It's a bit surprising it's never been done before, but Hypoxic Films broke new ground by focusing a DVD on exposing the up and coming young talent in the sport of wakeboarding. How did it turn out?
Concept
Exposed takes 20 of the top young riders in wakeboarding to Lake Shasta and other locations and films them doing what they do best, go buck crazy on a wakeboard.
Most of the riders are standouts in the Junior Men's division of the Pro Tour and WWA events, although some like Trevor Hansen, JD Webb, and Chris Law have also done well in the Pro division.
The riders in Exposed include:
Trevor Hansen
Joey Arcisz
Derek Grasman
Wes Brisco
Chris Law
JD Webb
Johnathan Nadolski
Chris Laske
Rusty Malinoski
Danny Thollander
Derek Conway
Jeff House
Rob Jacques
Kevin Henshaw
Jimmy Wolf
Mike Fulton
Philip Combs
Hand Carter
AJ Racinelli
Travis Stewart
Cinematography
The video footage shot in Exposed is all digital, and features mostly standard video shots from the boat, tubes, chase boats, and from the houseboat.
The backdrop of Lake Shasta for most of the film is great though, as it provides some of the best scenery available in the sport. I'm always a fan of any footage not shot in somebody's back yard in Florida!
Length
Exposed features a lot of riders with most of them having full sections, so it ends up being a pretty long video coming in around an hour. Including the bonus footage it goes over.
Music
The music in Exposed is a mix of pretty much everything. Artists include Jefferson Starship, MM, Big Tymers, Abanddon Book, Masta Killa, The 65 Film Show, The Clash, Hot Hot Hot, Obie Trice, Wyclef Jean, Spooks, Van MOrrison, Blindside, The Jayhawks, Johnny Cash, and more.
Riding
The riding in Exposed is generally very good as it's the top riders in the 17-21 age range. So they go big, spin fast, and ride with a lot of style.
My one complaint is that it seems like many of the riders are all doing the same tricks as their "big tricks". Almost every rider does toeside off-axis 720s, heelside off-axis 720s, KGBs and Roll to Blinds, Crow Mobes, and a few other similar tricks.
Here's a quick breakdown of each rider's highlights:
Jeff House - Heelside 720, Toeside 720, KGB, Suitcase grabbed Backside 180, lots of toeside tweaked out grab airs.
Rusty Malinoski - Nose-grabbed G-Spot (toeside backroll with a backside 180), Nuclear Tantrum to Blind, switch Heelside Mobe, Pete Rose, Switch Heelside 720 off the wake.
Chris Laske - Indy Tantrum to Blind, Toeside 720 off the wake and double up, Tootsie Roll, Backside 540, Moby Dick, KGB, Whirly 540, and some nice slider hits.
Wes Briscoe - Toeside Backside 180, Backroll to Blind, Big Wurm.
Josh Arcisz - Backside Off-Axis 540, Pete Rose, Huge Backside Off-Axis 360, Tootsie Roll, Switch Tootsie Roll, Toeside Off-Axis 720, Backside 540, Heelside Off-Axis 720 off the wake, Toeside Off-Axis 900 off the wake. Impressive stuff.
Derek Conway - Whirlybird, Crow Mobe, Toeside Backside 180, Roll to Blind, Tootsie Roll.
Phillip Combs - Stylish Method, Toeside Off-Axis 720, Melan Crow Mobe, Melan Backroll to Blind, Pete Rose, KGB.
Chris Law - Huge Tootsie Roll, Toeside Off-Axis 900, Huge Crow Mobe, Roll to Blind, Toeside Off-Axis 720, Toeside Backside 360, Nose Grab Crow Mobe, Heelside Off-Axis 720 off the wake.
Danny Thollander - Moby Dick, Toeside Backside 360, Crow Mobe, Hoochie Gilde, Toeside Off-Axis Batwing into a Backside 180.
Rob Jacques - Heelside Off-Axis 540, Roll to Blind, Huge Method Air, Melan Crow Mobe, Toeside Off-Axis 720.
Hank Cartin - Tootsie ROll, Roll to Blind, lots of grab spins.
Jonathan Nadloski - S-Bend, Pete Rose, Toeside 720, Tootsie Roll, Whirlybird, 911, Tantrum to Blind, KGB, Crow Mobe 540, A legitimate Elephant, Toeside Off-Axis 720.
Mike Fulton - Batwing, Indy Glide, Whirlybird, Tantrum to Blind, Toeside Off-Axis Batwing Backside 180.
Jimmy Wolf - Toeside Indy 540, Crow Mobe, Toeside 720, Big Toeside Indy 360, Backside 540, Method Backside 180, Grab Roll to Blind, Crow Mobe 540, Toeside Backside 360, Switch Toeside Backside 360, Backside 540, Switch Backside 540, Indy Tantrum to Blind, Toeside Off-Axis 900.
Trevor Hansen - Crow Mobe 540, Backside 540, 313, Toeside Backside 180, Pete Rose, Heelside Mobe, Indy Tantrum to Blind, Whirlybird 540, KGB, Backside 720 off wake.
Bonus Features
Crash Section
Bonus Riding from Trevor Hansen, Joey Arcisz, Phillip Combs, Jimmy Wolf, Jeff House, Chris Laske, Rusty Malinoski, Jonathan Nadloski.
Overall
The main theme of Exposed is giving these extremely talented younger riders their first major film parts, and for the most part it is the first major film parts for each of them. The nice thing is they don't disappoint.
The downside could be if you're looking for the top 10 pros on the Pro Tour, you won't find them here. And while there are a few clips of riders hitting obstacles, in general it's mostly wake riding and hitting double ups.
If you're looking for a DVD featuring very talented young riders, Exposed is for you.
