The Ultimate Weekend was released in the middle of October, 1990. This week is the 30th anniversary of its release. I wanted to do a 20 year anniversary video in 2010, and a 30th anniversary video this year, to come out right now. My life's been real weird over the last 20 years, and I couldn't make those happen. But a 30th anniversary video, The Ultimate Weekend II (#tuw2bmx) is in the early stages, and I'm gonna make it happen. I'm planning on a video release this time next year, and a whole lot of The Ultimate Weekend content for this whole next year, as it gets made.
BMX "died" in 1989, when the entire bike industry said, "BMX is dead, mountain bikes are the cool thing now." Money drained out of the 20 inch world. In 1990, while still working at Vision Skateboards/Vision Street Wear they had just dissolved Unreel Productions), I decided I wanted to self-produce a bike video. I produced the first six videos for the AFA in 1987, but Dave Alvarez at Unreel did the editing. I produced and edited the first 2-Hip video (2-Hip BHIP on YouTube now), in early 1989. But I wasn't sure I could actually produce, and sell, my own video.
I shot video on the weekends for 7-8 months. I spent $5,000 of my own money (because I was an idiot, and used to spending too much ,like Unreel did), and wound up selling 500+ copies through a shady surf video distributor. I'm pretty sure he sold A LOT more overseas. I made back $2,500, and after living off my credit cards at the same time, put myself $7,000 in debt, and then got a $7 an hour job.
But for 6-7 months (until Eddie Roman came out with Headfirst, the most influential BMX freestyle video EVER, hands down), I had the coolest rider-made video out there. The first mini-ramps in a video, the first spine ramp in a BMX video, the first handrail slide down stairs, the first ice pick grind on a street rail, and a few other BMX video firsts happened to be in this video. The first footage of the P.O. W. House, of Chris Moeller, of Dave Clymer, and the first S&M Bikes Shield Logo (spray painte on th eteam VW bus) were all in this video. Then unknown Jersey powerhouse, Keith Treanor, became the breakout star of the video, because he just raged every time we rode somewhere, always pushing the limits. Glad I made this thing, despite the financial flop part.
Now... finally... The Ultimate Weekend II is in the works... stay tuned.
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