Words by Edwin Poulston
Where the BUCKHUNTERS all began: I was graduating in the fall of 2009 and was at a grad party where Mike and Kyle Stainton held an unofficial meeting saying they had been watching me and Kyle Grover. They said we should ride together this year, so the next few weeks we were hitting preseason stuff on rink snow as a crew and then decided that we should film a movie and make something of this. So one weekend in November KG and I went down to Vancouver to pick up a vx1000 and at that time we went to a DOPE premier. We came back and started filming for our first season. At the time we were tossing around a few names for the crew and we were always saying at that time that we were getting ‘buck’ this weekend and partying. I think it translated to snowboarding to the point where we were saying that word as being stoked on a trick. One day it kinda just clicked, I thought ‘let’s be the Buckhunters’, as we are always searching to ‘get buck’. I brought the name up to the crew and I honestly didn’t get a clear response, I think the poppers were flying heavy at the time, but I kept pushing the name and it somehow just clicked with the crew. Once we figured it out and got everyone on board within a couple days our first filmer Shane Jansen had his sister draw us a logo with the deer in the crosshairs. Mike added the smoking cigarette and from there on out we were hyped on the Buckhunters.
Brockle said he had a premiere lined up at The Bakery Skate Shop in Kelowna and that we had 2 weeks to create a movie that could open for DOPE II. Not a single clip was transferred and KG was trying to hook up the VX to fuckin Windows Media Player or something and it wasn’t working. Brooks suggested that we move the editing to his Dad’s office where he had Final Cut Pro and everything we needed to get this project done. Brooks worked on the transferring and editing day in and day out and we all would come over in shifts to help (drink beer). Brooks exported the movie onto a DVD and his Dad drove us to The Bakery because we were already drunk. When we got there we fell out of the van screaming ‘WE MADE IT!’. The premier went well, we got buck, and I think that was the start for the Buckhunters.
We sat down with the man behind the mission, Broox, to get some behind the scenes dirt on the Buckhunters latest project.
The BUCKHUNTERS have been off the radar for a bit – The first movie was 10 years ago then another about 5 years ago… where have you been?
I moved to Squamish, and the boys kept on getting it in the streets with CDK – on the friendship videos. We all kept riding, projects were made, they just weren’t Buckhunter projects.
Why did you choose this year to come back from the grave?
BUCKHUNTERS NEVER DIE. I asked CDK to collaborate on filming and editing. With us being so spread apart it made more sense for us to team up and share footage. Luckily CDK was on board to make a film project together.
Do you guys have a name for the new project?
Mighty Bucks, it’s basically Buck Love 2 with the help of CDK. A lot of the Buck Love riders don’t film much anymore…it’s fucking hard to round up the crew and get everybody on the same page. Mighty Bucks is a project with some of the OG bucks and some new riders. A true underdog story.
I heard a rumor that Kyky is in the movie, and was also one of the main photographers. Did he get the job done?
Haha Kyky is definitely in the movie, but I wouldn’t consider him a main photographer. Most of the time I would set up the camera on a tripod on rapid fire and ask Kyky to hit the shutter button. We are super grateful that he came though, when it mattered.
Where did you guys film the new project?
All of the filming was done in BC. We finally were in town when Vancouver got snow, we went to the Okanagan, got some shit in Cariboo country. Basically, followed the snow around BC in Mikes van.
It’s rumored you guys get BUCK in the streets…got any good stories from the crew trips?
We spent a full season in mikes van… a team of dudes snowboarding/shoveling for free everyday..thatscomedy.
Tons of funny shit happened, lots will be in the movie. I’m also posting some behind the scenes Buck vlog episodes on our YouTube channel. Funny shit always happens on the road. One day in Williams lakewe were looking at a spot in front of Staples, the snow removal guys pulled up and we asked to set up a spot. ‘As long as you don’t break into the building’. After checking it out we decided not to hit it due to speed issues. The next day we hit up a different spot and the same snow removal guys showed up pissed off like, ‘You fucking assholes broke into the building last night’. We were super confused but I guess somebody had broken in after we left. They asked to take some photos of our vehicle and license plate. We also happen to have a bunch of tools in the back of the van, bolt cutters and shit, good thing they didn’t ask to check the van. We ended up hitting the spot for about an hour and got the fuck out of that town.
You guys all stay in the van together on trips – how does that work?
Three guys on the bed, one guy on the floor. CDK was scared of Kyky, so Kyky was always on the floor. Mike had his spot, and Corey and I would alternate nights for who got the middle. It was super stinky, socks never dried, stale beer, constantly hot boxed with spliff smoke or cheesy pasta farts, and camera gear takes up a lot of space. We would roll up to a pub and take up 2 tables every time. One table for eating and drinking, and the other table for transferring footage and photos and computer shit.
What goes through your mind when you show up to a shitty town with no spots?
If the town has snow we can usually find a spot, even if you have to climb a roof or two. If there’s no snow, where’s the nearest pool hall/pinball machines?
You guys modify any spots this year to make them rideable?
Tons! We really went all in this year. Getting older you acquire more tools and techniques to make almost anything happen. We’ve cut out rails, fences, de-nubbed and unbolted screws…we did it all.
Any big injuries on the crew this year?
The crippled couple – Meg broke her elbow warming up on a gnarly street spot and about a month later Mike tore some ligaments in his knee while we were out in PG. Kyle has a recurring knee injury that hit him a couple times into the season. Kylan takes the biggest slams and always walks away unbroken.
How long have you been filming for this movie?
Just this season, it was basically a full street season. Kyle, Austin and I did our first trip to Kelowna around November, and then the last things we filmed were spring pow up on Mt Seymour. Respect to the boys for dedicating their lives to this project. All winter long we were constantly hunting for spots.
Alright, a few quickfire questions to finish things up here. What’s next for the crew ?
We’re planning a movie tour through BC this November. Our plan is to have a premier in Squamish, Vancouver, Kelowna and maybe Revelstoke. If we can manage to get our shit in order.
Who’s the biggest dirtbag on the crew and why?
I would say its a 3 way tie – Chodes Mcgodes, Bassass, and Kyky. 3 different types of dirt bags. 3 very different people. If you have had the chance to meet any of these fools you would know.
• Chodes is a proud ski bum dirtbag.
• Bassass is just dirty in general. He once wore a wife beater for over 100 days without taking it off. It Eventually just deteriorated and fell off his body.
• And Kyky, good kid, hard worker, but after a couple tallys and the bank account dries out, he’s always asking to borrow money until payday.
Who are the Buckhunters deep down?
Blue collar workers with trucker mouths. We’re just a bunch of misfits and rejects that love to board. The underclass, a bunch of goofballs that somehow get shit done. We have been riding together for over 10 years, at this point it feels weird to ride with anyone else. I look at these fools and I say this shit needs to be documented.
Why should people care?
The Buckhunters keep it raw: no gimmicks, no deadlines, just snowboarding.
Got any shout-outs to those supporting the project?
Shout out to Russ Lee for lending us the HVX. Shout out to SAGAcom productions for the Sony A7IV. We funded the making of the project from our own pockets. Every dollar came from saving up money working all summer. A couple of the riders get hooked up for gear. Shout out Uncle Nic. @SalmonArms, Source boards, Freeride. Shout out to Edwin and ECS for shooting photos all winter with us. Shout out to the OG Buckhunters: Jesse Sorenson, Shane Jensen, Bassass, Nate Belch, Matt Schenk, Liam James, Joe Kelly, Sam Howe.
Everyone is a buck hunter – until you’re not.
