10 Aug Catching Up with Ryan Eles
Hamilton, Ontario (Photo Credit: Eisa Bakos)
I remember a while back I got a message from Eles that he wanted to get a video pieced together for one of his sponsors. Of course, I quickly agreed because working with Ryan is always a blast. We figured out a day that worked for both of us, and it was set. On a beautiful Saturday morning a couple of weeks later, Ryan shows up at my house bright and early, having just driven 3 hours from Sudbury to Barrie. He hops out of his rental car and we immediately start going through spot options. Without much of a warm-up, we start driving around to a variety of spots. Everything that we pulled up to, he had an idea for. I’d get the camera out and within 20 minutes he was rolling away from some crazy trick that should have taken hours. This process continued throughout the day until it was too dark for my crummy VX1 to record with reasonable quality.
I think he walked away with 6 or 7 amazing clips that Saturday. I was blown away. I remember being super impressed by his work ethic and his determination to make a video happen despite living so far away. I mean the guy literally paid to rent a car, drove 3 hours, filmed all day, and then drove 3 hours home. That kind of persistence and commitment is exactly why Ryan has become one of the best riders in Canada.
-Joel Fortin
Photo: Aaron Jack (