COHESION | Tucker Fitzsimons and Cal Aamodt

Cohesion Q and A w/ Tuck and Cal

What was the most challenging part about filming Cohesion?

Cal: Well to start, we filmed this whole biatch in about 6 weeks and 4 of those weeks were spent at my parents house in Minnesota. I think we took maybe 2 days off in those 4 weeks, we didn’t even ski any of the tow rope parks haha. Outside of that, a lot of the shots we got were just Tucker and I, so I would be pulling winch and filming at the same time so that would limit some of the possibilities for angles and what not. And just the amount of time spent looking for spots. Driving around or looking on google maps, Tucker would look for spots about 95% of the time he wasnt at a spot already. We were really pushing the envelope haha. 

Tuck: Being out in Minnesota for almost a whole month and filming everyday was difficult at times. It was definitely the longest I’d gone in the winter without skiing in the park. We were super fired up to get shots at the beginning of the trip and had a bunch of early success. We found a bunch of spots I was stoked to hit. Finding new spots that you are stoked on can always be difficult especially in Minneapolis where so much has been done already. It’s really fun when you have an abundance of spots and are getting at least one solid clip a day. It starts to get frustrating when you have multiple days without getting a clip, finding a sick spot or repeatedly getting kicked. Luckily, the trip went really well overall and I’m stoked on how the project turned out!

Is there a specific location you guys had the most fun filming at of the course of making this movie?

Cal: This was all filmed in MN and a few days in Utah. Minnesota was awesome because we had home made meals and beers waiting for us pretty much everyday. Huge shout out to my parents, we would’ve crumbled after 2 weeks if it wasn't for the both of you!

Tuck: We filmed most of the project in the Minneapolis area. It’s always fun to hit spots in Minneapolis because there’s plenty of spots and snow. We got to stay at Cal parent’s house which made the trip much easier. Cal’s mom Jacqi made us great home cooked meals every night. Big shout out to Jacqi and Greg for the amazing hospitality!

Go to spot snack? (or bevy)

Cal: My mom's cookies 100%. I think between me, Tucker, and a couple others that helped, we ate somewhere between 200 and 300 cookies, fasho. Need cookies, coffee, and a bagged sandwich of some sorts. And beer, just incase. 

Tuck: We made burritos or sandwiches every morning. Cal’s mom’s cookies were amazing! They definitely boosted morale when spots weren’t going as planned. 

Any crazy memories, moments come to mind while filming this movie? 

Cal: Tucker did a lot of crazy shit. The first clip of our big minnesota trip was the front swap transfer while it was snowing. My dad had sent me a picture of the rail right after they finished building it years ago and I knew the fs swap transfer was the trick for it. Tucker did it pretty easily and from that point on we knew it was game on. (shout out to Egan for also lacing!). The second opening shot on the chungus rail (shout out Impaler for always doing it first) was not planned. I’ve been looking at this spot for 10+ years and I’ve shown Tucker this rail on multiple occasions but we’ve never really said “yeah we’re gonna give this thing a shot” - We both kind of thought it was a pipe dream. The last kink, kinks up, it is not flat making it super easy to get bucked off. One afternoon, we had run out of a lot of weekday spots and were unsure what to do. Tucker and I agreed to just go check it out because it's right next to my parents house . After some thought, tucker decided he wants to go for it. It took him probably like 20-30 tries with only a couple of close calls and sure enough he stomped. While we were watching the clip at the bottom, a city worker came up to kick us out. Shit worked out crazy!

Tuck: One of my favorite spots I hit was the wooden five kink rail. I didn’t think I’d ever actually have the balls to try it. It’s right next to Cal’s house in Minnesota and we stopped and looked at it a bunch of times on the way home from other spots. Eventually, we ran out of other spots we were stoked to hit and I decided to at least give it a try. The spot was really scary because there’s a big tree and metal pole on one side and narrow slippery wooden stairs on the other. It was definitely one of the most intimidating spots to commit to. I wasn’t sure how well the wood would slide until the first time I committed to the rail and I knew I had to make almost the whole thing to avoid falling off in a sketchy spot. Luckily, the wood slid really well and I made it past the tree and pole on the first attempt. After the first hit, I knew I had it and was super fired up. 

What are the top things that make a good street cut in your eyes?

Cal: I think the top things that make a good street cut are: spot selection, trick selection, creativity and gnarlyness. Street cuts take so much time to make so I think its really important finding a balance between these variables. I like seeing people get creative and gnarly with their spot vision. I just get a little tired of your everyday trickable mellow rail or playground spot. Other important things to me are music and editing. I’ve watched a lot of videos this year and heard a lot of good music and a lot of terrible music haha. I cannot stand folk music in ski/snowboard videos. Honestly the snowboarders are more to blame for that one this year haha. That and pop radio type stuff, l dont wanna hear your katy perry x snoop dog radio mix….. I talk shit but its all love, people like what they like and I respect that.

Tuck: I think variety is really important. Ideally, you want a good mix of different style spots and different tricks. Some long gnarly rails as well as unique features. Spot selection is the most important part in my opinion. I’d rather see someone straight slide a gnarly unique rail than do a really technical trick on a basic rail with little risk involved. That being said, it’s still cool to have a mixture of both. You don’t want to get caught up hitting mellow rails just to do crazy tricks. You want most spots you hit to already be sick without doing a trick. The well chosen trick for the particular spot just makes it even better.

Big plans for the upcoming season? What’s next?

Cal: Stay in the skreets, family.

Tuck: We will be filming street with Tom Wallisch and AJ Dakoulas for another Good Company project. Really stoked to be working with Tom and AJ again!