vorhese, www.bmx-test.com, august 2001: I have been lucky. Most of the videos I've seen recently have been pretty good. And I was definitely not disappointed with Mutiny's first team video. When the intro segment started playing, I immediately knew I'd be in for a treat... a mostly all street video, with a tad of ramp and dirt thrown in. I love watching street ever changing locations, ingenuity, creativity.
The rider sections start with Walter Pieringer. The first 4 tricks he tries, he takes it. And the last one is a rail mishap which results in a flying bike to the head. After that, he goes off on high ledge manuals and this insane ramp to roof(?) 50/50 stall. Top Notch. Next is Nate Moroshan. Able to grind rails on both sides, tailwhips, crooked grinds on rails. Nice. And he takes it on a feeble with a pit. Kerry Sayre follows. Most of his stuff is at Chenga World and Section 8 on ramps. But he takes it outside for a few things. Nice tats.
The next section is Brian Lee. More both side rail grinding, rail feebles, a sweet 180 feeble down a inclined ledge, and one of the raddest 180 stair gaps I've seen. Will Bissel... oh yeh, this guy can flow. Cowboy hat manuals, backwards bunnyhops down stairs, nollie 360's down stairs, and a dope 10 gallon drum fastplant.
Alright, now my favorite rider section: Joe Simon. Yes, I play favorites. He's Austin's local super hero, hardcore underground rider. Many gap to feebles, ditch riding, and things that just defy description. Plus this guy has style. Finally Dan Pors. Opposite foot forward rail icepick, rail manuals, school yard gap (impress the kids), so much stuff.
This video has it all: drunks, security guards taking it, a crash section (the laugh after Joe Simons monster 50/50 stall attempt is priceless), and awesome riders. The soundtrack kills: Old Metallica, ACDC, Boy Sets Fire, Van Halen. There is so much stuff in this video that will rock your socks I don't want to give it away. Put this video on your priority list NOW.
www.videoxsports.com: From the creators of American Scream comes Throw Your Bike, this is a video about the love and joy of riding. From Texas to Michigan, Ohio to California, we have captured the true nature of what it is to risk your life for fun. The riders of Throw Your Bike aren’t superstars or glory hounds. The only egos here are crushed and bruised. Get a good grip on the edge of your seat, for there will be much weeping and nashing of teeth...
vorhese, www.bmx-test.com, june 2001: Mutiny's "American Scream" is probably one of my favorite videos. It's fast paced, well-edited, and thoroughly enjoyable. Now Mutiny has released a new video entitled "Throw Your Bike." In a way, it could be titled "American Scream 2" as a lot of the footage is additional shots not used in "American Scream." But unlike Metallica's Reload album, this video isn't just leftovers. More crazy riding, more insane falls, more pounding music this video delivers the goods.
Edited again by Mutiny owner Steev Inge, there are the usual random sections mixed in with rider sections. Neal Harrington, Bill Bachman, Albe's superstar Flipper, Joe Prisel, the insane Austin Green, Ojay Juarez, Joe Simon, Walter Pieringer, and many more make an appearance. Riding all over the country from Texas to Ohio to California with a lot of recognizable skateparks such as Chenga, Freestyle, Transitions, Section 8 "Throw Your Bike" is well rounded (again flatland gets the shaft).
There were definite stand outs in the film. After visiting Ft. Worth and hearing about Ojay Juarez, I clearly see why he receives all the acclaim. Brakeless, tech, and smooth. Mark Filipowitz gives an overdose of park and a little street sesh. And he is apparently a dork.
Ride Magazine's review claimed this video was good but just didn't flow. I couldn't disagree more. Although "American Scream" remains my favorite of the two, "Throw Your Bike" is a definite must buy. Go support Steev Inge's company Mutiny and receive an awesome video in return.
Lance, www.bmx-test.com, july 2002: It seems starting off the review for this video is giving me a lot more trouble than it should. I could start off with telling you about how well the music flows with the video, or I could start of with the fact that the editing is awesome (done by Joe Simon himself), but I choose the easy route... the riding.
