2016 Has already been quite an exciting year for Trever Maur. Not only has Hyperlite released his first pro model, but his second full-length film is getting ready to premiere at Velocity Wake Park on April 9th. On top of that, Trever recently picked up a new boat sponsor and got engaged.
 
WW: What’s up, Trev! Congratulations on your MB sponsorship and recent engagement. What else do you have in store for 2016?
TM: My movie Dog Dayz releasing is the biggest thing that I have going on. I spent all last year working on one film and put everything I had into it. Later in the year, Hyperlite will be starting a web series, so that will be a fun project to be a part of. I will also be pretty wrapped up with MB Boats. I am excited to work with such rad people.
 
WW: Ever since I can remember you have been making web edits. At what point did you decide that you wanted to make full-length films? What separates the two?
TM: I’d say Al Sur was the start of it. At first it was supposed to just be a web series but all of the footage we were collecting built up so we had a round table meeting and decided to turn it into a full length.
 
The main difference is the time that it takes to create a full-length. When you have one year instead of one week, it gives both the riders and the filmer time to dive deep. In the end, the product turns out really good. The riders put a lot more into the project and, as the season progresses, everyone learns new tricks. It also helps you progress yourself as a rider and focus on what you have. It gives you a chance to put on film the exact section you want to portray the rider you are.
By creating a full-length I am hoping to put together something that puts an everlasting stamp in the history of wakeboarding for 2015.
 
WW: What is your take on the constant release of web edits and the demise of the full-length feature?
TM: Both are two completely different approaches. I don’t mind web edits. That is where I and a lot of other filmers start, but when more and more videos get released, they clog up the feeds and quickly push the quality edits out. If there were a better way to filter the good content from the bad or some way to push content where it belongs, in my opinion, it would be much better than having multiple releases every day.
 
It is definitely harder to create a full-length because you need time, a budget and people backing it, but I still feel that a full-length should be the goal for every video maker.
 
WW: For sure. First it was Al Sur and now Dog Dayz. Where do you find the inspiration for your movie names?
TM: I try to pick names that correlate to what we are doing. Al Sur means "in the southern part" and Dog Dayz is actually a term that I found when researching the California drought. We went through a bunch of names and once we found Dog Dayz, it just stuck. It means "the hottest period of the year."
 
WW: Crazy! That definitely fits given the weather last year. Growing up, what would you say was your go to wake movie?
TM: I actually had two favorite movies growing up. One was 12 Honkeys. I loved how they created a plot and just made the whole film something fun to watch. The other is Incomplete by the Pointless Crew. Everyone in the film had mad style and set the bar for what wakeboarding should be. Like some of Shane Bonifay’s hits are still insane.
 
WW: How does it feel that kids will see Al Sur and Dog Dayz as you once did to 12 Honkeys and Incomplete?
TM: That’d be insane! Growing up I never thought that I would be such a nerd doing all of this video stuff. I just loved wakeboarding so much that I was making a lot of 'sponsor me' videos. If kids see this movie as a staple for wakeboarding, the whole Dog Dayz crew would be amped. We pride ourselves knowing that every trick in Dog Dayz is grabbed, off of the wake or kicker. I hope that people see this and go out and grab their board.
 
WW: Do you think that being a rider influences your style as an editor/filmer? How so?
TM: For sure! I think that it allows me to think as a rider and, therefore, know how other riders want their parts to look. If I wouldn’t like it in my part, I will just toss the clip out. I would be mad if there was a shot of myself that got used that I didn’t find legit. An example would be taking the time to create a choreographed shot that is sick, but if the trick is not up to my or the rider's standards, it just ends up being a throwaway. That’s important to remember.
 
WW: Is there more pressure on you as a rider to get clips when you are the one who goes home and puts it all together?
TM: I definitely hold myself to a high standard of what my clips look like. For me, when I go home and see my clips, if they are not the way that I want them I end up being bummed for a while. I may be over critical, but I re-edit and re-edit and re-edit. I’ll redo everyone’s section a few times, including my own. I show every rider their section, which allows them to take out tricks that they aren’t pumped on and try and fill with others. If the rider is stoked on their own section, the movie will end up pushing itself.
 
