (Nike Insurgents)
- Click right here to check it out and try your luck!
