Greg Stump - Four Things We Learned
This week, inspired by my forthcoming conversation with Chris Moran, I'm revisiting a favourite chat with film-making legend Stump, which sadly never got the attention it deserved at the time.
Last week I went over to see Chris Moran, one of my oldest and dearest friends, and interviewed him for episode 196, a conversation I’ll be posting later this week.
As I put it in my intro to this episode:
“…sometimes, if you’re lucky, individuals come along who change the way you see the world at just the right time, and have a huge, important impact on your life. Chris is one of this people for me, which is why I cherish our friendship and why I wanted to get him on the pod”.
Chris was the lad nicknamed ‘American Kid’ I chatted about in the introduction to my book Looking Sideways Vol. 1, who turned up at my school with a BMX and skateboard, and who “opened my eyes to the opportunities that would eventually define my life, and (showed me) that there was much more to the world than the grey Mancunian streets we grew up on”.
As you might imagine, our conversation is largely a paean to old friendships, and the continuing influence that old friends have on you. Naturally, there’s a lot of reminiscing - and one of the things we chatted about was how important the films of Greg Stump were in shaping our worldview when we first met back at the start of the 90s.
Because we were MASSIVE Greg Stump fans. Chris loaned me Blizzard of Aahhs soon after we met, and I wore it out, beguiled by its depiction of a scene that seemed a million miles from where I grew up, but which we were all determined to try and experience for ourselves at some point.
It’s why, once the podcast took off, I was determined to chat to Greg for the show, to pay homage to his influence, and to hopefully introduce his work to a few new people. You can listen to that episode here:
The resulting chat was one of my favourite ever Looking Sideways conversations. But because Greg’s name has been somewhat forgotten, it didn’t really do the (ahem) numbers I’d hoped for.
Which is why for this week’s newsletter, I’m reupping the episode with Greg (above), and the blog I published at the time. Hope you enjoy.
1. If In Doubt, Print The Legend
Like any great artist, Stump has always recognised the value of myth-making and shameless self-promotion. Take the story he recounted during our conversation about trying to get a part in a Warren Millar film, purely to promote his own latest release.
He took the same approach when it came to Blizzard of Aahhs and that classic, hyperbolic voiceover which redefined the notion of ‘extreme’ for a new generation. In this case, the approach was almost too successful, as Blizzard exploded and Greg’s slightly tongue-in-cheek take on the history of extreme skiing became accepted wisdom.
For a while, Greg was uncomfortable with this outcome, saying “I really started feeling strange when I would read stuff in Ski magazines that I made up in Blizzard”. Today, he is more philosophical: “My friends in Jackson Hole told me: you did not invent extreme skiing. But you sure did put a lot of gasoline on the fire”.
2. He Knew Blizzard Would Be Huge
Blizzard was Stump’s fifth film, and saw him finally achieve that sweet spot all artists crave: creative fulfilment allied to huge commercial success.
And, as he explained, he knew from the start that he had a hit on his hands. So much so that he drew up plans to get the thing finished should the worst happen:
“When I got back from Chamonix, I sat down with my best friend and told him how Blizzard of Aahhhs was to be made, just in case I got hit by a bus, ’cause I knew I had something big.”
3. There’s No Love Lost Between Greg and Glen
Blizzard redefined extreme skiing for a new generation. It also made a Glen Plake the face of this new movement, mohawk and all.
And yet, as Greg explained, Plake’s involvement was last minute and against his better judgement.
“Glen Plake was a late addition to the crew”, he explained. “I did not want him in Europe under my watch … He was drinking like a fricking fish, the ugly American.”
Despite this personal friction, Greg appreciated Plake’s professionalism on the snow, and recognised what this brash character would bring to his project. He swallowed his personal enmity towards Plake and put him front and centre in the finished edit of Blizzard.
The rest, as we know, is history.
4. He Still Considers Chamonix To Be The Centre of the Skiing Universe
Of course, Chamonix was the epicentre of the extreme skiing world long before Stump and co turned up. Greg’s genius was to package this history for a new generation.
For Greg, a true ski culture geek, filming in Chamonix was essential if his project was to reach its full potential.
“Chamonix was just the North Shore of the ski world”, he explained. “You could put 10 Jackson Holes into Whistler Blackcomb, and you could put 10 Whistler Blackcomb into Chamonix. You wanna see big? Go to Cham.”
Got any thoughts on this week’s newsletter or my episode with Greg?
Hey Matt, Stump's influence was/is massive and very hard to understate - marking the turning point from increasingly cheesy & formulaic Warren Miller & co ski films at the time to a new 'punk' vision of what a snowsports film could be. Maybe it is a generational thing (I think you & I are of a vaguely similar vintage) but I also know of much younger skiers who were inspired to drop everything and head for Cham for their first seasons after having watched Blizzard...
Sad to hear the episode didn't necessarily light up the 'pod numbers'... possibly a demographic thing? How much cross-over is there between a surf/skate audience (which is definitely the main focus of the podcast) and ski legend?
Such a wonderful nostalgic start to Monday.
There is a direct line between Greg, my lifestyle and choice of home. He opened the eyes of kids in far flung gray corners of the world to the joy of steep snow. Just when I was starting out on my own path in the world snowboarding was the escape and other British boys had already lead the way. They inspired by Greg worked hard to spend winters in Chamonix, in turn their pictures and stories inspired me to get to the Alps..... So cheers to Greg, to Chris Moran, Jonny Barr, James Steintiforth and Matt Barr etc standing on the shoulders of blagging giants.