It’s been quite some time since I posted here. Heck, this part of my site was offline for many, many years. But after what all has transpired o’er the past few weeks… it seemed fitting to fire up this side of the fence. After all… blogs still rule.
About 10 days out from GRIDLIFE Atlanta, Gregg Bucell called me and told me my application for GRIDLIFE had been approved. I was like… but I didn’t apply! I felt pretty reluctant to do it for several reasons. The main one being that I haven’t driven like that in a LONG long time. 2010 was the last time I drove Road Atlanta… and I haven’t drifted anything that fast since. I maybe get to drive once or twice a year, but ne’er as fast as Road Atlanta.
The second was financial. It’s been a slow start to the year work-wise. 27 year old me woulda sent it… while 47 year old me was trying to be more responsible. Gregg talked me into it… explaining that it was 50% for me… and 50% for my friends and family that want to see me charge down that hill again. I told him I couldn’t argue with that… and knowing how psyched Tyler woulda been was a major deciding factor. But the car needed work, and all of the safety stuff was from 2005. It would all need updating too. So it was on.
I picked up a new Circuit to replace the outdated Evo. I decided to just pull the passenger seat for the weekend until I can update that seat too. It was strategic in a sense, because I only wanted to focus on my driving without distractions.
I got the car on stands to get to work updating the 5-point harnesses with 6-points. Gregg sourced me a new pair of Sparco harnesses. I went ahead and pulled the wheels for fresh tires.
I got all of my wheels out of storage and stopped by Gran Turismo East for tires. I cannot stress it enough how amazing Kieran is… and how none of this weekend would have been possible without him and his continued support. He is seriously the best!! I truly could not do any of this without him.
I love this old poster in the shop of Road Atlanta from way back. It’s so cool knowing the history of that place… and it made me feel extra excited knowing that we would soon be getting to go drift there.
Back at the house… it pained me to pull this old sticker from the car… but I did save it. This car is truly a time capsule.
It took way longer than I’d expected… but I got the new seat mounted and new harnesses installed. I had to relocate the hand brake to fit the new seat. I’m tempted to redo that whole hydro setup altogether. I planned on re-doing the driver-side floor board… but ran out of time.
The car had a wild oil leak… which turned out to be the o-ring where the dipstick meets the oil pan. That was WAY more complicated than it shoulda been to replace. I didn’t really document this because I just wanted to be done.
I replaced the upper/lower intake boots while I was in there… and while I was doing that I broke this stupid vacuum connector:
In typical BMW fashion… I tried my damnedest to find one locally, but could not. No dealerships had one in stock. None. I hail mary’d tryna find one at Pull-A-Part early Wednesday morning and saw this thing:
There weren’t any connectors… but I did scoop a fresh set of amber tails and an emblem for cheap. Not what I intended, but glad I found.
I had to overnight that $2 connector from 4 different vendors just to increase my odds of getting one on time. In the meantime I had to ziptie a temporary fix just so I could get the car on the trailer in time for tech. The car would not start and run without that vacuum hose connected.
All loaded up for Road Atlanta.
Made it in time and passed tech with flying colors.
I pitted with the ol’ Koruworks crew for the weekend… which made me VERY happy.
Austin was my pit crew for the weekend… and was MVP for SURE. More on that later.
I got a PROPER aluminum vacuum connector just in time.
We had MANY wristbands.
Drivers meeting.
My parents came out which meant the world to me. Their love and support is everything… and they’ve always been THE most loving and THE most supportive!! It was so great to get to share this weekend with them.
It was go-time… and I was a nervous wreck. It had been 16 years since I’d driven Road Atlanta… and I just don’t get to drive at this level anymore. It was an overwhelming and intimidating place to be trying to knock the rust off.
Knowing I had updated all of the safety bits in the car was a huge relief though. For a long time I haven’t taken the safety stuff very seriously. I don’t know if it’s wisdom with age, or what… but I’ve turned a corner on that and want to take it seriously moving forward.
It was so crazy to be gridded back atop that hill. E’en crazier to be surrounded by SO many BMW’s. That is quite a difference between way back when and now.
I totally fumbled the first few attempts. I was SO in my own head that I wasn’t concentrating properly. I hit the windshield wipers at one point. Spun the keyhole. I was scared out of my mind. Once I got past the first turn it was like riding a bike. But that initial entry was going to take some work.
After the first session… I was a mess. Anxiety was spiraling, and I honestly felt like I’d bit off more than I should have. That Road Atlanta was NOT the place to be remembering how to drive at that level.
