After a few years in the business, the Innsbruck-based ski film production company "Legs of Steel" has become one of the biggest in Europe. Last year, we didn't see a film from the friends of steep slopes, big kickers and cultivated heavy metal, but only the mocumentary #skigoodmoneywillcome. This year, they present Passenger, the result of two years of work. We asked Tobi Reindl, the head of the LoS crew, and the Tyrolean and Bavarian steel legs Raphi Webhofer, Fabi Lentsch and Tom Leitner for an interview to mark the start of the film.
PowderGuide:
Tobi, since #skigoodmoneywillcome we know that you're pulling the strings behind the scenes at LOS. Did you expect the mocumentary about yourselves to be so successful?
Tobi:
We actually wanted to make a normal documentary in TV format. After a few suggestions and concepts, we scrapped the idea and Paddy convinced us to do a "British Humour" experiment. I never thought people would like it so much. In hindsight, I think it was just the right thing at the right time. We used to take ourselves a bit too seriously and it was time for people to get to know us in this way. There was a lot of truth in it, almost too much.
PowderGuide:
The Passenger film was a two-year project, does an experienced puppeteer keep track of everything? How many locations and countries did you film in? How many riders were involved and how many hours of footage did you collect?
Tobi:
The project is much bigger than anything we've ever done before and I have to admit that we almost overstretched ourselves. We've been everywhere. Japan, Canada, New Zealand, Europe and Alaska. There were 5 different cameramen and over 35 riders in total, including the park shoots of course. We are also a team of three people in the LOS office. We produced 16TB of footage. In other words, we once again jumped in at the deep end, paid a lot of tuition fees and still managed to get everything right in the end. Ski good, money will come, after all.
PowderGuide:
You personally could also be seen skiing in the first LOS movies, then unfortunately you were injured for a long time. This year, however, you could be seen on the big jumps again. What was it like to jump these huge kickers - and will we also be able to admire the result in the film?
Tobi:
Haha, yes, I'm actually in well-deserved early retirement thanks to a very complicated knee injury. But I was back on skis a lot last winter and coached the Freeski Germany team for 4 weeks in the spring, where I had a lot of fun shredding the park again. This "training" was more necessary than I thought: Paddy injured his shoulder at the shoot in Stubai, Thomas was already injured and Bene fell ill. As the last remaining "original LOS skier", I had to take part again to test the kickers and push the boys a little. Luckily my body still remembered a trick or two. It was really cool to ride a setup like this again, especially with such a great crew of riders. But there will be others in the film. Others will get the coveted seconds in the segment. Maybe I'll make it into the end credits.
PowderGuide:
Tom, you've been travelling with the guys from LOS for a while now. What is so special about this film crew?
Tom:
It's quite special that it's actually a crew of friends. From the drivers to the film makers and photographers. This creates a good vibe where there is no competition, but everyone feels like they are contributing to the success of the film. There aren't really any ego shows.
PowderGuide:
In The LOSt you already showed your skills in the backcountry, but also in the park. Can we also look forward to your style in the park in the Passenger film?
Tom:
Haha, thank you! In fact, I didn't miss the opportunity to shred over the kickers at the big park shoot in the Stubai and almost get my head sliced off in the traditional train. But of course I can't even remotely keep up with the young riders, some of whom are half my age. I just tried to talk my way out of the style.
The kicker in the Stuben backcountry was a really cool action. We freeriders had to call on all our experience when we tried to connect it with a line in front of it. It was really difficult to judge the speed after such a long line (which I didn't really manage once, haha).
PowderGuide:
In spring, you formed the Full Throttle group in Alaska with Tobi Trischter and Fabi Lentsch. How was the trip with the two of them and what is it like for a young father to wait so long for snow in the Alaskan wasteland? Is the homesickness greater now and do you often ask yourself the question of meaning when the downdays pile up again?
Tom:
That's actually the hardest thing for me. Just like you say, there were many moments in Alaska when I thought to myself: what am I actually doing here? Fabi and Tobi were two of my best ski mates. The age difference no longer mattered, even though I actually lead a completely different life as a family man. But that's exactly the beauty of it for me. The everyday limitations and norms are then lifted, nobody feels too old or too young.
I also have a great relationship with the filmmakers, Andre and David, and they now also visit us when they pass by in the neighbourhood.
However, a "normal" film production, in which the riders are thrown together by sponsor interests, would not be an option for me. It's only because we are travelling there as friends that I can cope so well with the time away from my family.
PowderGuide:
And what do you remember about the last two years with LOS?
Tom:
I will always remember the entire filming period. So many memories, both good and hard. At the beginning of the first year, I was still under a lot of father stress and felt totally burnt out. But at the same time, I also experienced days on the mountain that felt so valuable that the work on the film faded into the background and we just had great sessions. Especially with Fabi and Tobi.
Specifically, it will certainly be the time in Alaska. Even though the phases in which we were able to do something were actually quite short, they were still some of the most intense in my skiing life. The first lines ended in heavy crashes for all of us, which immediately made us doubt the entire project. We really lost a lot of ground there.
The great thing was that we immediately built each other up, showed humour and didn't let it get us down: magical days followed and at the end, when the whole crew was already at the start and everything was going perfectly for us, everyone felt that the trip was something very special.
PowderGuide:
Fabi, you were filming with the guys from LOS in the season before last, immediately after your (actually you should say "world-famous") run in Obergurgl. Was that your first shoot with the guys? What was it like for you to film with one of the biggest European production crews right after the run that got you into the FWT?
