Rassvet Skateboards presents Mind Games, starring Austyn Gillette & Val Bauer and directed by Max Kushewski.
While working on their respective solo projects, Memo and If There Is Another World, Austyn and Val came together, joined forces, and supported each other throughout the filming process.
Filmed in Paris between September and November 2024, Mind Games is Max Kushewski’s vision of the raw footage they captured along the way.
Avid readers may recall our chat with Austyn back in Volume XV.
“There’s an immeasurable gratification that you get when everyone is huddling around the camera to watch a clip that just went down. There’s those suspenseful questions such as… Did I do it how I saw it in my head? Did they film it how they saw it in their head? Did they film it how you imagined it looking in the project you’re working on? Does it count?
These thoughts are all crammed into a five second premiere of the clip and then hopefully the relief sets in that it’s the one. More often than not, it’s not the case and the thought of having to try the trick again is quite possibly the least motivating thing once your muscles and mind have relaxed after hours of trying something only to find out that you didn’t do it how your silly brain imagined it before bed the night before.
I already knew Val (Bauer) and myself were psychos when it came to filming projects, but this trip reached clinical levels. We set the goal of at least two to three tricks a week over the course of the two and a half month stay in Paris. I’ve never really set a number of tricks per week goal, but it really seemed to help us both stay on track. Here’s some screenshots of clips from both of our parts selected by Max Kushewski.
Oh the places we will go mentally for just three to five seconds in the timeline! Thanks to Max Kushewski and Thomas Vigoureux for your tolerance.”
Austyn Gilette
“This screenshot really won’t do this spot justice or even explain what it is, since it’s only half of the line. This was a three or four day battle and I do remember that. Multiple boards, multiple wheel options, four hundred cof-fees probably and really only a small bit of advice towards the end from Val, which was to ride up the bank higher and do the wallie on the way down. It happened within five tries after his suggestion and I was riding away home free. He also offered dinner on that try, so maybe that helped.”
“I’ve never actually looked at barriers as an option for me to skate due to the height or being able to skate that steep of transition. When I got to this particular barrier with Val and saw how he was skating it, it really opened my eyes to how they could be skated. I’m sure this screenshot could appear to be a few tricks, but I’ll give ya more than a hint. It’s a switch front board shuvit over the top.”
“Creteil has always been an iconic spot, probably because of the perfect materials used in the square and the very recognizable pattern on the floor. I’ve had a couple battles here before that were successful and some not so much. This trick took about three hours somehow and I was sore for a week. I was later told by a friend that Arto may have done it in Menikmati, so I hesitantly texted him to see if it was true. If you’re a real skate nerd, you’ll know what trick it may be.”
“I’ve found that Parisian’s have a very keen eye for lifting up grates all over the city and making the impossible very possible. Our dear friend Edouard Dupaz actually made this spot skate able, which should be noted. After two days of battling foot traffic, rain, wind and bank security, the trick was safely marked in the memory card and I was free’d of the mental prison. Who knows if it will even translate in the footage. Thanks for watching the escalator for two days straight Val.”
Val Bauer
“I’ve been skating a lot of traffic islands for the past few years because of how they feel and that they are very typical Paris looking. I have always liked that fs board fakie kind of move and wanted to get one for this part. I ended up doing this one, but found another set up I liked even more because it was covered with cobbles and the curb was a little lower which allowed me to slide it more. Sometimes you need a rough draft before the final version.”
“Had this one on my list for a few months, but never really felt like going until this day. I think Austyn got a clip in the morning, then once again we were trying to go that barrier where we found that a full sized truck was going to be in the way all afternoon. I remember it was really hard for me to move as I was already deeply involved emotionally with the barrier at that point. We decided to move on and go somewhere towards Gare de Lyon. On the way there we passed by the bump to pole and finally forced myself to set it up so I could get it over with. It wasn’t the victory I wanted that day, but sometimes you have to be open to any win.”
“I have often got into spots obsessions when filming for projects. With this barrier in particular, It started as a healthy relationship back in July, but turned into a void towards October : first naive dates were already long gone and that barrier was occupying too much brain space. After getting to know almost every person working around the block day after day, I ended up getting two tricks on the barrier that I’ve never done before, so I guess it was worth the pain. I landed one of the tricks while Austyn had bet a dinner at our favorite sea-food restaurant.”
“I think the previous two to three days prior hadn’t been that glorious. I feel like we were trying everything, but we were unlucky with the rain. I remem-ber feeling very foggy that one morning when we met up at the park to warm up, but still decided to try to wake up and get it going. My confidence was below sea level that day, but that fifty fifty was on my mind for a couple weeks already. I offered 100€ to the filmer if I didn’t commit to that try and ended up doing it first try. I made the second try as well and we left happy. Mind games.”
