In celebration of the 35th anniversary and 4K restoration of the famed 1986 BMX racing movie Rad, GT Bicycles has just released the limited edition Rad Pro-Series 29, inspired by the film’s hero, Cru Jones. This 80’s cult classic stars favorites from the day like Lori Loughlin (Full House), Talia Shire (Rocky), and Ray Walston (My Favorite Martian). It’s the timeless sport tale of a hometown kid taking on the best in the world against the odds.
“Rad Racing Team” is the name of the fictional sponsor the town rallies to create in order for Cru to qualify for “Helltrack”, a grueling local championship race where the sport’s best have come to compete. The movie introduced Bart Connor – 1984 Olympic gold medal gymnast – as the top BMX rider to beat. Lori Loughlin plays Cru’s love interest, a hot BMX rider herself, who pushes Cru to make his dreams come true. Read More
Yoga Instagram stars Cristen and Kimberly Chin, otherwise known as the @ChinTwins, bring their practice off the mat and into our homes this week with the premiere of The Chin Twins on The Design Network. The six-episode series takes an inside look at the daily lives of these twin sisters, fashion models, wives, mothers, and family chefs who share recipes, beauty tips, and ways to entertain that incorporate the balance and serenity they seek as yogis.
The Chin Twins launched their Instagram in 2014, somewhat unplanned. While visiting in Alabama, where Kimberly and family make their home, the twins were practicing yoga together at the end of a pier when Cristen’s husband, acclaimed fashion photographer Nigel Barker, wandered down with his camera and started shooting the duo in action. He posted the pictures on his Instagram and the response was so overwhelming the Chin Twins decided to launch their own handle.
Barker has continued as their lensman and @ChinTwins has amassed nearly 100,000 followers. The images are very stylized, artistic, and not surprisingly, have a heavy fashion focus. “We’ve shown our audience one side of us, which has been primarily our yoga practice and how we use yoga in a physical way”, says Kimberly (Kimmy). “This show gave us the opportunity to take our audience into our homes and into our lives to show how you can infuse yoga into all parts of life, not just on the mat”. Read More
Against The Tides is the captivating story of British marathon swimmer and world record holder Beth French, and her quest to swim across the most dangerous open water crossings in the extreme challenge known as Oceans Seven. For marathon swimmers it is the ultimate test — the equivalent of climbing the Seven Summits in mountaineering — and very few people have ever completed it. Beth ups the ante with the goal to accomplish it in a single year which has never been done, even more unfathomable as she spent much of her youth in a wheelchair with a debilitating illness, unable to move.
The Oceans Seven consists of seven of the most unforgiving straits and channels around the world. There is The North Channel between Ireland and Scotland, 21 miles; The Cook Strait between New Zealand’s North and South Islands, 16 miles; The Molokai Channel between Molokai and Oahu, 27 miles; The English Channel between England and France, 21 miles; The Catalina Channel between Santa Catalina Island and Los Angeles, California, 21 miles; The Tsugaru Strait between the Japanese islands of Honshu and Hokkaido, 12 miles; and The Strait of Gibraltar between Spain and Morocco, 10 miles. Read More
Forget those NCAA brackets, everyone is a winner here!
As March Madness sweeps the nation, we present the best basketball movies
you don’t even need to be a hoops fan to love.
CLICK PIX FOR TRAILERS!
HOOSIERS 1986 (above)
One of the all time great sports films, Hoosiers is a classic tale of redemption. Starring Gene Hackman as the volatile coach, and Dennis Hopper as a former star player-turned alcoholic, they lead a small-town basketball team on an improbable run to the Indiana high school championship game. Inspired by the true story Milan Indians’ state title of 1954, the film was nominated for two Oscars. Read More
Climber Alex Honnold scaled new heights last night at the 91st Academy Awards as the film about his death-defying climb of El Capitan,Free Solo, took home the Oscar for Best Documentary. Honnold accepted the award with film makers Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin, appropriately attired in a tuxedo custom made for him by his sponsors at The North Face.
