Our Story
In 2001, while in film school at Columbia College Chicago, I discovered the truth behind a mid-nineties fad that had since faded into obscurity - and it blew my mind. In 2008, I started making a documentary about this fad, a sport called Freestyle Walking, and since then I've discovered more and more interesting people and stories along the way. I'm on the verge of completing this entirely true, if funny, documentary, and the only way to complete it is a trip with minimal crew to The Windy City to complete principal photography.
The Impact
Though Freestyle Walking is long-dead as a national fad, it lives on in playgrounds and schoolyards across the country. I'm telling the story of the four guys who gave this otherwise untraceable pastime a name. It's a story of brotherhood, of friendship, and some of the first benefactors/victims of social media. I want this story to serve as a snapshot of a time just before the world suddenly shrunk - without your help, we won't have time capsule I want this film to be.
What We Need & What You Get
The film is almost complete, except for final interviews with our main subjects, their families, and their community. Not only did this community and their school inspire them, but they participated in a social event that is still rippling through pop culture. These final interviews will take place in April or May 2012, and I need a small crew to capture everything in a very short amount of time. The more we raise, the more film we have to work with.
By funding the film, you not only receive promotional items like postcards, posters and signed copies of the DVD, but you also have the opportunity to be in the final cut of the film. At our highest level of funding, if you send us a video interview with yourself about Freestyle Walking, we will cut it into the film and include your entire interview as a special feature on the DVD.
Other Ways You Can Help
Pointing your friends and fellow film-lovers to this page and our Facebook page helps us immensely. Let people know that this is a fun film - not just a "sports documentary," which it only barely qualifies as. We are lucky to have an amazing story to tell from an incredible array of perspectives. You can share right through IndieGogo. or just paste the URL into Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr or your preferred social-networking thingy.
Thank you so much for checking out my film. I look forward to giving you a product we can both be excited by.
