Selle Royal — Future Shock Bike Crew

In late March I had the chance to do an advertising campaign for Selle Royal, an Italian brand that makes bicycle seats. They are just one of the many clever companies using real stories to promote their product and I truly believe this is the direction that advertising is going. Real stories, real people.

It was my first time shooting both photo and video and I have to say that it wasn’t easy. Thinking in both mindsets and trying to do everything in just over a day is not an simple task. But thanks to the help of a lot of people it turned out great. Below is the trailer and story description. Then further down I’ve included some of the images.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T_pa1T4OMiY

Trinidad, Tobago, isn’t exactly a stone’s throw from New York City—and not just in terms of mileage. When it comes to culture, Caribbeans value the high and mighty, the loud and proud, especially when it comes to music. Whether in the car or on their feet, this community gives a whole new meaning to the term “surround sound.”

So when teenaged Nicolas Ragbir and Anil Bhimraj moved to Queens from Trinidad, they figured they’d bring a little hometown noise with them. Their neighborhood—known as Little Guyana now mainly populated by Caribbeans—is no stranger to loud music; the locals swear by their souped-up hydrolics and larger-than life sound systems.. But in 2008, Nicholas and Anil took things to the next level, harnessing their roots to create a “stereo bike,” a massive feat of speakers and sonic wiring the likes of which the world had never seen.

Backed by the community (and a feature in The New York Times), Nicolas and Anil pursued their “bike dreams” even further. Piece by expensive piece, they built up their cycles with equipment purchased with after-school jobs and allowances. This reached its apex with a custom chain ring designed to ease the weight of 1,500 pounds of gear, making it easy for riders to breeze through the hood blasting drum and bass lines. Several other custom stereo bikes followed, gaining them notoriety and, perhaps more importantly, a place in a society that can be less than friendly to those from the outside.