Though the Utah landscape in Brandon Semenuk's latest RAW 100 may be reminiscent of Red Bull Rampage, the inventive and manicured lines crafted by him transform the iconic freeride area into a next-level slopestyle playground.
Every time Semenuk and Rupert Walker of Revel Co. pair for a RAW 100, the phrase 'raises the bar' or some derivative inevitably makes its way into the conversation and this latest 100 seconds of footage is no exception. As always, each trick laced up is so much more than the sum of its parts and, as always, Semenuk's riding demands your full attention.
Learn more about the project direct from Semenuk below.
What is it about RAW 100 that keeps speaking to you and Rupert?
It's the simple format and the challenge of capturing something in it's truest form, but making it feel unbelievable to the viewers.
With five of these in the bag, do you have a favourite?
They are all unique, and standout to me in their own ways. Not one in particular takes the cake, though.
How many days did you spend on the ground making this project happen?
We spent 15–16 days in total to build and film. About five or six of those days were solely building.
Who made it happen alongside you?
Evan 'Intern' Young, Justin Wyper, Kane Boyce, Ian Collins, Rupert Walker and Anthony Vitale.
What made the Virgin, Utah area the right location for this RAW 100?
I'd been wanting to do a RAW 100 project in the desert for a few years and the stars finally aligned this year
Do you feel like you were able to realise the full scope of your ambition with this, or do you feel like you still left some on the table?
I knew the scale of this project going into it – as I did with all the other ones – and it's a lot to bite-off. That's why this project, more than any other, took the most preparation. There are alway things to improve on, but I feel good about what we achieved.
Do you try to build features with specific tricks in mind, or do you scheme the feature and then decide what to try on it?
In an ideal world I would build the project out with all predetermined features, but we're also working around a lot of variables and the elements, so you need to be flexible and able to adapt to other options.
What stands out for you about this project? Five years down the line, what do you think you'll remember most about it?
Definitely revisiting the rock-to-rock gap. It was a box checked on my bucket list.
For this latest RAW 100 Semenuk picked up his own camera to document the moments before he stepped in front of the film lens. Dig into the unseen moments from the project with captions and photos from Semenuk in the image gallery below.
I always travel with a camera. It seems like the only time I have it handy is when I don't have a bike nearby, so during the build it was pretty easy to snap a few shots here and there.
Want to go down the RAW 100 rabbit hole with Brandon Semenuk? Check out his past four RAW 100 videos below.