If you’ve ever wondered what it takes to capture America’s wildest, slipperiest, most beautifully chaotic hard enduro riding on camera, welcome to my world where I’m fortunate enough to get to do all this! Shooting the latest Hard Enduro Burros episode in the greasy green hills of Creedsville (Creed Kisling’s compound) in Virginia was equal parts punishment and enjoyment. Between hauling two RED cinema cameras, dodging airborne bikes, and trying to keep up with riders who think traction is a myth, this was one of the most intense (and hilarious) shoots of the series.
And honestly? I’d do it again tomorrow.
Before we dig in, if you haven’t watched the full episode yet, go hit play—you’ll appreciate this blog so much more when you’ve seen what these riders (and my camera gear) endured.
The Burros vs. the East Coast: A Battle for Traction
If you’ve never filmed in the east coast woods after a rainstorm, imagine trying to shoot a movie on a Slip ’N Slide covered in engine oil while carrying a 40-pound camera pack. The Virginia dirt looked tacky… but as the Burros put it, it was “the most deceiving place on Earth.” One step off balance and even I was sliding, and I wasn’t the one riding a 250-pound machine up a near-vertical wall.
For this shoot, I brought my two big guns: the RED Gemini and RED Raven, shooting 5K and 4.5K RedCodeRAW, because if the riders are pushing their limits, the visuals better match the energy. It’s important to shoot in a larger aspect ratio like 5k in order to be able to crop in in post since there’s a lot of chaos out there and unpredictability for shot framing. The camera payload is a big tradeoff for versatility and speed of access but the quality is worth it. The color from the RED in the deep green forest is unreal. And the riders know the drill—no one sends the big stuff until the camera is rolling. The respect goes both ways.
So to get the angles that make the viewer feel inside the action with the riders, I have to stand in places no camera operator should reasonably stand. Behind a root, perched on a slippery slab, halfway up a hill that’s actively defeating riders one by one. I’ve come to really trust my SIDI Crossfire 3 TA boots for shoots like this.
Drones, Interviews, and Real Burros: Creedsville is a True Farm
Creed Kisling’s property is a super scenic farm situated between some hills in Virginia- that also happens to have some insane terrain to ride. So huge thank you to him or letting us shoot an episode there! So it was a massive surprise to be greeted by several real miniature Burros that the family has on the property for petting zoos and events. Interviewing my riders with the backdrop of the mini-Burros roaming around was a super cool juxtaposition and led to some funny moments.
I wanted to really set the scene of the area since it was such a cool valley, so we placed a focus on getting high quality establishing aerials with the dual operator drone that we use. My wife Rachel runs the camera and I fly the drone so we are able to get 50mm dynamic parallax aerials that compress the shot and give it more of a helicopter cam vibe.
For my interviews I like to setup a two camera format with the riders looking just off camera to the interviewer to keep it more natural and organic. The wide lens on camera 1 is set to capture a full body frame and camera 2 is zoomed in to get a telephoto tighter angle on the shoulders, face and head.
In terms of POV cam setups, the GoPros are strapped to the USWE packs, synced with the Tentacle Sync lav audio that is synced back into the RED camera. Here’s the link to the strap we use that the riders prefer. That combo lets me capture every panic rev, every grunt, every “OH SH$T DUDE” raw and clean—even when someone logs an unintentional face-plant.
Creedsville provided amazing scenery, and plenty of those humbling moments.
The Road Gap Moment: “Hold it Wide Open and Pray”
This was the moment of the shoot where the energy started to click.
The Burros found a 20–25 foot road gap tucked behind a massive hill climb. A long technical hill climb made the already super steep approach trickier. Roots everywhere. Full commitment or full of failure.
From the instant the guys saw it, it was like a mental group handshake. No words. No planning. Just: “Yep, we’re doing this.”
As Braxton Hintze put it: “Hold it wide open and pray you make it.”