A one-of-a-kind bespoke piece, The North Face Black Series™ Custom Tuxedo combined the premium, modern aesthetic of the Black Series line, with classic suiting tailored for Honnold’s unique climbing physique. The look also featured a stretch cotton poplin shirt – a nod to Honnold’s lifestyle and The North Face performance heritage – along with a subtle tone-on-tone jacquard pocket square and bow tie reflecting the distinct aesthetic of the Black Series™.
The premium lifestyle collection of The North Face, Black Series is inspired by urban exploration and balances utility, modernity and hyper minimalism with the iconic brand’s heritage. Now if we could just see him climb El Capitan in that tuxedo!
Free Solo documents Honnold’s ascent of the freerider route of Yosemite’s El Capitan without the use of ropes or any other protective climbing gear. With no margin for error, and where a fall equals death, the film is an edge of your seat thriller from start to finish. For more about the Free Solo, read here: Rockstars.
With the Super Bowl kicking off this Sunday we bring you this collection of the 10 Best Football Movies ever. Featuring some of Hollywood’s biggest stars like Tom Cruise, Sandra Bullock, Warren Beatty, Al Pacino, Denzel Washington, and Burt Reynolds — even people who who don’t like football will love these football flicks!
CLICK IMAGES FOR TRAILERS!
Friday Night Lights (above) is the story of the Permian Panthers, a high-school football team in Texas, and their coach who strives to propel them to greatness through economic, racial, and emotional hardships. With Billy Bob Thornton as the coach, Tim McGraw as an abusive alcoholic father, and Derek Luke as the star running back whose season takes a heartbreaking turn — the film features epic performances that dramatize the single minded focus of a town on its high school football team and the toll it takes on its players. Read More
ALEX HONNOLD IN “FREE SOLO” JOYOUS ATOP EL CAPITAN AFTER ASCENT
In January of 2015, the world watched as two rock climbers became front page news. Tommy Caldwell and Kevin Jorgeson inched their way up the 3000 ft. Dawn Wall of El Capitan in Yosemite National Park, free-climbing its virtually sheer granite face for the first time in history. Using ropes only for safety, not for assistance, the two spent 19 days on the Dawn Wall in what many considered to be the greatest climb of all time.
A couple years later in June of 2017, world-renowned rock climber Alex Honnold free-soloed the Freerider route of El Capitan in a continuous ascent of 3 hours and 56 minutes — unobserved other than a film crew trailing him as he scaled the wall with no ropes at all. His death-defying climb is now considered one of greatest feats in the history of sport.
Two new films, The Dawn Walland Free Solo document the pursuit of these climbs, the accomplishment of these unimaginable feats, and the unrelenting dedication and perseverance of their climbers. Read More
Summer has arrived and it’s time for another round-up of great sport flick classics. The beaches are beckoning and the Best of Surf is the theme of this collection. If you can’t make it to the shore, surf’s up at home. So queue up the DVDs and get ready to paddle out, drop in and ride those waves! As always, click the image for a preview trailer.
Let’s lead it off with “Five Summer Stories”, heralded as one of the finest surf movies ever made. This classic features all the great surfers from the 70’s like Gerry Lopez, Shaun Tomson, Jeff Hakman, and Margo Oberg. Filmed against the backdrop of the Vietnam War and the Nixon years, the movie portrays a young, outlaw sport at a strategic point in its creative evolution. Read More
With I, Tonya a top movie pick among fans and critics, and the skating competitions of the 2018 Winter Olympics just a couple weeks away, we take a look at some of our all-time favorite skate themed films on this icy winter Sunday. From ice hockey to pairs competitions, dramas to rom-coms, it’s the perfect evening to check out one of these ever popular and soon-to-be classics!