The riding in the video is strictly Mutiny's pro team (unlike the other videos they produced) with a little b-team here and there. With no intended disrespect to their other productions, "Subversion" far exceeds all before it. The Mutiny team is a very diverse group of guys that keep the video interesting throughout its entirety, no repetitive style that makes you feel as if you are watching the same rider with different clothes on the whole time. I won't give away too much as to what goes down where in the video, but I will tell you this, for every rider in the video there is at least one "rewind" trick to go along with their part. My personal favorites were Ojay's, and without a doubt... Joe Simon's. Myself, I was not really interested in Simon before this video as far as his riding goes, but I guarantee after you see some of the shit he does in this vid, you too will agree he is one great rider. Not to take anything away from any of the other riders in any way, they all are very good to say the least. If you disagree I'll tell you this much... regardless whether you love or hate Walter Perringer, he is way sicker than you could ever imagine. If you could only tailwhip concrete insanity or trick retarded steep spines - mother fucking pop, ladies and gentlemen. Oh, and fast foward through all the fuzz at the end to see the secret section, videos just aren't the same without them lately.
-Five Stars- quality editing and music alone make the video worthy. this is one of those videos you just like to watch over and over repeatedly.
Vorhese, www.bmx-test.com, february 2002: I'm a big fan of Mutiny and the Mutiny team. They somehow still remain just below the big-wig radar, yet put out great products. And the team is great: Brian Lee, Dan Pors, Joe Simon, Neil Harrington, Ojay Juarez, and Walter Peiringer. The latest Mutiny video, "Subversion," is Joe Simon's first Mutiny film edit, and if you've seen stuff from him before (Trend 2000), you'll understand this guy has skills. I'm a big fan of Joe Simon. I've met him a few times, I've seen him ride, and he's a fairly nice guy. And if you watch him ride you know he's batshit insane. This video, "Subversion," is definitely one of the stand out bmx videos of the year.
I don't want to do a rider by rider account of the video nor list the big tricks. But trust me, there are definitely 3 tricks I wish I could blurt out right now so that you will get this video. Ask a friend, I don't want to be responsible for ruining the video. But this video contains two of the smoothest and most stylish riders I've seen: Ojay Juarez and Dan Pors. Watching these guys ride, especially Ojay being brakeless, makes me drool. I only wish I had that much skill. Brian Lee and Walter once again are nut-ass punks (If someone knows what Walter yells in the coffee shop, please email me). Neil Harrington looks about twice the size of his bike yet pulls off a trick that left my mouth wide open. And Joe Simon is a berserker. Watching that guy ride reminds me of an intelligent yet insane Van Homan. This video WILL NOT disappoint.
In all, this is my favorite of the Mutiny videos for sure. This video, along with Etnies' "Forward" and Little Devil's "Criminal Mischief," makes up this year's triad Of BMX videos that you cannot miss. Also, stay tuned after the credits for another section (shouldn't we all expect this by now?). 9/10.
kyle4130, www.bmx-test.com, august 2002: Well this is the latest team video from Mutiny and it is the best video I have ever seen. I didn't see "American Scream" (although I plan on getting a copy) so I can't compare it to that. I have seen the Animal video, which was great, but in terms of progressive street riding, "Subversion" pisses all over it!
The editing is handled by Joe Simon, also this is the first product I have seen from him, and I don't mind saying this is hands down the the best edited video I have, with a wide range of artistic techniques that other videos are lacking.
The video contains full sections from Dan Pors, Ojay Juarez, Walter Peringer, Neil Harrington and Joe Simon. It also has shorter interlaced sections from Thomas Stellwag, Will Bissell, Brian Lee and Jason Suchan, who all rip it up.
the old cliche of a trick list not giving the video justice, applies heavily to "Subversion" but none the less, I am writing a review so I will give a brief guide to the sort of stuff going on here. Dan Pors does a manual, hop, half back pedal in the air to an icepick down a rail, Ojay Juarez (who's section I thought had amazing unique style to the music and the editing) has some unbelievable fakie combos, Walter Perringer, no joke ten foot over a spine and he does a tailwhip gap that is ridiculous, I feel an ass for not of hearing of Neil Harrington before but he does a 180 over to double peg down a handrail on street,
If I am not mistaken, this is the first time that has been done on street. Joe Simon ends the show with a walride up the 7ft curved wall in Austin (no bank) to ice pick the top, it was amazing.
