Shane McConkey

For 2009, MSP Films takes an original look at the sport of skiing. All of the skiers in the film—park rat or big mountain charger—share a common bond: the overwhelming desires to ski. Each person finds stoke in his own unique way, whether it be a double cork 1260, a deep turn on a storm day or ripping a giant AK line. Skiing is an incredibly diverse sport that offers it all. With the progressive skiing and award-winning cinematography that has made MSP famous, MSP Films takes you along for the ride deep into the experience as we share the love for the greatest sport in the world.

School is in session, featuring the honor students of skiing performing at the top of their game. Classrooms include: Bella Coola, B.C., Aspen CO, and the Alps of Norway. Senior Class member Shane McConkey returns with a performance of a lifetime, ski basing across the Alps and absolutely schooling his home of Lake Tahoe, CA. Sophomores Tanner Hall, Mark Abma and Eric Pollard deliver the best all around segments in skiing. The freshmen class of Ingrid Backstrom and Tanner Rainville will open people’s minds to the next level of skiing. The class of 2004 proves to be the best in skiing’s history.

Directors: Matchstick Productions Actors: Mark Abma, Ingrid Backstrom, Rory Bushfield, Chris Davenport, Simon Dumont, Stian Hagen, Hugo Harrisson, James Heim, Eric Hjorleifson, PK Hunder, CR Johnson, Shane McConkey, Jon Olsson, Sean Pettit, Chris Rubens, TJ Schiller, Colby West, Kaj Zackrisson, Jacob Wester, and speed rider Antoine Montant. Somewhere along the line in all action sports it became uncool to show how stoked you were when you did something sick. What's that all about? Skiing is about that surge of adrenaline and stoke, not about feeling the hate of the image police. At Matchstick, we are stoked and we have to let it out. We have thrown caution to the wind and dared to put the stoke back in skiing. The result is CLAIM, The Greatest Ski Movie... EVER! A truly epic film shot in the most amazing locations, featuring the best and boldest skiers in the world today.

In the 1950’s the United States government restricted a 6 by 10 mile block of land somewhere north of Las Vegas. Although the government will not discuss this top secret facility, it has been consistently associated with UFO sightings and conspiracy stories. The reasons for the cover up of alien activity is unclear, but one thing is for sure, the government will do everything in their power to stop the public from knowing the truth. The most probable explanation is that mass panic would ensue if the public knew we were being visited by beings far superior to ourselves. In 1999, TGR exposes AREA 51, a 16mm jib flick that shows skiing’s new generation going bigger than ever and pulling the sickest tricks imaginable. Filmed at competitions and sessions around the globe, this movie has it all.

“McConkey,” a 90-minute documentary to be released in 2013, is a heartfelt examination of the legacy one athlete left to the progression of his sports, and the path he paved to conquer his dreams. Shane McConkey is revered as the pioneer of freeskiing and ski base jumping, and through his talent and unique outlook on life, he inspired countless lives. In a new film from Red Bull Media House in association with Matchstick Productions, “McConkey” celebrates the life of one of the world’s ultimate innovators

Steep traces the legacy of extreme skiing from its early pioneers to the daredevils of today.

Ten years ago, young renegade ski racer Shane McConkey quit his collegiate team to pursue a career in the small, unglamorous world of freeskiing. Through the '90s, McConkey battled the odds and the establishment as he put "fun" back in skiing. With an unprecedented manner of attacking mountains and a committed effort to appear ridiculous, McConkey opened the doors to a new way of thinking and skiing. As attention to his feats and antics blossomed, so did the sport around him. We've teamed up the raddest skiers of today with the past decade's most influential skier and biggest idiot. So sit back for a wacky, whirlwind tour through a man, a mind and a sport. You may never look at skiing the same way again.