Like Lee Visual & Trapper Snowboards + Share Balance = Win a Split board!

Lee Visual and Trapper Snowboards are pleased to announce that we will be giving away a Trapper snowboard of the winners choosing, including their handcrafted Split boards.

Between now and December 15, 2012 anyone who likes the Lee Visual and Trapper Snowboards pages on Facebook that shares an episode (including teaser/trailer) of Balance will be entered into a draw for a free snowboard of their choosing from Trapper! There is no limit to how many times you can be entered into the draw so the more episodes you share the better your chances are to win.

Lee Visual is proud to have partnered up with the Revelstoke based snowboard company for this series and is stoked to be able to give even more to our viewers. We don’t endorse gambling but this is free, so what have you got to lose, help us get this series out there!

Note: to be eligible for this contest you must share an episode of Balance from the Lee Visual Facebook page (it’s too hard to keep track of shares otherwise). If you already like Lee Visual and Trapper and have shared an episode you’re already entered into the contest! Draw will be held December 20, 2012. Sorry, this contest is only open to US and Canadian Residents.

Kelsey Thompson

Balance Official Trailer

Starring: Blair Trotman, Dave Vanderveen, Joey Vosburgh

Episode one airs October 15, 2012, stay tuned!

Last week I wrapped up the kayaking portion of shooting with Blair Trotman and I must say it feels good! Not to say I didn’t enjoy shooting with him and getting back into the swig of whitewater shooting but it’s definitely a weight off of my shoulders to have it behind me… editing is another story though.

Blair boofing on the Kuskanax (Photo Kevin Whiting)

I’ve known Blair for around 5 years now and when I thought up the idea for this project I knew he would be a perfect candidate. Not only is he super motived to get out paddling while working as a kayaking instructor on the side but he’s also a bad ass in his boat. Probably the biggest plus of shooting with Blair is his strive for perfection and immense love of kayaking. When most people run a difficult rapid once is enough, but that isn’t the case with Blair. Even when we’re not shooting he laps class five, often more than a few times. It’s not necessarily easy but is sure increases the chances of getting a difficult shot when your talent runs the rapid eight times in a row.

Blair rallying the drops on the Lower Pingston (Photo Matt Burton)

Blair on the Lower Pingston again, he ran this drop a lot (Photo: Kevin Whiting)

Running the upper falls on Blanket Creek, super scenic! (Photo Mitch Suliak)

Dropping into the St Leon (Photo: Kevin Whiting)

Working the jib with Blair on the Pingston (Photo: Matt Burton)

I traveled around with Blair to shoot his segments more than I had to with Joey and Dave, that’s just the nature of the beast with kayaking. BC is an amazing place and we had some pretty epic adventures this summer, one evening in particular stands out. After a great day on the St Leon River we headed to the Incommapleaux Rapids to scope them out for shooting the next morning. When we got to the rapid Blair and his kiwi buddy Matt Burton started freaking out… I soon realized why. The rapid was filled with huge fish heading up river, jumping way out of the water. Being the silly kiwi’s that they are Blair and Matt decided to try to catch one of them in an empty gear bag. I thought it’d be hopeless but figured I’d see what happened. Sure enough within 10 minutes they’d bagged one and we had it for dinner, without a doubt one of the best camp dinners I’ve ever had!

The fish in this rapid were amazing (Photo: Kelsey Thompson)

Blair stoked on the catch, not bad for a vegetarian! (Photo: Kelsey Thompson)

I had tons of mini adventures paddling and filming with Blair and the crew he works with at Aquabatics in Calgary. These trips ended up being a major highlight of my summer.

Special thanks to Matt Burton, Kevin Whiting, and Mitch Suliak for the awesome photos!

Kelsey Thompson

The Balance teaser.

This series will focus on three athletes and how they use action sports to balance out there lives. Balance will focus on Joey Vosburgh (splitboarder), Blair Trotman (kayaker), and Dave Vanderveen (mountain biker). Stay tuned for the series trailer!

It’s been a long time coming and I’m really excited to finally be making the details of the Balance project public! I’ve been thinking about this project for a while and this winter I decided it was time to stop thinking and start acting!

Those of you that know me or my work know that my back ground is in whitewater kayaking. I’ve been paddling for a long time, 8 years of which I traveled and competed professionally. Before kayaking consumed my life I skied and biked a lot. These sports got pushed aside so I could pursue my dream of being a professional athlete. Lately I’ve backed off of kayaking and have made time for the other things in life that make me happy.

Over the years I’ve met a few people that have left a lasting impact on me. I’ve become less impressed with professional athletes that do nothing other than rip at their respective sport and more impressed with those who work real jobs and recreate almost as much as the pros, participating at an extremely high level in their sport. These are the people who have lead me to pursue this series. I also hope to create something that will inspire people who do nothing but work to make time for the things that put a smile on their face!

I’m happy to be working with three amazing athletes who also happen to be good friends of mine. These guys constantly impress and inspire me and I hope some of that will rub off on the viewers of this series.

I’ll be posting more updates from filming etc soon so stay tuned!

Kelsey Thompson

Episode One- At Ease

In this episode Blair talks about the appeal of kayaking, how he got into it and why he became involved with the military.

Directed and Produced by: Kelsey Thompson
Animation by: Deia Schlosberg
Staring: Blair Trotman

For music info please visit: http://balancetv.net/music/

Episode Two- Ride On

In this episode Dave discusses the clarity biking provides and the night that changed his life.

Starring Dave Vanderveen
Produced and Directed by Kelsey Thompson
Animation by Deia Schlosberg
Special Thanks to Stephan Peters

For music info please visit: balancetv.net/music

Episode Three- My Way

In this episode Joey talks about growing up as a snowboarder and why he’s always done it for himself.

Starring Joey Vosburgh
Produced and Directed by Kelsey Thompson
Animation by Deia Schlosberg
Archive Footage Lawrence Roeck
Special Thanks Francois Desrosiers

For music info please visit: balancetv.net/music

Episode Four- AWOL

In this episode Blair talks about leaving the military and finding a new life for himself in Canada.

Staring: Blair Trotman
Directed and Produced by: Kelsey Thompson
Animation by: Deia Schlosberg

For music info please visit: balancetv.net/music

Episode Five- Revival

In this episode Dave talks about recovering from the car crash that almost claimed his life and how his bike motivated him through rehab.

Staring: Dave Vanderveen
Directed and Produced by: Kelsey Thompson
Animation by: Deia Schlosberg

For music info please visit: balancetv.net/music