Water sports on top of a mountain? Now that’s what we call scaling new heights.
Extreme sports icons Brian Grubb (USA) and Dominik Preisner (GER) chose the equally iconic rice fields of Banaue for their latest wakeskating challenge, organized in part by Red Bull.
Grubb asked permission from mumbakis, spiritual leaders of the Ifugao, before performing the stunt. He also made sure that, like in the movies, no plants were harmed in the making of their video.
“Since I first saw the drawing of these huge rice terraces on the back of the 1000 peso bill, the idea of having a session there wouldn’t get out my head,” Grubb is quoted on Red Bull’s website. “It was only a drawing, but it looked like a perfect winch spot and probably a super scenic location. And it was! The whole project was a real adventure for us and the team. It is still incredible that we were wakeskating at such a fascinating place!”
This could be just one of many, though.
“While this is unquestionably one of the unique wakeskate locations we’ve ever seen, this is just the beginning: the mission of the trip and photoshoot was to determine the possibility of putting together a one-of-a-kind winch contest,” reports Josh Sampiero on Red Bull. “The verdict? Positive.”
“The people here are super friendly,” say Grubb. “At first they had no idea what they were talking about. Now that they know what we want to do, hopefully we’ll get permission to do an event here. Incredible potential for wakeskating in a natural environment!”
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Grubb arrived in Banaue on Oct 14 after a 10-hour overnight drive and stayed at Banaue Hotel and Youth Hostel. While in Ifugao, he posted a photograph of himself riding a handcarved wooden bike. “Hauling ass down the mountain on the tiger bike in Banaue,” he wrote. There’s also this photo of him pounding rice. See, it really is more fun in the Philippines. So why are the conservationists not happy?
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Photo (topmost): Daniel Deak Bardos/Sophia Langner
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