The riding is 80% street with the rest park. No trails here. Although I love trails, this was not hyped as a trails video so I was not under the wrong impression. The music matches perfectly, with a range of styles from Radiohead to Iron Maiden, with everything covered inbetween.
So in closing, I think this video exceeds all previous and is an absolute masterpiece. Props to Mutiny and of course, Joe Simon, who you should thank for bringing this into our lives. (Do I need to give it a rating? You should know that you MUST BUY THIS VIDEO NOW!)
bmxandie21, www.bmx-test.com, august 2002: This video is sooo good. I give it an 11 out of 10. If you have been let down by the quality of riding in other videos because Criminal Mischief blew it all away, let's just say this video is for you. 99% of the stuff is new inventive street stuff I never thouht possible. Ever seen an over backwards grind down a handrail??? I didn't think so. Im in no way giving this video a good review cause I once owned a Mutiny...trust me. The editing is magnificent, don't let Joe Simon's sloppy works in the Trend video fool you (You are kidding right? Please TELL ME YOU'RE KIDDING! -jas), the music is great as well. The video consists of team riders DAN PORS (holy shit), Neil Harington, Joe Simon, Walter Pieringer, Ojay Juarez who have full length parts.... Brian Lee, Jason Suchan, Will Bissel, Some English dude, and a few others. The video also contains a very very good and very secrety section I missed the first two times out of the 5 I watched it today (yes I watched it 5 times in a single day). It runs 45 mins. It's 90% inventive, burly, amazing street, 9% crazy park footy, 1% dogs humping blankets and stories about being bit in the nipple. I probably sound a little weird but how good this video is... can't be said in a single paragraph. Please watch this video, have your rewind button ready, and watch closely.
fallenclothing03, www.bmx-test.com, july 2003: Every review of Subversion I've seen on here so far has been totally positive. Even so, I think 100 reviews couldnt do justice to this video. I will start with all the negative stuff... I really don't like Ojay Juarez. He's brakeless/4 pegs and just does little stupid shit that gets boring. He does a few sick things though, but generally I skip his part. Even though its good, the Brian Lee/B Team section is pretty boring. Jason Suchan's part in the B Team section is ridiculous though.
Now for the good...the intro to the video is unbelievable. Not so much the riding, but just the overall uniqueness of the editing, music, etc. Immediately you will notice that this video is very different. Blended with the intro is a clip of Dan Pors missing a manual to 180 and yelling...then it freezes and Dan Pors' section starts (the individual rider intros are amazing too). Pors throws down some of the sickest riding I've ever seen and you will never see anybody do x-up manuals like he can. Next is Brian Lee/B Team and Ojay Juarez sections which I already talked about. Walter Perringer is next. He has pretty ugly style and overuses barspins worse than Nyquist, but he rides to Iron Maiden and his section has a few of the craziest things in the video. Next up is Neil Harrington. He is without a doubt the most underrated rider out there today. He grinds left and right so well that it makes you question whether or not he has a natural grind side. I think I counted around 10 things in his part that had never been done before this video came out. He is also literally 7 feet tall which makes everything he does even that much more amazing. His last trick is something that you would never expect to see...easily one of the craziest rail tricks ever done and from a rider who few people even know about. Joe Simon closes the video, and probably deservingly, although he is the one who edited it so it kind of seems selfish giving himself the closing part, but oh well. Imagine if Jim Cielencki and Van Homan were merged into one rider and you would have Joe Simon. He does so many unique grinds and variations while still throwing down ridiculous gap to rails and making it all look dialed as hell. There's a secret section after a bunch of fake static that is a bunch of extra riding thats pretty damn sick, plus some crashes and stuff. On the DVD that secret section is bonus section 1 and you also get 2 other bonus sections which have even more unbelievable riding, mainly by Neil Harrington and Dan Pors as well as their first American Scream video. Neil Harrington, Joe Simon, and Dan Pors are 3 of the most underrated riders there are today and it's amazing that more people haven't heard of these guys. In addition to the riding, there are things which truly make this a great video. First, the editing throughout is amazing. Joe Simon did a great job and it's really artsy at some parts but during the sections it's just cut and dry riding...no overused replays and multi-angled shots. The music in every section fits perfectly and it's not like some videos where there is one theme (like how Wide Awake Nightmare was mostly 80s rock). Most importantly, I have watched this video countless times...possibly over a hundred, who knows...but to this day I still do not get bored of the video whereas I got bored with Forward, got bored with Wide Awake Nightmare to a point, even eventually got bored of Criminal Mischief and Animal.
