Filmmaker and motorcycle enthusiast Roberto Serrini joins me on Reel Riders to talk about the deep connection between storytelling and riding. From his breakout motorcycle film Moto Borgotaro to his latest motorcycle documentary The Rider, Roberto shares how filmmaking and motorcycling are two sides of the same coin - both about risk, experience, and the thrill of the unknown.

Key highlights:

* Why motorcycles are the worst - and best - form of transport.

* The story behind Moto Borgotaro.

* Breaking clichés in motorcycle films.

* The power of persistence in creativity.

* The Rider and the future of motorcycle storytelling.

Links to The Rider, Moto Borgotaro and other work created by Roberto Serrini:

* The Rider: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ItxUmimzF_s

* Moto Borgotaro: https://www.robertoserrini.com/documentaries/moto-borgotaro

* Earned - The Keith Hale Story: https://vimeo.com/559597864

* Roberto Serrini website: https://www.robertoserrini.com

* YouTube channel “Serrini”: https://www.youtube.com/@Serriniverse

* YouTube channel “The Travelclast”: https://www.youtube.com/@TravelClast

More information about the TMFF Motorcycle Film festival can be found here: https://www.motorcyclefilmfest.com

The Reel Riders podcast is also available as an audio podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Pocket Casts and anywhere you get your podcasts. In addition, it is released on YouTube as an audio-only podcast. Search for “Reel Riders” to find the feed.

The Reel Riders podcast can be found on both Instagram and Bluesky:

* Instagram: @reel.riders

* Bluesky: @reelriderspodcast.bsky.social

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit reelriders.substack.com

In this episode of Reel Riders, I reconnect with filmmaker Nick Jacobs to discuss his latest film, “What Lies Beyond”, a moving story of personal loss, emotional growth and artistic evolution.

Key highlights:

* How Nick processed his father's passing through storytelling.

* The creative shift from documenting trips to crafting powerful narratives.

Tune in to hear Nick's insights and creative advice for filmmakers.

Nick’s “Project Biker” channel on YouTube can be found at:

https://www.youtube.com/@projectbiker

The Reel Riders podcast is also available as an audio podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Pocket Casts and anywhere you get your podcasts. In addition it is released on YouTube as an audio-only podcast. Search for “Reel Riders” to find the feed.

The Reel Riders podcast can be found on both Instagram and Bluesky:

* Instagram: @reel.riders

* Bluesky: @reelriderspodcast.bsky.social

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit reelriders.substack.com

Haley Watson is yet another director whose work I first saw at the TMFF Motorcycle Film Festival in Toronto in October 2024. I interviewed Haley in mid-November 2024, shortly before the death of Mary McGee, the star of Haley's short film, "Motorcycle Mary". Mary McGee passed away at the age of 87 on the 27th November 2024.

Haley's short film, "Motorcycle Mary", is available to watch on YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T70yHLeDhug&t=99s

I'd also suggest you check out "Meeting Motorcycle Mary", a 5-minute short produced by Breakwater Studios, the studio behind "Motorcycle Mary". It features interviews with Haley and the film's other producer, Rachel Greenwald. It is also available on YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HGlwPaxeDaU&t=2s

Haley made several references to the "Interrotron" device during our interview. It was invented by filmmaker Errol Morris and is used for conducting on-camera interviews. It allows both interviewers and their subjects to make eye contact while at the same time looking directly at the camera. If you want to find out more about it, have a look on Wikipedia:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interrotron

Haley made reference to the following filmmakers:

* Reed Morano, Director and Cinematographer

* Rachel Morrison, Director and Cinematographer

* Steven Soderbergh, Director, Producer, Screenwriter, Cinematographer and Editor

More information about the TMFF Motorcycle Film Festival can be found at the following link:

https://www.motorcyclefilmfest.com/

The Reel Riders podcast is also available as an audio podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Pocket Casts and anywhere you get your podcasts. Search for “Reel Riders” to find the feed or use one of the following links:

* Apple Podcasts:

* Spotify:

* Pocket Casts:

In addition, Reel Riders is released on YouTube as an audio-only podcast:

* https://www.youtube.com/@ReelRidersPodcast

The Reel Riders podcast can be found on both Instagram and Bluesky:

* Instagram: @reel.riders

* Bluesky: @reelriderspodcast.bsky.social

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit reelriders.substack.com

Suzanne Jolly is a Canadian motorcyclist and filmmaker who has directed the adventure motorcycling film, "A Wilder Way". I saw "A Wilder Way" at the TMFF Motorcycle Film Festival in October 2024 in Toronto and was keen to chat with her about the film and her motorcycling.

Suzanne also appeared recently on the Adventure Rider Radio podcast, on the episode released on the 15th November 2024.

The trailer for "A Wilder Way", plus the 2 seasons of Suzanne's documentary series, "Where the Wind Meets the Tide", can be found on the Jolly Good Multimedia YouTube channel.

* YouTube: @JollyGoodMultimedia

Jolly Good Multimedia also has a presence on Instagram.

* Instagram: @jollygoodmultimedia

More information about the TMFF Motorcycle Film Festival can be found at the following link (including information about TMFF Victoria):

https://www.motorcyclefilmfest.com/

The Reel Riders podcast is also available as an audio podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Pocket Casts and anywhere you get your podcasts. In addition it is released on YouTube as an audio-only podcast. Search for “Reel Riders” to find the feed.