Austin, though… did something I will never forget. After that first session he asked if I needed anything… that he wanted to run to the house real quick. Unbeknownst to me… he had convinced GRIDLIFE to let him run. So between sessions he ran home and got tires, came back and put his car through tech… and then he pulled up behind me in line for the second session. It was an audible sigh of relief from inside my helmet. Austin has been in my rearview running my door thousands of times. It was exactly what I needed to realize “you’ve been here before… you’ve got this”. And from that point… it was ON.
Each run got better and better. I kept biting off just a little more with each run… and things were starting to come back to me. I opted out on drifting the full course, because I just wanted to get back to the top of the hill to practice the old FD layout. And Austin was behind me every time. It was THE BEST. I also truly enjoyed grip racing that track. It’s such an incredible place!!
This photo that Travis shot is everything. My Dad with the thumbs up… and Austin right behind me as we barrel into the keyhole. Everything I’ve done in life is in pursuit of making him proud. This is such a special moment.
The love of my life.
I made some DriftMechaniks helmet visors for the homies. The only way to get one is gonna be to drive together. I surprised Sebastian and Gregg with theirs, which was super special! Austin got one as well, DUH.
We took a stroll through the FD pits.
And a quick stroll through the GRIDLIFE pits.
Ashley and I with Kieran and Austin. I could NOT have done any of this weekend without each of them! REAL TALK.
Sunset 10/10. I picked up a HANS from Jim Downing himself. It’s a bit of a story… but it was his personal HANS… and the last one at Downing Atlanta. I feel honored to have it and to be the one using it. Now that I’ve used a HANS, I won’t ever NOT use one. I honestly cannot believe I’ve gone this long without one. In my humble opinion, they should be as mandatory as helmets out on-track.
After the halftime show was over it was time to watch the big boys… so off to the Rowdy VIP.
Rowdy VIP… of course… wouldn’t happen without Marlow.
I’m happy I got to see Tuerck on his farewell tour.
This was Ashley’s first time experiencing Formula Drift… AND Road Atlanta. I’m o’er the moon to get to share this world with her. She is my favorite person, and I love that she appreciates all of this as much as she does!!
The level pro drifting is at these days is absolutely mind boggling compared to how it was back in the day. It is WILD. It’s almost unrecognizable in a strange way.
The questionable calls ain’t changed a bit though!
The finals were James Deane vs. Vaughn Gittin, Jr… with Vaughn coming out on top.
And that about wraps up my weekend at Road Atlanta. This was easily one of the best weekends of my life. I felt very emotional, and felt like I really overcame something to get back out there and bomb that hill again. I felt like Tyler was out there with me cheering me on and helping me through.
It was everything. The friends… the family… it was all just… everything.
One things is for sure… I will move mountains to do this again next year.
Back in May, I picked up a new daily… a Hellrot Red 1993 BMW 325is. My friends Alie and Jeremy were moving out west and needed to sell this beaut! It just to happened, that gas mileage in The Destroyer™ was bleeding my wallet dry, and I needed something slightly more fuel-efficient. That put me in the right place at the right time to pick this car up cheap!
I immediately snagged some Raceland coilovers and slammed the hell out of it on a old set of Racing Dynamics.
I have some funny plans for this car that are light years from happening. For now I’m just enjoying some gas-savings and having a fun daily again! This car has humbly reminded me how good I am at driving like an absolute maniac. Kindred spirits we are… kindred spirits.
Showcasing the last several years of my motion design and compositing, this reel… to me… is unreal. As an artist, I can rarely step back from my own work and say “Wow… I made that?”. A proud feeling for sure.
This reel is without a doubt a quick rabbit-punch to the throat that will leave you yearning for a second viewing.
Special thanks to everyone I’ve worked with along the way that has helped me to learn, grow, and develop my craft in ways I never thought possible. For a full breakdown of my roles in all of these clips, click here.
I can’t even believe it, but Keep Drifting Fun won Speedhunters Video of the Year! What absolutely blows my mind is that it beat out Ken Block’s Gymkhana 5, amidst a long list of equally fantastic videos. Incredible!
I am still super honored to have been a part of this project. Both in front of and behind the camera. I’m so proud of what this simple phrase has matured into, and even more proud of all the people who helped make it what it is today (you know who you are). It is truly amazing.And in case you’ve been living under a rock…
A short stylized animation I created at Artistic Image using fully-rotoscoped footage that I shot using a Canon 7D. I match-moved the scenes and used Trapcode Particular to create the chaos that trails behind the skateboarders. Rowbyte Plexus was used in the first clip as well. This project was an immense undertaking, consuming nearly two full-weeks of rotoscoping alone.I’ve had this vision in my head for well over a year, and it is really awesome to finally see it all come to fruition!
