Flats Premier – New Zealand

It all began in a fast paced series of events, 14 months ago I set out on an adventure to set a land speed record, compelled to tell my story I took with me a team of friends and we all worked through the stages to get to this point.

It was another world for me, usually faced with years in the garage to produce something worth sharing, this time my time on the tools only stretched over a few chaotic weeks.

Out of the garage and into the world I have met and learnt more than I ever thought I would.

With wilderness comes risk, you never what your going to encounter, you never know who your going to meet, you make the plans and hope for the best.

With the film complete and all those starategic steps taken it was time to get out and share what we had created.

Dean and I took the chance on heading out into the wilderness and we found exactly what we had been looking for and more.

With the phenomenally successful Australian premier under our belt we boarded a plane for NZ.

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New Zealand is a special place for me, my first visit was in 2011 to watch the D1NZ round, I met some great people on that trip and returned the next year with an offer from Matt Sellers to drive his S14 in competition, I had a great time and returned home with a deep connection to the country and its hospitable people.

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In 2013 I had an offer to return, this time to debut my Hilux, I jumped at the opportunity and on Christmas eve loaded my 4 year project into a container bound for NZ, that kicked off the Dream Build Drive film project

DREAM.BUILD.DRIVE from Matte Media on Vimeo.

The rest is a well documented history.

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As I stepped off the plane Dean and I were greeted by Joel from Earnest, Joel is many things, he’s half of CsGarage, Earnest Workwear and also Feldon Shelter, I was looking forward to getting to know Joel and spend some time in his world.

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We did some running around and gathered everything we needed, we dropped into Adams place to check out what was happening at CsGarage, Adam was frantically finishing off his CR500 to bring to the premier the next night.

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It was good to catch up with Adam, he is someone I have looked up to for a long time, he has a hands on approach to everything and does it in a certain style that I love. On the hoist was Carl Thompson’s 26B Toyota, Adam was doing the finishing touches on a pretty amazing brake upgrade.

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We set up the workshop and got ready for our very last premier night.

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The people started rolling in, so many familiar faces, so many great people.

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We shared some beers and Sal’s pizza and waited for the sun to go down over the Kemue landscape.

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This sign was handpainted for the night, it was so impressive.

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Dean convinced Adam to give the CR500 a test run up the road.

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Adam is a quiet guy, likes to let his actions speak louder than words.

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When he returned I could see in his eyes that this was one fast machine.

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It was time to kick off the film!

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As the film played I looked around at all the people in attendance and still couldn’t believe the support we had, part of me wanted this journey to never end, it wasn’t really about the film anymore it was about the people, eager to hear our story’s, eager to live their own adventure and get ideas for their own futures, it was a pretty amazing final premier night and I just didnt want it to end.

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Joel hinted that we would be heading down to Pukekohe the next day to his friend Sams property. He said something about a few motorcycles and a paddock, we woke up that morning and packed the LandRover and headed south.

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On the way we called into Adams and helped him load up the bike.

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As we all rolled in I was greeted by heaven, the rolling NZ landscape, a perfect 26 degree day, a perfectly manicured race track and three bikes just for the occasion.

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I met Sam and he ran Dean and I through the setup of the bikes, the track and the property, Sams an accomplished road racer, drifter and really nice guy that has the same ideal passtimes as myself, it was bound to be a good day.

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He had the track prepped to perfection, he also had just finished building a KX450 Flat Track bike, it had the 19 inch wheel combo that I love, lowered and stiffened suspension, I jumped straight on and fell in love instantly.

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As the morning rolled on I couldn’t wipe the smile off my face, the track was insanely fun, the offcambered downhill corner combined with a lack of front brake made backing in the 450 a dream, I was just so much fun.

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More and more friends rolled in, geared up and took the track, we all had the time of our lives, riding until our arms were like jelly and then relaxing and telling stories.

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Sams dad rolled out on a methanol pre unit Triumph 650 sidecar outfit.

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Sam threw a leg over it and Joel hung on for dear life.

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When Sam fired up the 450 and headed out on track we just sat back and enjoyed the show, he had a great style on the bike.

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The wide line out of the corner started to develop a nice cushion.

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Chris and Joel went head to head fighting for position, its still unknown who was faster………

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I had a ride on Adams CR500, it was truly mental.

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I probably did 5 laps and gave it back to Adam, I was shaking, it was so fast!

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We all piled into the LandRover, got some fush and chups, then returned to watch the sun go down on one of the best days we have ever had.

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I cant thank Sam enough for the hospitality, the track prep and the bikes, I hope one day I can repay the favour!

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That next day was set to be our last in NZ, Chris, Joel, Beth Dean and I piled into the LandRover once again and headed for the surf.

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That night we boarded another plane set for home, I had basically spent the entire month with Dean, we personally met thousands of people and had the time of lives doing it, from Brisbane to Sydney, Melbourne to Geelong and then over to NZ it was an experience we will never forget. I cant thank everyone enough for playing a part in this adventure, its been an amazing experience that Dean and I will never forget for as long as we live.

FLATS from Matte Media on Vimeo.

I am also proud to announce that the Flats movie is now available to rent or buy, again thanks for your support, we appreciate it!

Also a huge thank you to Beth and Joel for making this happen, check out Earnest and Feldon Shelter and support those that are doing good things!

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