Close Menu
    United Kingdom

    Alex Rankin talks Sprung, Earthed, film making before the internet and more!



    Mountain bike royalty Alex Ranking is in studio!
    On this episode of The Ride Companion Olly and Davi take a deep dive into Alex’s film making career. During the episode Alex opens up about his early skateboarding and BMX inspirations, how and why he first picked up a camera, learning to edit on tape, investing in the first 1000 Sprung videos and why Sprung really finished, meeting Steve Peat and Rob Warner, acquiring music for free and some of the projects Alex is working on for the future…

    Follow and support Alex Rankin
    https://www.youtube.com/@UCM8_N5ZziH6ERa52LOCWOHw
    https://www.instagram.com/alex_rankin/

    This episode’s sponsors

    Athletic Greens: Want to feel optimized and ready to kick ass each day?  Get a FREE 1-year supply of Vitamin D AND 5 FREE travel packs at https://drinkag1.com/RIDECOMPANION

    The all new Five Ten Trailcross GTX is the first ever flat pedal shoe that features GORE-TEX durably waterproof, breathable
    technology. Now you can ride in rain, mud, sleet and snow all the while keeping your feet dry. Learn more and grab a pair at https://www.adidas.co.uk/five_ten
    ————————————————–
    Support our partners

    – Athletic Greens: Get a FREE 1-year supply of Vitamin D AND 5 FREE travel packs at https://athleticgreens.com/RIDECOMPANION
    – Compex: Get 20% off with code ‘THERIDECOMPANION’ at https://www.compex.com/uk/
    – Peak Supps: Get 10% off the TRC bundle and everything on site with code ‘theridecompanion’ at https://peaksupps.co.uk/
    – Caldera Lab: Get 20% off with code ‘THERIDECOMPANION’ at https://calderalab.com/
    – Worx: Get 15% off with code ‘THERIDECOMPANION’ at https://uk.worx.com/
    – DU/ER: Visit https://www.futureproof.life code THERIDECOMPANION for 15% off
    – LAKA: Get 30 days free insurance with code ‘RIDECOMPANION30’ at https://laka.co/gb/
    – HKT Products: Use code ‘PODCAST’ for 10% off the entire site.
    ————————————————–
    Time stamps

    00:00:00 Intro
    00:04:30 Alex Rankin’s early inspirations
    00:14:04 First picking up a camera
    00:27:50 The idea for Sprung
    00:37:00 FiveTen GTX first ride
    00:38:33 How Alex knew what to film
    00:44:45 Buying 1000 Sprung videos!
    00:50:00 First filming Steve Peat and local pro riders
    00:59:00 Music and Travelling stories
    01:09:00 Influencers and determining what was cool
    01:15:30 AG1
    01:19:15 Sprung 3 to 5 growth and distribution
    01:24:00 Why did Sprung finish?
    01:38:20 Why Earthed started
    01:47:43 Rankin vs Hollywood
    01:53:44 Has mountain biking becoming unrelatable?
    02:00:00 Freecaster days and Red Bull media house
    02:12:28 News vs old filming styles
    02:17:33 YouTube generation thoughts
    02:22:20 What’s next for Alex Rankin?
    02:30:00 LIKE & SUBSCRIBE
    ————————————————–
    Follow

    – Olly Wilkins
    Instagram https://www.instagram.com/odub_23/
    YouTube https://www.youtube.com/user/owilkins23?sub_confirmation=1

    – The Ride Companion
    Instagram https://www.instagram.com/theridecompanion
    YouTube http://www.youtube.com/c/TheRideCompanion?sub_confirmation=1

    Clips channel @moreridecompanion
    ————————————————–

    Listen To Every Episode of The Ride Companion:

    • Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-ride-companion/id1097966651
    • Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/66evYlliy7rOpMgvABeBgw?si=939d2c57475d41bc
    • Amazon: https://music.amazon.co.uk/podcasts/fb826bf5-8a59-4ebc-95b5-57fbd20bbedf/the-ride-companion
    ————————————————–

    Get official Ride Companion merch, find old episodes and more
    https://theridecompanion.co.uk

    📝 Contact Us & Business: https://theridecompanion.co.uk/pages/contact
    Edited By: Doug Tucker, TRC Media House

    #TheRideCompanion #mountainbiking #mtb

    View 28 Comments

    28 Comments

    5. @somerandomblokeybloke6033 on

      I got my first proper MTB (Marin Quake 5) from leisure lakes in 2000 and bought a copy of sprung 3 at the same time. I'd watch it religiously. I got into every aspect of cycling thanks to sprung. BMX, trials, DH, trails. Thanks Alex!

    15. @joeroche552 on

      the world was a sadder place without the creativity of sprung, no internet, mtb being fun and juvenile and not too serious and being full of rich guys on crazy bikes…..now i am sounding like an old man! on a sidenote does olly look a little like butthead here lol

    17. @jamespacker2904 on

      I was trying to think about how you could still get YouTube royalties for Sprung/Earthed while still keeping the music… Imagine if you uploaded two videos, the first one being the video with no audio, and the second one being the audio with no video. People could watch the first video (which you'd get paid for) whilst also playing the second video in another browser tab (which you wouldn't get paid for). It would work, but probably a bit hard to explain how to watch for most viewers… lol. Maybe there's another way though of separating the audio and video like this to get around rights issues.

    18. @vickycarroll4146 on

      What a bloody lovely way to spend two and a half hours, I enjoyed that so much. So nice to hear Alex Rankin talking about his life & career, and how the films got made. Please do an Earthed sequel episode (…but maybe not the AI one though, that'll just make me grouchy).

    24. @gweflj on

      Easily the best guest you’ve had. Alex was absolutely pivotal to the sport. Can you imagine if Redbull allowed Alex to control all the MTB media output in Earthed style. It would have massively raised the profile of the brand.

    26. @riderrunco on

      Millan was in cyc vibes dropping off some sprung vids on a day I was dropping off a load of vandal fenders, we did a swap. 2 vids for 2 fenders 😂. Good times, cyc vibes was the most hard-core bike shop in the South west by a mile.

    Leave A Reply