Click Image For Movie Trailer
I, TONYA 2017
I, Tonya centers on one of the most salacious scandals in sports history, when the rivalry between figure skaters Tonya Harding and Nancy Kerrigan took a violent turn in the weeks leading up to the 1994 Winter Olympics. An ill-conceived attack planned by Harding’s ex-husband, Kerrigan was assaulted in an attempt to break her leg at the U.S. National Championships. Harding would later plead guilty to hindering the investigation and was subsequently banned from competition for life. Margot Robbie stars as Tonya Harding in this darkly comedic tale that earned her a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress, and co-star Allison Janney a win for Best Supporting actress.
SLAP SHOT 1977
Slap Shot is the 1977 sports comedy classic starring Paul Newman as the coach of a struggling minor-league hockey team. In an effort to build up lagging attendance at games, he signs three hard-charging players, the Hanson Brothers, whose violent and thuggish style of play excites the fans and draw big crowds. Outrageous comedy, hard-hitting action, memorable one-liners, and unforgettable characters make Slap Shot one of the best sports movies ever! Read More
2016 brought us a slew of great sport films. With time off for the Holidays, now is your chance to catch up with 8 of our favorites. From boxing to track and field, surfing to snowboarding, Strongman to equestrian, we’ve got something for everyone. A mix of documentaries and Hollywood dramas, all are based on the true stories of which sport legends are made!
HARRY AND SNOWMAN (above)
This heartwarming documentary tells the true story of a horse named Snowman, who in the early 1950’s, destined for the slaughterhouse, was purchased for eighty dollars by a Dutch immigrant named Harry deLeyer. In less than two years, deLeyer transformed Snowman into one of the greatest Grand Prix show jumpers history. The two would go on to win the triple crown of show jumping, beating the nation’s far more pedigree horses. Harry and Snowman’s chance meeting at a Pennsylvania horse auction was the beginning of a friendship that lasted a lifetime, both in and out of the ring. 86-year old deLeyer tells their Cinderella love story firsthand, as he continues to train on today’s show jumping circuit. Read More
It’s time for another installment of Sunday Night Sports Flix. With many of us skiing over the long holiday weekend and the winter Olympics going full force, we thought the “Best of Ski” would be a timely theme. So here goes our top five — click image for preview!
Astonishing alpine locations, action-packed photography, a young Robert Redford and the gorgeous Camilla Sparv, are just a few of the visual splendors of Downhill Racer. Redford plays a ruthlessly ambitious skier competing in Europe for Olympic gold and Gene Hackman is the coach who tries to temper his narcissistic drive for glory. Read More
With many of you taking vacation during these last official weeks of summer, and perhaps looking for some sporty entertainment for rainy days or relaxing evenings at home, we thought it was time to bring you another installment of Sunday Night Sports Flix. The genre of this round is great sport documentaries and below are some of our favorites. Click image for preview.
Acclaimed filmmaker Bruce Brown of “Endless Summer” fame, turns his camera from the world of surf onto the exhilarating insanity of motocross racing, documented with his signature humor and expertise. The grueling mayhem of the sport in its early days is the focus as the film follows the tortuous Mexican 1000, an off-road race down the Baja peninsula. Never before seen camera work puts you in the motorcycle seat. Read More
In the summer of 1968, three men – climber and surfer Yvon Chouinard, climber and skier Doug Tompkins, and champion skier Dick Dorworth – set off from California in an old van to surf, ski and climb their way down to the southern end of Argentina. Their ultimate goal was to climb the legendary mountain in Patagonia, Cerro Fitz Roy, summited only once previously. Told Endless Summer style, the DVD “Mountain of Storms” (screengrabs above and below), is the documentary of the road trip that changed their lives and inspired Chouinard to found the company Patagonia.
It’s time for another installment of my favorite sport movies. Yes it’s Monday, but the Holidays have delayed my posting and I wanted to give you a few sporty classics to entertain you into the new year. Click the movie title or image for a preview. Happy and merry all!