Reel Riders can be found on both Instagram and Bluesky:

* Instagram: @reel.riders

* Bluesky: @reelriderspodcast.bsky.social

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit reelriders.substack.com

Daniel Stjerne is the creative force behind the YouTube channel "The Scandi Flick". Anyone who has seen Daniel’s videos will have noted the extremely high production values with which they are created. The channel has been on my radar for most of this year, so I was very keen to talk to Daniel about his film-making.

The Scandi Flick can be found online at:

* YouTube: @thescandiflicktv

* Instagram: @thescandiflick_tv

Daniel made reference to the following during our conversation:

* Johannes Dalen YouTube: @JohannesDalenMC

* Ewan McGregor & Charley Boorman from TV series "Long Way Round"

* Greg Villalobos YouTube: @GregVillalobos and @adventurespec

* Mark Bone YouTube: @markbone

* Top Gear (BBC TV series)

The Reel Riders podcast is also available as an audio podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Pocket Casts and anywhere you get your podcasts. In addition it is released on YouTube as an audio-only podcast. Search for “Reel Riders” to find the feed.

Reel Riders can be found on both Instagram and Bluesky:

* Instagram: @reel.riders

* Bluesky: @reelriderspodcast.bsky.social

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit reelriders.substack.com

Roland Blechschmied is the director of the short film, The Freeride Spirit, which captures and celebrates the culture of Hard Enduro motorcycling. The Freeride Spirit was one of 15 films selected for showing at this year’s TMFF Motorcycle Film Festival in Toronto, Canada.

The trailer for the film can be seen at the following places:

* Alive Pictures: https://www.alive-pictures.com/

* TMFF YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n2jnrsWPtb4

At the time of publication, it’s Roland’s intention to make the full film available for viewing at his website, Alive Pictures (see link above), by early 2025.

Roland can be found on Instagram at: @mr.gsd

During our conversation, Roland made reference to the following creators:

* Dylan Wineland

* Dustin Humphrey

The Reel Riders podcast is also available as an audio podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Pocket Casts and anywhere you get your podcasts. In addition it is released on YouTube as an audio-only podcast. Search for “Reel Riders” to find the feed.

Reel Riders can be found on both Instagram and Bluesky:

* Instagram: @reel.riders

* Bluesky: @reelriderspodcast.bsky.social

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit reelriders.substack.com

Tom Gould, from the YouTube channel “I Like Motorbikes” was my guest on episode 8 of the Reel Riders podcast. When I spoke to him for that episode in March this year he and girlfriend Lauren were travelling down the west coast of Africa, heading to South Africa.

In October I had the opportunity to speak with Tom again, and ask how the trip has gone and what the future holds for them.

I had originally planned to insert this second conversation into another episode but then decided it was better to release it as a standalone “mini-episode”.

You can find Tom at:

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ILikeMotorbikes

Instagram: https://instagram.com/ilike_motorbikes

The Reel Riders podcast is also available as an audio podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Pocket Casts and anywhere you get your podcasts. It is available as an audio-only podcast on YouTube. Just search for “Reel Riders”.

Follow the Reel Riders podcast on Instagram: @reel.riders

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit reelriders.substack.com

Instagram has become this podcast’s main social media channel, and while I’m a far-from-frequent poster myself, I do spend quite a lot of my time there, keeping an eye on former guests and looking out for potential future guests. Till now, the podcast hasn’t paid much attention to visual creatives whose main gig is Instagram.... but today’s episode is very much based around someone whose primary focus is Instagram.

I came across Julie Hauser on Instagram about 9 months ago and her quirky videos (mainly motorcycle-based, but a healthy dose of cat content too) immediately resonated with me. I found her less-than-serious approach a breath of fresh air and a pleasant change of pace to a lot of the rather earnest content that one can find when searching Instagram for anything about motorcycles. I reached out to Julie, and in this episode you'll hear our conversation.

In the episode Julie made reference to the following Instagram account:

@americanbaron

The Reel Riders podcast is also available as an audio podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Pocket Casts and anywhere you get your podcasts. It is available as an audio-only podcast on YouTube.

Follow the Reel Riders podcast on Instagram: @reel.riders

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit reelriders.substack.com

Caius Tenche is the founder and director of TMFF, the Toronto-based Motorcycle Film Festival. The eighth edition of the festival was held at the beginning of October this year and I travelled to Toronto to attend the festival and interview Caius.

You can find information about the festival at their website and various channels:

Website: https://www.motorcyclefilmfest.com/

Instagram: @themotorcyclefilmfest

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@themotorcyclefilmfest

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/themotorcyclefilmfest

Caius made reference to a number of films or directors associated with this year’s festival. You can see details about the 15 selected films at the festival’s website. You can also see trailers for most of the films.

Caius also made reference to the following YouTube channel:

Stories of Bike: www.youtube.com/@storiesofbike

The Reel Riders podcast is also available as an audio podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Pocket Casts and anywhere you get your podcasts. It is available as an audio-only podcast on YouTube.

Follow the Reel Riders Podcast on Instagram: @reel.riders

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit reelriders.substack.com

Andre Bajaria is a true motorcycling enthusiast, with that unique flavour of enthusiasm that comes with people who discover something a little later in life. Our conversation was wide-ranging covering his experiences of filming while guiding, his coverage of the annual EICMA Motorcycle Show and a deep dive into in-helmet audio capture.

You can find Andre at:

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@PeakMotorcycles

Instagram: @peakmotorcycles

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/peakmotorcycles

Website: https://peakmotorcycles.com

The Reel Riders podcast is also available as an audio podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Pocket Casts and anywhere you get your podcasts. It is available as an audio-only podcast on YouTube.

Follow the Reel Riders Podcast on Instagram: @reel.riders

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit reelriders.substack.com