KYLIAN BRELIERE IN ‘RETURN TO THE ROOTS’
INTENSE team rider Kylian Breliere goes back to where it all began in ‘Return to the Roots’.
The title of your film is ‘Return to the Roots’. Where does that come from?
It’s called ‘Return to the Roots’ because the location we shot in is where it all started for me. It’s where I had my first mountain biking lesson, where I tried my first full suspension bike, my first enduro trails, first downhill, first jumps, first crash! And it was the first time I came across people who shared the same passion as me. The place is near Apt in Vaucluse (the Luberon area in southern France) on the biggest mountain near my home. When we wanted to do enduro riding it was the place to go.
I decided to title my film ‘Return to the Roots’ because over the last few years I haven’t really ridden enduro style trails, it’s been more about freeride. This was a comeback to enduro riding for me, to how my riding started. When I decided to go there with my friends, I was super nostalgic, a lot of memories came flooding back.
What kind of vibe were you looking to create in the film?
I am not someone who really likes racing, I’m more about being ‘in the moment’, and enjoying it. I want people to feel the good vibes in this video, the vibes you have when you share a MTB session with your friends. Or just going to chill or party with those friends. The other side of just riding, again, just enjoying the moment. Mountain biking is more than a sport, to me we are supporting each other with our different projects. I think mountain bikers have the best mindset.
Can you tell us about your crew on this shoot?
We were just talking about the vibes that you feel when you ride with your friends. Without my friends it would have been impossible to do the shoot. On the practical side, the most important thing they did was help me to build and clean the tracks. It was a huge job. Without them it would be impossible to realize this project. Also some other friends helped too. One was a FPV drone filmer, one a photographer, and another a video maker.
How long did the whole project take?
It took five days to shoot, but the preparation time was longer. We started to dig the first weekend of January until February 18th. We dug every weekend for more than a month. Then on the first day of the shoot I broke my finger! I had to get surgery, so we didn’t start filming again until the end of April. If you count the time to dig, shoot, the time off due to my injury and the editing... it took about six months. Quite long ha ha! Sadly everything does not always go to plan.
You rode an INTENSE Tracer in the video?
The Tracer S and its mullet set up is the best bike I have ever ridden. I like it because thanks to the smaller wheel at the back the bike is super playful. As I wanted to do an enduro style of video I needed an enduro bike, but my style of riding is a bit aggressive, so I needed a bike like the Tracer that is strong enough to support this style of riding. As I am also doing a freeride section with the Tracer I know what it is capable of. So I know that it was THE bike I needed for the video. When I do tricks, or overshoot some jumps, I know for sure that it is the best bike for the job.
And your broken finger, you have to tell us about the finger!?
Aha, really!? It was the first hours of the shoot and I hit a tree super hard and sadly I am not strong enough to destroy the tree! At the time I didn’t realize that it was broken. I ran to see my friends and I was laughing and saying “guys did you see, I took on a tree and almost crashed”. Then I took off my gloves and we all saw that my finger was a weird shape! My friends told me, “no worries dude, it’s dislocated, you just need to pull it hard and it’s gonna be straight again!”
So my friend Enzo pulls it and nothing changes. So I went to the hospital and found out that it was broken. The next day I had surgery and that’s why I postponed the shoot. And thanks to being off the bike I had the time to study for my exams aha. By the way, I will be posting a ‘behind the scenes’ video on my channel (in French) which explains and shows how we realized the video... with all the funny stories!