Portland Crew Shooting "Rip City" Docuseries Based on PDX Skateboarding Scene

Four Portland residents are teaming together to create a new television docuseries focused on the Portland skateboarding scene. The series titled “Rip City”* (trailer found at www.youtube.com/ripcityproductions) aims to showcase and document Portland's deeply rooted skateboarding culture. “Portland is unique in that it has realized that skateboarders are an asset to the community. The city government has become a partner in creating skateparks and venues – when many cities still marginalize or even criminalize skateboarding,” said series creator Rick Coyle  

Coyle teamed with filmaking veteran Milan Spasic to create the Rip City concept, look and feel. Spasic directed 2003's “Chlorine”, considered by many to be a seminal pool skating documentary. “Rick and I have worked together for years and have a sound chemistry – we both want to represent Portland in a unique light while staying true to Portland skateboarding,” commented Spasic. The series will chronicle the lives of young and old skateboarders of varying backgrounds. Jay Smay and Pat Quirk, both lifelong skaters in their 40's, are among the featured Portlanders in the series.

Coyle and Spasic have served as a two man crew to gather the footage. This has allowed them to gather fresh and authentic content from all parts of the local skateboarding scene. “A lot of people think you must have a huge crew to shoot a network TV show but Milan [Spasic] and I have the guerrilla style down to a science. It was the only way we could pull this off,” said Coyle. “The networks we've been in discussion with have been shocked when they hear it's just the two of us. When the show gets picked up, Dave Hupp - a native Portland filmmaker, photographer and skateboarder - will join our crew as well..”

The entire production features Portland talent - even the music will feature local bands and artists. “Rip City is all about Portland. From the crew, the skateboarders, the music, the art, the sponsors – this is a Portland show,” said Coyle.

Rip City has gathered a great deal of steam and much of the funding has come from local business owners who knew of the hard work of the team and decided to back the post production costs. “We set a goal to find twenty local Portland businesses that would donate $500 to help fund the final stretch drive. We have funded the project ourselves since last July – but the expenses of getting a show before the networks became a huge obstacle. Our sponsors stepped up and that enabled us to handle legal and copyright fees, agency fees, postage, printing, editing, post production – the list continues. Without local support we were dead in the water,” said Chip Mabry (36), Executive Producer of the series. Mabry and Coyle attracted sponsors by individually screening the Rip City trailer to local business owners and convincing them that the series could highlight one of Portland's greatest subcultures.

To date, The Tube, Dante's, Andy & Bax, Voodoo Doughnuts, Bacon Skateboards, Cal Skate, Roccos Pizza and The Blind Onion have signed on as sponsors. “Our goal is to have twenty landmark Portland businesses that see what this series can become, - and would like to add their name to and effort to help see this project to completion,” added Mabry. Sponsors are supporting the show by showcasing a Rip City logo (created by Portland Graphic Artist, Dan DePaolo) on entrances as well as mounting a Rip City skateboard deck in their establishments.

The series pitch reel was sent to networks in early December and the three filmmakers hope to sell the project in early 2008. Rip City has the potential to air for multiple series and will initially consist of six thirty minute episodes each featuring different skateboarders and their interaction with Portland. “This is a docuseries so we really want to highlight the characters as well as showcase the world class skateboarding that exists here,” said Coyle. “In many ways the city of Portland is the main character in Rip City.” concluded Coyle.

*The term Rip City is copyrighted by the NBA. Rip City Productions, LLC has received NBA legal permission to use the name for this series. The term was coined by the Portland Trailblazer legendary play-by-play announcer Bill Schonley

-Press Release