Rowdy Road Trip. from Andy Sapp on Vimeo.
The first weekend in October, we all pitched in on a 16-passenger van and trekked up to Nashville for Adam and Alyson Szczuka’s wedding. This is a glimpse at what went on.Special thanks Hertrech Eugene for tag teaming on the shots!
Radio Flyer Boys Shockwave from ARTISTIC IMAGE on Vimeo.
A recent spot I had the opportunity to work on at Artistic Image to promote Radio Flyer’s venture into the realm of kids scooters. Ed Dye art directed the piece and Ken Soons directed the shoot. Daniel Wiggins, Lee Kordel and Jeff Ling handled the 3D animation. Randall Champagne and myself handled the compositing and post.I was primarily responsible for the shot where the helmets form on the three kids in a Tron-like fashion, the ramp build-up shot, jump call-out shot, and compositing the 3D for the hero shots of the scooter.From what I hear, this spot is getting a lot of airtime on Nickelodeon and the Disney Channel!
I’ve been eagerly awaiting the full length cut of this story featuring Magnus Walker. It did not disappoint in the slightest. The cinematography is gorgeous, the story is concise, and Magnus as a focal point is just downright interesting. I think it is pretty damn safe to say that I would get along with this dude. WELL. Bravo to all involved in producing this. I think it is outstanding.Read more about Magnus over at Driving Line.
Blackberry Smoke – “Yesterday’s Wine” from Jon Grimson on Vimeo.
Back in May of 2011, I handed footage that I shot of Blackberry Smoke during studio sessions in the summer of 2010 off to Jon Grimson, so that he could edit a music video for CMT. The song, “Yesterday’s Wine”, was originally written by Willie Nelson, and this version of the song was recorded in Nashville with the legendary George Jones and Jamey Johnson.
Fun-fact about my family and George Jones: when we lived in Nashville, we lived in the neighborhood next to him. As Boy Scouts, we were going door-to-door selling M&M candies. Good ol’ George, invited us into his home, and bought all of the candy that my two brothers and I had. ALL of it! So, with that in mind… it is pretty cool to me that so many years later I got to shoot footage that made it’s way into a music video with him in it. Unfortunately, the shots with George and Jamey in it is the only footage NOT shot by me… so I didn’t get to share that story with the man himself.
Regardless, I think this video turned out really cool, and I’m honored to have been a part of it. Very special thanks to Brit Turner for having me along to shoot it, to Richard, Charlie, Paul, and Brandon for always being great to shoot, and to Jon Grimson for editing it all together.Shot using Canon cameras (5DMKII, 7D, and XLH1). Be sure to check out more of my adventures with Blackberry Smoke by clicking here.
Having just passed a kidney stone, I decided to try and shoot the rally, instead of riding the 40+ miles. Since it is impossible to be in more than one place at the same time, I only walked away with five shots from an entire day of shooting, and because of one slow car… I wound up missing the one shot I set out to get. Frustrating, nonetheless… but still fun.
Eventually I will write up what a wild, crazy, and INSANE journey this trip was. Maybe. Until then, these snaps will have to hold you over.
Video in the works… watch out.
I feel super honored to be included in Volume 1 of Hoonigan’s “The greatest hoonage caught on tape”! The clip is from Will Roegge’s “Don’t Stop” video. So many of these clips are classics, it is awesome to be among them in this awesome compilation.
Also… Motörhead. Need I say more?!
A few snaps from this year’s Warrior Dash. I ran this event with my parents, and had WAY more fun! Running for time last year was fun, but running with people is just more enjoyable all-around. It was super-rad that the whole family did it this year. I wound up with an entire mouth-full of mud-water at the end of the race. It was gross… but awesome!
Back in February, I followed my father (David), my brother (Jon), and family friend (Joel) into the warzone of the Tough Mudder to document their battles with the obstacles. Little did I know, I would also basically be running the event to ensure I got to the obstacles before they did. Only in substitution for the obstacles, I was running around the woods all day with massive amounts of camera gear on my back.
This was easily the most difficult day of shooting I have ever been subjected to. Freezing temperatures, doubled with intense winds hospitalized dozens with hypothermia. I had on two pairs of full long-johns coupled with a leather jacket and I was still freezing. I have no idea how anyone could have finished this event. The conditions were THAT brutal.Regardless, I am SUPER proud of my Dad, Jon, and Joel for running in this… AND FINISHING!
