In 2013, we at Freehub sparked an idea to create a team of up-and-coming racers who possessed the skill and character necessary of flying our flag. Our hope was to provide them with a program that could allow them to develop as racers and potentially get them to the next step in their career. We covered all the bases from product support and race budgets to media outlets in both print and web, building what we thought was a winning foundation. And as expected, the crew we brought together took these tools and applied them towards an incredibly successful debut season, emerging as a dominant force at the NW Cup and one of the new teams to beat for 2014. Of course after achieving success the athletes of Team Freehub will now settle for nothing less and to continue making a statement. But a statement can't be made with one result, so to aid us through the expenses of a full race season we are reaching out to our peers in the mountain bike community to come together and help us towards our next goal as a team. On Thursday, June 5th we are holding our second annual team fundraiser to do just that. All proceeds will go towards travel costs, housing, entry fee's. Contributing to our cause will not only allow team members Victor Smith, Evan Geankoplis, Matt Orlando, and Reilly Kintzele (photographer) to attend all of our scheduled events but it will give us a chance to carry momentum through the 2014 season and beyond.
Event Details:
@ Aslan Brewery in Bellingham Washington.
- All ages
- 7 pm: Event starts. $10.00 cover at the door (Includes 1free Aslan beer).
- 8 pm: Silent Auction and Raffle
- 9 pm: Movie Premier. In addition to our team fundrasier we will be hosting the premier of Project Breathe Easy. A mountain bike film created by Mind Spark Cinema to raise awareness about Cystic Fibrosis.
Here's a rundown of "Project Breathe Easy".
None of us really put that much thought into breathing, it's a natural body function that we can pretty much control. The rhythm and strength of our breathing strongly determines the mental and physical state we are in - change your breathing and you literally change your state of mind. Without breath there is no life. Plain and simple.
Now imagine not being able to breathe. Imagine not being able to make it up that hill or ladder to the drop in. What if the very act of breathing left you breathless....what if you couldn't Breathe Easy. This is where Project Breathe Easy (PBE) was born. Matt Macduff came to the realization that breath was basically life, and when it's a struggle just to breathe, well it sucks. His little sister, Caitlin, has Cystic Fibrosis which for her and many others is primarily a lung disease. He has watched this disease basically take the wind from his sisters sails. He knew he needed to do something to help people like his sister BREATHE EASY.
Macduff invited some of the best freestyle riders from around the world including Sam Reynolds, Aaron Chase, Anthony Messere and Logan Peat. Capturing the action would be no easy task. It would require the creative skills and genius of Nic Genovese and Harrison Mendel (Mind Spark Cinema) and photographer Julien Grimard - all volunteering their skills, time and energy. This project was going to take an extreme amount of work and funds to see it through. Matt approached his peers & sponsors for help and through donations of product from Giro, OGC and Joyride 150 he was able to start an indigo campaign to raise funds. Other companies stepped up with time, talent and money including Mindspark Cinema, Pinkbike, Wlson equipment, O1 & The Rise.
Friends, family and people from around the world reached out to Matt with offers of help, funds and an amazing amount of inspiration. Matt was overwhelmed with the amount of love and support he has received. This whole project was made possible because so many people came together to help in their own way. It would take a few pages to name everybody but Matt would like all those involved to know that this project could not have happened without them and that it has been such a crazy journey for him. He's extremely thankful for all that took the journey with him.
Together we will make it happen. Together we will help people with Cystic Fibrosis BREATHE EASY.
A Film by Mind Spark Cinema
Riders: Anthony Messere, Aaron Chase, Logan Peat, Matt Macduff and Sam Reynolds.
Producer(s): Matt Macduff, Nic Genovese
Cinematography: Nic Genovese, Harrison Mendel
Editing: Nic Genovese & Aaron LaRocque