Bottom Line...riding wise, Wide Awake Nightmare has surpassed this, but this video got no hype and was totally unique in everyway. This is the only video out there that truly deserves a 10/10.
This video features Morgan Wade, Danny Hickerson, Joe Riley, Mike Hernandez, and Ryan Mills, as well as a few other people in friends/split sections.
In some areas, I was let down. This is not a team video so most of the guys from Subversion are not in this. Neil Harrington has a few clips in the random section and Walter Peiringer has a half section and that’s it. This video also has a lot of the same stuff over and over (cement park lines, turndowns/tables/darksides over hips, etc.) that makes the video boring in some ways.
Most of the sections were pretty boring all in all, so I'll just get to the good stuff, the last 2 sections. Much like in Subversion, the best parts end the video and in my opinion the person who got the last part shouldn't have (Neil Harrington should have had the last part in Subversion, not Joe Simon).
Danny Hickerson comes through with easily one of the best parts I've ever seen. This guy can spin and tailwhip both ways so amazingly well it makes you wonder if the term "opposite" applies to any of it. He does some of the most innovative tech stuff I've ever seen and pulls out a number of tricks that you would probably not think were possible. This guy 360 whipped a spine to manual to 180 at Roots, just to give you some idea. He also does a few sick tricks with his feet backwards. His bonus footage on the DVD is amazing as well.
Morgan Wade closes the video, and I think it has more to do with the fact that he is Morgan Wade and less to do with how good his part is. His part is very good though, but really nothing compared to Danny Hickersons. His part also comes across as very unbalanced... it goes from tricks like 720 x-ups and flipwhips to riding tiny trails and doing tailwhips over pyramids. If you've heard stuff about him before, this part is pretty much what you should expect in terms of the big tricks.
The theme of this video is supposed to be just a bunch of riders having fun, and somehow that equates to a lot of candy bars, one footers, and dancing. I don't know if that’s my idea of fun but I guess its there’s so whatever floats your boat.
The bonus footage is really good and shows a lot of stuff from different angles and tricks that were almost pulled but still worth watching. I also love the editing of this video with the collage of riders... it is really simple but unique at the same time and not overdone in anyway.
Overall this video is worth buying for Danny Hickerson's part alone, although Morgan Wade's part isn't bad either. Rating: 7/10. Buy it for Danny's part, or just borrow it off someone. Whatever works for you.
I suppose to give a full review of Let’s Get Mystical, I should first go into detail about what I thought of Mutiny’s second most recent video, Stoked On Being Pumped. The video just didn’t make any sense to me. The team’s stand out riders like Morgan Wade, Randy Taylor and Niki Croft were all relegated to a single mix section while Cole Todorovich had an incredibly mediocre full section. Neil Harrington had a section that started out great, and then ended about 60 seconds after it started. There was an unforgivably boring slow-mo montage that consisted mostly of time lapse footage and birds, with the highlight being someone dropping their bike into a fountain. The video’s vibe was rushed and self absorbed, placing videography and artsyness above the actual riding, or the need to make a coherent, watchable DVD. And while there some moments, and the video was without question leaps and bounds above every other BMX video of the time production wise, overall the video was a letdown to me and most people I spoke to about it.