Meanwhile I’m trying to get positioned at a 90-degree angle to the main gap with the Gemini, sweating through my shirt. As a general rule of thumb when it comes to jumps and gaps, if I have one shot at capturing it, the safest option is from a 90 degree position, from a wide low angle. It’s always important to grab your safe shots first, then you can get a riskier angle or go super tight focal length, if the guys are going to hit something more than once.
Each rider hit it differently—some floated it clean, some plowed the landing like they were trying to bury the front wheel, and Ryder Leblond came in with so much momentum he could’ve jumped the state line.
It was everything we want Hard Enduro Burros to be: sketchy, rowdy, impressive, and a mix of techy and sendy.
The Group Dynamic: Controlled Chaos with a Lot of Trust
People always ask what it’s like filming this A.D.D. crew. Honestly? It’s the best part.
The riders trust me to capture their best (and worst) moments. I trust them not to run me over but also deliver big lines for the camera. Everyone wins.
There are no egos out here—just a bunch of world-class athletes acting like kids in a playground made of boulders and tree roots. You’ve got the Hawaiians sending lines blind. You’ve got the Peewee Burros trying to keep up while getting motivated by the older guys. And then you’ve got Cody Webb casually crushing a mind-blowingly tech trials line…. again CASUALLY!!
As a filmmaker, that dynamic is gold. They give me moments that are authentic because nothing is staged—they’re truly just out here having the time of their lives and pushing each other. My job is to keep up and not get in the way too much. It’s encouraging when the riders tell me this is just what they would be doing with or without me there with a camera.
The Slab Section: “Why Does Nothing Out Here Have Traction?”
This section nearly broke half the group—and I was here for it.
Picture it: a series of slick stone slabs stacked like a cruel staircase, each one covered in wet green slime and roots polished by 20 years of mother nature’s dirtiest work.
The run-in? Super slick and not a straight shot. The consequences? Well…. you’ll have to watch the full episode to see.
The riders kept sessioning:
Fail. Laugh. Try again.
Fail harder. Laugh harder. Try again.
There’s an energy that comes from watching world-class riders struggle. They get frustrated, sure, but the second someone gets it—whether it’s Cody, Ryder, KanaBoy, or the kid you least expect (Boogie)—the whole group erupts like a soccer stadium.
Those are the moments I live for behind the lens. When Cody full sent his Yamadawg up the rock wall and just yeeted himself down the face of it, I knew we had some Hard Enduro Burros gold locked in.
You’ll see it in the video, but Braxton practically launched his bike down one hill for the camera. Every time I plug a fresh V-mount battery into the RED, someone decides to risk their entire parts budget on a single line!
Corin almost got his leg stuck under a log. Cody smashed his nuts on a ledge. Someone ghost-rode a bike into a tree. And one of the Peewees sent a hill so hard he overshot the landing and just kept going.
Every time chaos breaks out, I’m thinking two things:
- “Please let the rider be okay.”
- “Please tell me I was rolling for that!”
Wrapping Up the Madness
By the time we wrapped the Virginia shoot at Creed Kisling’s private compound, my camera gear was hammered with mud, we were all drenched in sweat from the humidity and every rider had a story worth retelling.
But that’s why we do this.
Hard Enduro Burros isn’t about just about producing a curated feature film—it’s about capturing the rawness of American hard enduro: the grit, the community, the sketchy decisions, the breakthroughs in techy lines, and the sheer joy of pushing your limits with your friends.
But who am I kidding…. despite all that, I really do prefer it to look like polished film if I can help it! Virginia gave us all of that and more.
If you haven’t watched the full episode yet, go check it out—you’ll appreciate every bike send, every fail, every line choice, and every cinematic angle we sweat for.
And if you enjoyed this behind-the-scenes look, share this blog with another hard enduro fan. It helps more people discover the American hard enduro movement we’re creating together.
Cheers,
Burro Blake
