Truck Talk | Phil Casabon and Mike Hornbeck

Hi Phil, I’ve already watched the movie a few times, but we’ll get into that. Can you just tell us what was the idea behind TRUCK TALK?

The premise was just me going to Michigan, to connect with Mike Hornbeck, who I always think highly of, because of his past skiing and also the decision he took to move back to Michigan and keep the pro-skier thing going. I always saluted that, because that’s a rare occurrence in Freeskiing, people moving back to somewhere where skiing is maybe sh*ttier. I always thought that was a great move.

Where's Hornbeck originally from?

He’s from Kalamazzoo, Michigan. I drove there and met up with him and Spencer Milbocker, another local, and Spencer was the cinematographer. The idea was really just to make a piece with someone I really look up to.

The first thing that got me was you guys are doing all the technical little butters, nollies and taps, but all without music at the beginning. I thought that was a cool approach, was that deliberate?

Yessir. Thank you, it was intentional. We just wanted to build an experience in which the audience could kind of partake and didn’t feel like it was separate. They could come along on the truck ride with us and see how we operate. We just try to navigate that space and inspire people perhaps do the same, if it’s accessible for them.

That’s another thing I was going to say; all ski films are amazing in their own way, but I’ve always actually preferred the little jibs, butters, etc, rather than enormous triples off massive kickers. Obviously, most people won’t be able to pull it off with such style, but is it the accessibility again there?

So much, yeah. That’s always been my focus, knowing that I ain’t got the skill level that most of these athletes have. I just took my lane and stayed in it, that’s keeping things simple, but doing them well. Focusing on details and taking a casual trick that anyone could do, but really performing it at its best.

Like Mike’s misty off that little Knoll

Exactly. That was a little nollie misty.

Like Horbeck's little worm-turn thing?

Haha yeah! Mike did a Polish Donut. It’s dope that you mention it because it maybe wasn’t going to go in the movie, but Hornbeck was adamant it went in.

You must be pretty happy with how the video turned out?

Yeah, like I said, our main ambition with this was to make it relatable. That’s why we put the street part without music and showed our operation system. We went to a ski resort and shot with a GoPro, 70% of the movie was shot with a GoPro. The relatability of the flick was our main approach, as you said, with tricks as well.

Hornbeck’s a very entertaining character, so I just pulled out my phone and recorded all of our conversations, in the truck as we were driving along from spot to spot. That’s when the concept appeared, the narrative based on conversation and dialogue. We tried to keep it short and sweet, we did have conversations, but we’re releasing the extended versions of those interactions as a 10-12-minute audio bit attached to the movie

Cool, so that’s Truck talk, but do you have any more projects coming this winter?

This is one. Right now, with Brady [Perron] we’re working on an Armada/Brady movie, with guest appearances from the Armada team; Hornbeck, Liam Downey, Kim Boberg and we might add more to the mix. That’s my main focus now.