Seems like the word "crew" is just as common at the word "shred" in snowboarding these days. Everyone is claiming to have one and is filming on one type of media or another. Access to cameras that are capable of making high quality film and photos are easy to come by. Even editing is getting easier by the day. There was a time in the Lake Louise/Golden/Jasper area when there was only one crew doing anything that stood out in the world of snowboarding. One filmmaker, Lawrence Roeck, was the one-man show behind RPG Films, their stand out from the early 90's being The Mountain Man. It's been almost twenty years since the film came out, making it due time to look back at this film and talk about how it changed in the world of snowboard filmmaking and see what Lawrence Roeck is up to.

Scott Eastwood, Lawrence Roeck and Kelly Slater.

So you're not in Canada anymore...where are you?
I was born in Calgary but grew up in Carmel, California. When I made my last snowboard film I moved back to California and just stayed ever since. Right now San Diego is home, where the water is warm and there's good surf.

What have you been doing down there?
More of the same. After The Mountain Man thing died down I made a film on the 2000 US Open of Golf, directed, produced and reported TV news for Fox and CBS. I did some music videos, worked with Jurassic 5 on a collaboration with Dave Matthews called "Work It Out". That was cool. And then I got ‘the call' and got hired by the Eastwood Family, shooting and producing their special projects. I did that for ten years with them and really enjoyed it; great people and I really learned a lot. My last project was with Mr. Eastwood and Morgan Freeman on The Eastwood Factor. I've got a movie coming out in March in theaters called Carmel-By-The-Sea with Hayden Panettiere, the actress from Heroes. We just finished that and now I'm gearing up to direct The Crags, starring Scott Eastwood. Keeping busy and trying to make some good films.

They are showing your film again in Lake Louise at the Grill and Bar for a special night and party. It's been 18 years since The Mountain Man came out, what do you think about that?
It's cool. Newsome, Greg Todds, Jonaven Moore, Damian Buckley...they all ripped and still do. Good for them that people recognize how rad they were. No the era, ripping snowboarding always excites people.

For the record how many snowboard films have you made?
Victims of the System, Freak Show, The Mountain Man, The Search For Mountain Jimm and The Badlands...five total.

Compilation from Lawrence's films, with riding from Scott Newsome, Joey Vosburgh, Greg Todds and friends, and photography from Dan Hudson.

What made you focus on filming in the Lake Louise area for your later films, The Mountain Man and Search For Mountain Jimm?
I was filming in Tahoe and the emphasis was on drinking and staying up late and not on the boarding, so after a brief visit to the Lake I saw god... or rather Scott Newsome, haha, and knew it was that place and those people that would allow me to make the best film. The snowboarders and the terrain were simply so much better than anywhere else I had been.

"Photographers and filmers were not working with riders in the Rockies much back then. It was just Lawrence and myself. We were both excited about the majestic cinematography possibilities of the Rockies. We also knew the immensely talented riders that lived in the Calgary/Banff/Lake Louise area. The riders we were working with were/are some of the best riders I have ever worked with. It was a tight crew and everyone pushed each other. In retrospect, we were pioneering backcountry snowboarding in the Rockies, but at the time, we were having a lot of fun and being creative on both sides of the camera. Lawrence pushed the idea of the "ski film" further and introduced storylines. That is probably what makes these videos so great to watch all these years later."
-Dan Hudson, photographer for RPG Films

Which of the films had the best feelings or memories for you?
I like [The Search For] Mountain Jimm. It was the most difficult but people loved that film, and to this day I meet people in the movie business that snowboard and have watched it. That's a good feeling.

Cover of The Search For Mountain Jimm

"It was a long time ago, but what I remember were some of the best times along with great friends. We were all young and really amped to ride. To see GT [Greg Todds],Scott Newsome, and TP [Taylor Pearcy] rip like they did inspired and pushed myself and everyone else around. Lawrence provided the camera and the ideas for Mountain Man and we just got to do what we loved. We all just had a lot of fun and made some long time friends doing it!"
- Joey Vosburgh, rider

(keep reading for more history from Lawrence, along with full versions of some of his videos)