This beautifully photographed documentary tells the remarkable story of Brazilian Formula One racing driver Ayrton Senna and spans the racing legend’s years as an Formula 1 champion, from his opening season in 1984 to his untimely death a decade later. Far more than a film for racing fans, Senna takes a cinematic approach and makes full use of astounding footage, drawn from over 15,000 hours of archival film, much of which was previously unseen. Read More
Welcome to another installment of Sunday Night Sports Flicks. Tonight I give you 5 more sport movies favorites inspired by the fall season, back to school and the great outdoors. Click the images/movie titles for previews (ignore cheesy voiceovers).
While some may argue that Breaking Away is the best cycling movie, my favorite is an 80’s classic called “American Flyers” starring a mustached Kevin Costner and Rae Dawn Chong. Directed by John Badham (Saturday Night Fever), the film is about two brothers training to compete in a grueling bicycle race across the Rocky Mountains called “The Hell of the West”. There is a family history of illness and the plot takes a twist when we see which brother is actually afflicted. Set in The Rockies and filmed during the Coors Classic, a now-defunct stage race that was one of the world’s leading cycling events at the time, the movie features breathtaking scenery and action packed race photography. Read More
Welcome to the first installment of Sunday Night at the Movies. I will be highlighting many of my favorites in the weeks to come, but tonight we begin with six classics. Click title to see preview.
Astonishing alpine locations, action-packed photography, a young Robert Redford in one of his earliest starring roles and the gorgeous Camilla Sparv, are just a few of the visual splendors of this Downhill Racer. Redford plays a ruthlessly ambitious skier competing in Europe for Olympic gold and Gene Hackman is the coach who tries to temper his narcissistic drive for glory.
This skateboard documentary chronicles the glory days of the Z-Boys, a team of hard-core surfers from the Zephyr Surf Shop in Venice Beach, California who sought to translate surfing moves onto their skateboards. In the mid-1970’s, skateboarding was widely seen as a fad of the 1960’s, but the radical moves and gnarly streetwise style of the Z-Boys changed skateboarding as a sport and blazed the trail for the extreme sports movement. Directed by former Z-Boy Stacy Peralta and narrated by Sean Penn, this might be my number one sports documentary.
This 1977 docudrama about the world of bodybuilding focuses on the 1975 Mr. Universe and Mr. Olympia competitions. Shot during the 100 days leading up to the competitions, the film focuses on the rivalry between Arnold Schwarzenegger, the five-time Mr.Olympia going for his sixth consecutive title, and his primary competitor, Lou Ferrigno. Schwarzenegger’s larger than life physique and persona are impossible to deny and with the box office success of the film a star was born. Lou Ferrigno also went on to star as The Hulk in “The Hulk”
As with boxing there are so many fantastic surfing movies like Endless Summer, Five Summer Stories and Point Break, but none of those star the incomparable Jan-Michael Vincent, along with William Katt and Gary Busey. Funny and poignant, this coming-of-age drama captures the tumultuous 1960’s with the California surf as the backdrop.
It is very hard to choose one boxing movie with such other greats as Raging Bull, Rocky and The Fighter, but the combination of Muhammad Ali and William Klein makes this my first choice. In William Klein’s fascinating documentary, photographed with his inimitable point of view, Ali demonstrates why he is known as “The Greatest,” both in and out of the ring. Events such as his defeat of Sonny Liston, transformation from Cassius Clay to Muhammad Ali, and resistance to the Vietnam War draft were all captured during filming.
This film starring a young Mariel Hemingway centers on a group of women trying to qualify for the 1980 US Olympic Track and Field team. Their dreams are thwarted when the United States announces its boycott of the Games for political reasons. The movie was praised by critics for providing a realistic look at the world of women’s athletics and for exploring the complex relationships that can exist among teammates and their coach. It is probably most noted for its portrayal of the lesbian relationship between Hemingway’s character and her older teammate. For me, the 1970’s track and field apparel, Adidas’s finest era when shoes like the SL 72, Gazelle and Orion were born, makes this movie a style of sport classic.
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