WW: How do you manage to balance riding and filming? Have you had any help?
TM: Let’s just say I didn’t sleep much. For real. Mostly it was just film, film, film. Typically, I would be the one riding in the not so good conditions. Being both a filmer and rider, I wanted to make sure that everyone else was satisfied first. It is hard to balance, but in the end I am on every shoot, so I don’t need to ride every set. When there is perfect lighting, I am usually filming others making sure they get all their clips before I get any of my own.
 
It is also extremely difficult to keep everyone organized and stay on schedule. I also ended up getting injured a few times throughout the year, but overall I am super, super happy on the way that it all came out and am excited to show it.
 
 WW: Filming with west coast legends such as Mike Schwenne, Derek Cook and, of course, Vandall has got to be awe inspiring. Growing up did you ever imagine yourself in this position?
TM: No, definitely not. When I was growing up I got to hang with Schwenne a bit when I attended West Coast Camps, but what is most crazy for me is just to be able to be friends with Randall and hang with him on a day to day basis. It is pretty crazy hanging out with someone who you looked up to as childhood hero figure. Now I have a great friendship with Randall, which I never would have. To me he’s not a legend, he’s a homie.
 
WW: Which up and comers do you feel will take their place?
TM: Pretty much every rider in the friends section in the video has potential. I am just stoked because they all focus on what the trick looks like rather than just doing the trick itself. For example, Mike Belligan (@2312_bellz) is a dude in the friends section who just has five tricks, but you don’t see anyone else doing them anywhere. It is crazy to think that a dude with a 9-5 job that just goes out and wakeboards can do that. He has some pretty banger tricks and a great attitude. I just hope to see him get more coverage in the future.
 
WW: Do you hope to be remembered more as a rider, videographer or both?
TM: I hope to be remembered as a wakeboarder, but to also be able to carry on a legacy such as Kilgus’. When I first found out that I was going to be a part of Prime it was insane. I felt like I had made it just because I had the opportunity to be featured in a Kilgus film.
 
When I am older I would be stoked to have kids amping to be a part of a Trever Maur film the same way I was when I had the chance to be a part of Kilgus’. That would be a cool feeling to have one day.
 
WW: You packed a crew of some of the best riders into a house and got to ride some of the best water on the Delta every day. How was that?
TM: I actually lived on the dock in my houseboat with Cook for the whole year and then rented the house for the month of October. October is by far the best month of the year for the Delta due to epic conditions and all the kids back in school. It also allowed for all of the best riders from the North and South to get together, ride twice a day and push one another. October is when we got a bulk of the footage for the movie.
 
WW: You guys also had some winch trips as well. How did those go?
TM: We did a bunch of winching throughout the whole year covering ground from Redding to San Diego. On one trip we had Bob, Melissa, Randall, Jacob, Keaton, Austin and I traveling all around LA and San Diego areas hitting two winch spots a day for a week. Every day we would wake up at 4 am and whoever winched last got to sleep in van. After an hour or two drive, we would get to a spot at around 6am and get after it. Some of the spots we hit we had a small window which was all based on the ocean. We would winch and film all day, get home at 10, then maybe go to bed at 12 just to wake up the next day to do it again. Without taking shifts sleeping there is no way we could have done it.
 
WW: The crew that you picked is all of the top riders from the west coast. Do you hope to see a rebuttal film from the east?
TM: Yeah, that would be epic. It’s hard because I don’t want to talk smack, but it would be funny to see how much they would take out of this video and put in their own videos. There is definitely enough riders in Florida to be able to pull it off.
 