How does Let’s Get Mystical compare? The first thing that you should know is that LGM has no rider parts. Instead it’s split up into sections based on different trips that the team went on, from the north west, to England, to Pennsylvania, climaxing with an epic multi-song Texas section where much of the most impressive riding in the video goes down (logically so, since most of the team resides there). When I first heard about this idea, I was both impressed and slightly apprehensive. Often videos fall into the cookie cutter mold of “intro/8 rider sections/funny credits section”, and while eschewing that altogether and still creating an entertaining, progressive video is an admirable goal, it also seems drastically more difficult than going with the old formula. How did it turn out?
In my opinion, Mutiny took a risk and it definitely paid off. All the trip sections are excellent and none need to fall back on any tired video cliches to hold themselves together. Then just as you start to note that the video is moving at a slightly slow pace, they switch things up in the Chicago section with a bold song choice that luckily works perfectly. While the middle of SOBP plodded along slowly, seemingly without much thought being given to the viewer’s attention span, LGM seems like the sections and songs were laid out to intentionally keep you captivated, and the video is that much better as a result.
It probably goes without saying that LGM is just as stunning visually as SOBP was, but it’s actually dramatically better in my opinion. While most of the filming in SOBP was spot on, some of the angles seemed a little haphazard. In LGM I got the feel that every angle was picked much more deliberately and it’s pretty clear that Joe feels more comfortable than ever behind the lens.
Team wise, Mutiny has seen some changes which affect the feel of the video. Cole is nowhere to be found, and Niki Croft and Morgan Wade are only seen in the first section of the video. It’s hard not to think that the video would have been better had Niki not left the team (he absolutely kills it in the first section), but the addition of Josh Bedford and George Boyd (who has the last clip in the video and it is mind blowing) fill that void nicely. Hanson Little and Brandon Hoerres, who had only a few clips each in SOBP have much more footage and most of it is really good. Randy Taylor has some really good stuff, although most of it isn’t as crazy as his Props bio, but that’s just nitpicking. Justin Simpson had the best part in SOBP and delivers on a similar level in LGM.
Companies have clearly realized the importance of DVD’s over web content over the past couple years, but many still seem to content to put out amazing riding in videos chock full of bro-cam and filmed with a half dozen different types of cameras (no shots, but Sunday and Primo are both guilty of this). SOBP was important in the progression of BMX videos in general because it showed how much more powerful a DVD can be when the videographer puts in as much effort as the riders. Let’s Get Mystical finishes what SOBP started and brings it to it’s logical conclusion, with the riding matching up with the quality of the video. The fact that they were able to do so while also presenting the riding in an innovative, creative package is even more impressive. I’m not sure if LGM necessarily has the re-watchability of recent, more banger-oriented classics like Insight and End Search but it certainly stands out amongst the crowd and I have a hard time believing anyone would regret purchasing it.
Brian Tunney, www.expn.com, september 2009: Where to begin with this one? I've been trying to think long and hard about it the following question: What do I want to walk away with when I watch a bike video?
For the bike rider in me, it would be motivation to ride, and the desire to see new riding. Watching new tricks, new spots and new riders doing their thing and gets me psyched to ride.
Obviously, for a bike company, even if the company is comprised of bike riders, a video isn't supposed to be looked upon as a tool for motivation. It's a promotional tool to help the viewer get to know their team, what the company is about and hopefully get the viewer psyched on the company, which in turn would make them want to buy their bikes. Right?
But lately, I'm beginning to wonder if we're moving past that age of blatant video as promotional tool, and into an era of video as an independent work of art that just so happens to come from a progressive bike company.
At least that seems to be the case with Mutiny Bikes and their latest video Let's Get Mystical. I say that because, visually, LGM might be one of the best looking BMX videos I've seen to date in BMX. It's more than just a BMX video produced to sell bikes; it's a work of art. The editing and cinematography are superb, the music fits perfectly, the packaging looks really good and the riding is pretty amazing, without coming off as if it's going to save the world from impending doom.
