Trailer for my new film “The Long Way Forward” has now officially dropped. This may not be the perfect cookie cutter story you’re used to seeing on social media. With this film I wanted to give a sense of the reality’s and struggles that myself and a lot of other people went through but also the triumph of what a childhood dream can motivate you to do in uncertain times. Would mean the world if you watched this trailer and maybe shared it with a friend or two🤙🏻🏂 Full length film coming soon! #filmmaking #alaska #snowboarding #adventure
@aidanminton@seeds.x@jackjohns_@twofriendsmusic@joshuadlehman@dshaff23@baakcs
Truly one of the greatest nights of my life! So thankful for everyone that came out to support the premiere of my new film “The Long Way Forward”. It has been 3+ years of hard work and I was so excited to share it with everyone. We ended selling 225 tickets which blew us away! This was a night to remember 🏔️ Thank you again to everyone who came🏂 #moviepremiere #documentary #columbusohio
Happy 25th Birthday to my best friend, golf partner, sailing sidekick and girlfriend @grace_brigdon . I love you and can’t wait to make so many more memories with you! You’re the best part of my day!
A few film festivals and nationwide premieres later, I’m excited to announce that my first documentary, The Long Way Forward, is now available on YouTube (link in bio).
Today is bittersweet because while I’m excited to finally be sharing my first documentary publicly, this marks the end of a project that began more than 5 years ago.
Growing up with a camera in my hand, idolizing Shaun White, and replaying Red Bull extreme sports clips, you’d have thought I always wanted to try heliskiing. You’d have thought I always wanted to make films. And you’d be right about both.
When the world shut down in 2020 I didnt know what else to do or where to turn so I decided to attempt the childhood goal of Backcountry Alaska Heli Skiing and make a film about it. The goal was simple right? Just needed to train, save and plan for this… It’s only the hardest snowboarding in the world. What could go wrong?
Working turned into training, turned into mentally preparing, turned into finally shredding through that thick, Alaskan snow. What I wasn’t ready for was the mountain climb that came after. I wasn’t even half way there. Years of editing, storytelling, self-doubt, long nights, “Why did I think I could do this?”, and proving to myself that I had the guts to finish something that I wasn’t sure I’d ever even start.
I credit every small step of my journey to the people around me believing I could do it. My friends’ and family’s support has always pushed me to that next level. It’s ironic that, to take this final leap, to create a documentary and not just a 5 minute video.. to finally be able to call myself a filmmaker!!.. I was forced to see myself through their lens. It was time to conquer the mountain. It was time for The Long Way Forward.
I hope you enjoy the film as much as I enjoyed making it!
- Drew
#alaska #documentary #heliskiing #snowboarding