WW: Everyone agrees that Al Sur had a killer soundtrack. Without giving too much away, who can we expect to hear in Dog Dayz?
TM: I mostly kept the same style...sort of a surfy soundtrack. I think that everyone is going to be downloading these tracks. When choosing music I first find ones that are easy to edit to and, second, are easy for people to hear and be like, "That would be a sick boat day song." I want people to watch the film, then go out and download the music and I hope that these songs will forever inspire them to go wakeboard or go eat burritos or whatever.
 
WW: How do you think that riding both boat and cable pushes your riding as a whole?
TM: I have found that they both work in sync with one another. When riding the boat you have a wake and at the cable you have both kickers and rails, but since I have a wake, why do I need to hit kickers? To me a kicker is like a double-up, so there is no need for me to hit them, but I don’t often get to hit rails behind the boat, so I can then go to the cable. If I can learn new rail tricks at the cable and then bring them to the streets while getting pulled by winch, the cable has become a tool to teach me to become a better rail rider. I believe the goal is to get as technical as you can winching, as one can be at the cable, because this is ultimately where I see the sport progressing to.
 
WW: It’s safe to say that you’ve created a career out of freeriding. Do you ever want to join the competition scene?
TM: Definitely not. 100% Negatron. I might do a couple here and there because I am in the area, but to go out and train the same 10 tricks to compete, I might as well sign a check to Harley right now. Look at someone like Josh who kills it, but still ends up having a hard time getting on the podium. Last season I talked to him and he claimed to have had the best run of his life and still didn’t make it on the podium based on not doing an extra 180. People don’t realize how technical his grabs are and how they should trump an extra 180 with a sloppy grab.
 
For judging, if someone does a slap grab on a 9 and someone else legit grabs on a 7, which is harder? The 9 because of the extra 180? I don’t know. I just want to freeride and film others freeriding since I feel that this is the best way that the sport is portrayed. I honestly don’t care if I am #1 or not, but at the end of the day if I went out, rode well and had a great time doing it then I am completely satisfied.
 
WW: What has been the hardest part about putting this film together?
TM: I would say the hardest part is that it is self done. I filmed, edited, produced, promoted, planned, organized, you name it. I had my heart in it. I did pretty much everything and only had help with sound. Another hard part was finding the time. Edit, edit, edit. Ally, my fiancé, literally brought me breakfast, lunch and dinner and filled up my coffee mug when it was empty. I didn’t get to live life much this past year since I was mostly working. This movie consumed my life. All I seemed to talk about and all that I was focused on was getting this movie completed. Now that it is done, I am excited to have my life back.
 
As a movie producer/athlete all in one it is a lot of work. When I’m on the boat, I am holding a camera in my hand 100% of the time focusing on not missing a shot. I have to be focused for eight hours a day filming and then spend another eight hours just going through and editing footage in order to keep it all organized just to wake up and do it again. People think we are out there boating and just cracking beers, but we are out there with the pressure to perform to a certain standard and to get the shot.
I am blessed beyond belief to do what I do, but I am probably working just as hard as you, if not harder. The passion of the life is also my job, so in a way it feels like that I am never not working. Even with all the work that went into this movie, I would do it over again and again.
 
WW: The first premiere is set for April 9th at Velocity Island Park. Are you excited/nervous? How are you expecting the night to go?
TM: I just premiered it with Alliance as a private showing and the whole time my hands were sweating, so I know that with even more people I will be sweating bullets. I just hope that people are stoked on the film. I am excited to show it. I’m nervous to see what people will say, but also excited at the same time.
 
WW: Do you have any other premieres planned?
TM: Orlando, April 23rd during Wake Open weekend.
 
WW: Where can one go pick up a copy of Dog Dayz?
TM: It will be on iTunes in early May!
 
WW: Who would you like to thank?
TM: BoardCo, Body Glove, Follow, Fox, GoPro, Hoven, Hyperlite, Liquid Force, West Coast Camps, Alliance Wake Magazine, all the athletes for giving their 100%, my fiancé for having to put up with me and helping me throughout the making of the film, my family who has constantly pushed me to be the best and to let me follow my dream. Also, I would like to thank God for allowing this project to happen.