Road to Rushmore / Chevrolet
A short film that documents the travels of a professional skateboarding team on their journey to Rapid City, South Dakota to host the city’s first ever skate demo.
SHORT FILM | Director, Producer, Editor
Inspiration.
Nearly every summer of my childhood was spent in the Black Hills of South Dakota. It’s a place of rich history, beautiful scenery and personal sentimental value. I conceptualized and pitched the project to Chevrolet to coincide with their ‘Find New Roads’ initiative. Powered by the Silverado and Cruze vehicles, our team drove to Rapid City, SD to host a skateboarding demo and explore new territory on the way.
It was important to me to build in an element of giving back to the Rapid City community. We organized an auction consisting of ramps and signed products, and donated all proceeds to Oyaate Wookiye, a nonprofit organization that empowers Lakota youth through skateboarding.
Process.
I started with assembling the crew; a group of pro skateboarders and cinematographer Troy Gray, who were excited to come on board and bring the mission to life. The route was chosen methodically to create cinematic value for the Chevrolet vehicles en route to the Black Hills. I coordinated with Zumiez and the Rushmore Mall to arrange an indoor demo, which was covered by both television and radio news channels.
Social.
Social Media is a crucial component in most of my projects. Built into this pitch was our powerful combined social reach of over 2.1 million followers, which we used to tag Chevrolet and showcase the vehicles to a young generation of skateboarders, travelers and filmmakers.
The Premiere.
I arranged a partnership with Chevrolet and Black Plague Brewing to host the premiere of the film in Los Angeles. We parked a brand new Silverado in the venue and filled the truck bed with gift bags from contributing sponsors, which every guest received.
The Players.
Director, Producer, Editor : Gantry Hill
Cinematographer : Troy Gray
Athletes : Garrett Hill, Mike Mo Capaldi, Manny Santiago, Walker Ryan, Jaxin Hall
Headlining Partner : Chevrolet
Supporting Sponsors : Key Street, Transworld SKATEboarding, Zumiez, Black Plague Brewing