Fabi:
Yes, that was my first shoot. We had already tried it a few weeks before but somehow it didn't work out. When I saw some cool faces to film in Obergurgl, the guys came to me in the valley. That was definitely a moment I like to remember. Perfect timing, I would say.
PowderGuide:
During this shoot you had, let's say, a pretty good fall. We were able to follow the search for your footage afterwards on Facebook. Can we admire the full beauty of the fall in the film and did you break the Tyrolean tomahawk record with it?
Fabi:
The fall happened 1-2 weeks later on the Taschach Wall in the Pitztal. I'd always wanted to try a kind of straight line there, I gave it a good go and got a shark in the run-out. That was definitely the wildest tomahawk of my life, haha. I haven't seen the whole film myself yet, but apparently there's a full-length version of the fall. The crash is definitely pretty exciting from the opposing slope perspective.
PowderGuide:
Right after your voluntary retirement from the FWT, you travelled to Alaska. Was Alaska a way to gain distance and reflect on the decision? Did you talk a lot about it with your travelling partners and also former FWT riders Tobi and Tom?
Fabi:
Well, you can't really call it gaining distance, haha. Since they overstayed their weather window, I saw some of the FWT anyway. But yes, in general of course. You have quite a lot of time in 6 weeks, especially with the weather up there... I actually spoke a lot with other people after the decision. But by the time I got there, it had already been processed anyway.
PowderGuide:
Raphi, you and Fabi are the two young guns in the freeride team at LOS. You've been filming a lot this year after your season in the FWT and have travelled a lot with LOS, from the glaciers of New Zealand to the backcountry in your native Tyrol. Has the focus on filming paid off? Where have you travelled to ski with LOS?
Raphi:
It was a great experience for me to be part of the Passenger project and I was very well received by the LOS guys. Many thanks for that at this point! The collaboration started in Switzerland the season before last, then we travelled to New Zealand in the summer, to Canada in January and then spent the rest of last season travelling in the Alps. For me personally, it was definitely the right decision to concentrate more on filming. I simply feel more comfortable doing it at the moment and I think that I can also develop my skiing better in the process.
PowderGuide:
What is so special about film trips? and have you ever had a particularly memorable experience away from the snow?
Raphi:
For me, every trip is something special, whether with skis or without. Film trips are certainly something special, you're travelling with a few friends and come to a country with the aim of creating ski footage. You can't plan everything down to the last detail and many things remain uncertain. That's why film trips often turn out to be a bigger adventure than expected. After the many contests and the two films with Whiteroom Productions, the contact with the new ski scene around LOS was a great experience for me.
Our trip to New Zealand last summer certainly left us with some of the best memories away from skiing. Our time in Mount Cook National Park and a surfing trip to the west coast were unforgettable. Unfortunately, you hardly ever get to see such wild, untamed nature here.
PowderGuide:
It's unusual that you can be admired not only in powder, but also in the park segment of LOS. You're known as a rider with strong freestyle skills, but what was it like filming with Olympic champion Joss Christensen and other freestyle greats, such as Russ Henshaw, in a specially constructed film set-up on the Stubai Glacier?
Raphi:
Haha the park shoot was actually quite spontaneous, the guys from LOS asked if I wanted to come along and I did. I had been out in the park quite a lot before that in spring, but when I saw the setup I had a lot of respect!
It really was an amazing show that the park guys put on! I was glad that I could take it a bit easier as a freerider. But I didn't miss the chance to be part of the infamous train. It was certainly an experience I won't forget in a hurry.
PowderGuide:
After two years and so many trips to different corners of the world for the Passneger project - what will you probably still remember in ten years' time?
Raphi:
Above all, an amazing time with great friends in the mountains of this world. In terms of skiing, I'll definitely remember our trip to Andermatt in perfect conditions.
PowderGuide:
The list of riders in the film is incredible. You have some really big names on board, especially in freestyle. In particular, at your shoot on the Stubai Glacier in May; I noticed that your shoots are not exclusive events for the big names in the scene. In addition to the LOS crew and the invited international riders, you also saw the Innsbruck guys from the Freeskicrew, the young Swiss from the Swiss Freeskiteam, the South Tyrolean colleagues around Markus Eder and many more. How do you manage to bring the whole scene together on one glacier? Many of the guys also film with other big productions like MSP - aren't there any rivalries?
Tobi:
In short, we have the coolest crew of riders there is. All the riders we work with are also our friends and give their all for the project. At the park shoots like the Stubai in spring, we have the chance to expand the crew a bit and take a few new guys with us. This way we can offer a small platform to a few less well-known riders and enable them to ride a dream set-up. But the team at the Stubai was unique. I really had to grin a bit when I saw Russ and Joss shredding there together with the guys from Innsbruck, local Dennis Ranalter, or the young German riders Lukas Joas and Tobi Müller.
As for MSP, I once heard that they're keeping a critical eye on what we're up to in Europe... They should, because they'll have to dress warmly this year, hehe.
PowderGuide:
What can we expect from LOS in the future after Passenger? Are there any places with snow that you haven't travelled to yet? What ideas for park shoots do you have up your sleeve and when will we see the first woman in a LOS film? Or is there even a separate side project: "Ladies of Steel"?
Tobi:
We already have one eye on the future. Nothing ready to say yet, but we're exhausted after Passenger, but not tired yet.
We have to apologise to the ladies. We've been close to it once or twice, but then it didn't work out. But there are a few girls in the park as well as freeriding that we would like to do something with. Who knows, maybe something is already in the works!
Passenger celebrates its world premiere on 7 October at the Metropolkino in Innsbruck. The German premiere will then take place in Munich on 16 October. At the same time, the film will go online on iTunes. You can find information about the premieres in our event category!