Yes, it's that good. And yes, it will make you want to go ride your bike and have some fun with your friends. And yes it will make you appreciate cinematography. And yes, even though Joe Simon and everyone at Mutiny Bikes probably weren't making this video to sell more Loosefer frames, it is going to make you want to rock a Mutiny.
There's a lot more I could say, but what good is reading about a video when you could just buy it instead.
digbmx.com, october 2009: It has been close to a month since the release of Mutiny‘s Let’s Get Mystical, and I’m just now getting around to the review. I wish I could have got this done sooner, but due to how good this video is it took a while to get it back from a friend I let borrow it. I was almost scared I’d never get it back! Alright, now that you have forgiven me and quite possibly stopped reading by now, back to the point of all this.
Let’s Get Mystical is Joe Simon’s latest full length video, and given the amount of respect and talent he has, I held the bar pretty high. I expected HD, smooth shots, and music that fit in with some solid riding from the Mutiny team. That isn’t asking for too much is it? I think that is the standard for any DVD these days anyway.
The video does feature all those things for sure, and a lot of 16mm film shots, also.
It seems like you get about a year or two of trailers or updates about a video coming out these days. I will admit it does help get the word out and get people excited. Mutiny did the exact opposite by basically announcing the video two weeks before it would become available. I’m not sure of how that method worked for getting pre-sales and everything, but it seems like a lot of people caught on pretty quick that the video was out.
Let’s Get Mystical features Josh Bedford, Brandon Hoerres, Hanson Little, Matt Roe, Justin Simpson, Ryan Smith, Randy Taylor, George Boyd, Andy Martinez, Robbo. It also features some clips from Morgan Wade and Niki Croft who both recently left the team prior to the videos release for their own personal reasons. The team travels all over for trips to the Northwest, England, Pennsylvania, Chicago, and Texas. There aren’t any individual parts, but just mixes from each trip.
The music in the video is for the most part untapped artists (in my opinion...) that give a great vibe to the video. I honestly busted out laughing when I heard Soulja Boy’s Turn My Swag On since it was unexpected and doesn’t go with the rest of the music in the video really. I’d like to thank Mutiny for posting up the soundtrack on their website, which you can find below.
INTRO
Spiritualized - Broken Heart
NORTHWEST
...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead - Eight Days Of Hell
Placebo - Slave to the Wage
Wolf Parade - Kissing The Beehive
ENGLAND
The Horrors - Primary Colours
PENNSYLVANIA
Dead Meadow - Greensky Greenlake
Brian Jones Town Massacre - Nevertheless
MIDWEST
Broken Social Scene - Lucky Ones
Soulja Boy - Turn My Swag On
TEXAS
Tom Petty - Mary Jane’s Last Dance
Electric President - Robophobia
Pink Floyd - Time
M83 - We Own the Sky
MONTAGE
The new pornographers - Hey, Snow White
Justin Simpson
Spiritualized - Soul On Fire
CREDITS
Discovery - Orange Shirt
Overall, the video has a real good vibe, as I said above, and the team really seems like they are more of a family than a companies team. Joe Simon did an amazing job of capturing the riding and random moments while out on the trips. I was really into the England and Pennsylvania sections the most. England for its amazing and unique street, and Pennsylvania for the incredible trails that are home to that area. Tom Petty is another personal favorite, so that scored pretty high in my book in the music department, also. The Glidecam shots were phenomenal.
The only negative I really have are that I wish some of the guys on the team had more clips. Given the budgets for the trips, riders personal schedule, injuries, and a few other things probably came into play, it would have been nice to see more Brandon Hoerres for example. I would have liked to see some clips of Gaz and Joe, also.
So, if you haven’t seen the video yet, I’d advise you at least borrow it from a friend to check out once. It is available pretty much everywhere through online mail orders, and at shops. If your shop doesn’t have it, I’m sure they can get ahold of a distributor that has it. It goes for about $14.99 or $29.99 if you want it in Blu-Ray.
Mutiny Bikes "Let's Get Mystical" Trailer! from Mutiny Bikes on Vimeo.