Interview conducted by Skate DSM’s own Joey Rinaldi.
Connor Barrett has been a local Des Moines skater and videographer for 11 years and his latest video, ‘NOTRIGHT’, did not disappoint. Filled with wholesome vibes and powerful NBDs that make you wanna hit that rewind button and watch it over and over again. We met up with Connor to get the scoop on the video and hear what it took to make his latest WrongBros and NoSafety production.
Every good video has its clips that took forever to get. What trick took the longest for you to get?
There were multiple lengthy battles for everyone… but the first one that comes to mind is actually that 21 stair rail at the ford dealership that Jake (Kelley) board slid at the end. We went there for the first time like two and a half years ago and he didn’t try it, he was kinda just sizing it up when someone that works there asked us to come back on a Sunday when they’re closed. Which was super sick instead of just booting us outright. That being said Jake and I never get to skate Sundays because he works. It’s just not one of our days usually. Fast forward to this spring and the stars aligned, we had a big crew, Jake had been skating the 16 rail a bunch at the Lauridsen park around that time. We went on a Sunday after Jake closed down the shop (Subsect Skate shop). It took him a minute to hype himself up enough to actually hop on the rail which is expected with not much warmup. But Jake blasted it in under 5 tries when he finally hopped on it. So, although it wasn’t that many actual attempts for him to do it, checking that one off the list after like 3 years was super rad. To make a short story long or whatever.
Jake handled that like a champ. I know you filmed the majority of the video yourself, but who else helped film?
Well Derrick (Lambertz) absolutely killed it with the super 8. Anytime he was around I would just hand it to him and say go crazy. Also, that super 8 camera I use is actually his. I gave him 50 bucks and if I break it or whatever, I owe him $100 more. *Knocks on wood* I was supposed to go to San Francisco with Jake, Finn (Zain), and Ross (Schick) to stay at Scott Cleland’s, but I just had so much other stuff going on, I had to bail. I let Ross take the HPX on that trip, so all the SF stuff was filmed by him. Shoutout Ross! Even though I don’t think they cleaned the lens once the whole time they were there. And then that one Mario (Ortega) clip was actually filmed by Cooper (Robinson)! It was like 90 plus degrees out that day and I had been out filming all day. I was seriously like heat stroking out or something, I felt really bad but I had to ask Cooper to take over while Mario was trying that line just for a few minutes so I could cool off and catch my breath. Sure, enough he landed it in those few tries. But Cooper killed it. Really, everyone helped out picking up the super 8 for me at some point. But those are the main helpers.
You mentioned a super-hot day, with living in Iowa, we get the worst of both seasons. What was the coldest session you had filming for the video?
Definitely the nollie heel hippy jump that Beau (Sluder) did at the parking garage with the yellow rails. I don’t even think it was 30 degrees that day. We were cold before we even got to that floor of the garage. Didn’t take long for him to do but when it’s that cold, it really doesn’t matter. FA ski mask, sweatshirt, long sleeves, long Johns, big coat, and gloves got the job done. Probably some overalls too. Obviously, it was worth it!
Who took the hardest slam while filming the video?
My mom is gonna love this question. Whenever I post any sort of fall on my story, I text her “mom warning”. She’s more of a fan of the success stories but she respects the process. There’s a few that come to mind. Jake casing on that power Ollie as the Kodak song starts was a crazy one. Reese (Bunn) chose the worst day ever to skate Edmund’s. It was so windy and cold. He was just slamming every try, Conor (Patterson) and I almost had to cut him off. Then Reese landed it and called his mom all stoked about it but he rebroke his wrist on one of the previous tries and still got up and did it. That was definitely the second coldest session we had. And the last one is a super gnarly slam from Luke (Carey). I can’t speak much on that one because hopefully he gets that for the next video. That footage isn’t out yet. But Luke is such a beast. And the slam I’m talking about is easily one of the craziest ones I’ve ever witnessed. Definitely a mom warning on that one. He’s an animal.
I’m excited and concerned. What’s next for CB, WrongBros, and NoSafety?
Well for starters, Jake and I are putting the finishing touches on a solo part. That’s why he didn’t have a Jake amount of footage in ‘not right’. We have a few more things on the trick list to get and then that will be out very soon. So be on the lookout! As for WB and NoSafety, we’re always working on something. My goal right now is just to film every day and let the project build itself for a little while. I want to give a little shoutout to Mirza (Jasarovic) because his project is in the works as well and I’m lucky enough to assist with filming for that whenever I can. I’m not sure when that will be out but he’s going to bless us with another super sick shop video. Parts from him, Jake, Damier (Jones), Concrayaye (Connor Patterson), and I’m sure a few others. He’s a master at editing. Miles ahead of me. But yeah, my goal is just to film as much as possible for whatever video. Sorry I don’t have a quick answer like “oh yeah we’re working on this video, and it’s called blank.” But we are working.
Hey that’s all that matters, forward progression. To wrap things up do you want to give any other shoutouts?
Yeah, first and foremost, Kevin Jones! Some say filming is the most selfless role in skateboarding, but I might put skate shop owner just a little bit above that. He does so much for us behind the scenes; the community we have, the giant skatepark we have at our disposal, and the contests we get to be a part of, none of that would be possible without 2 decades plus of Subsect holding it down. Uhhh Luke Carey, Mr. No Safety himself, he does so much for the community, for his riders, and myself. Luke is nothing but respectful to anyone and everyone. If I ever met someone that said they didn’t like Luke, I’d seriously question their every move. I got nothing but love for that dude. And then Norm (Sterzenbach) at Skate DSM. I could give shoutouts all day, obviously everyone that’s in the video that make me look like a good filmer when really, they are all just really good skateboarders but I’ll keep it shortish. Thanks so much for this.
Thanks for sitting down with us Connor, we’re looking forward to everything coming up!
And thanks for having me.
