A lot goes in to getting a shot, a lot of weird, wild, magic. Gnu rider Naima Antolin tells us the story of this hefty and picturesque tap spin while out filming this year for the Uninvited 2.
All photos by Tim Zimmerman.
From Naima:
This Minnesota trip was a special one. Very few companies make the girls program a priority and even less would offer a street trip opportunity to two relatively new street boarders. Yet it happened with Gnu. They gave us a chance to shine and Savannah and I grabbed this opportunity and ran.
I remember it was the beginning of the trip and I started to feel this pressure in my chest. I started coughing a weird dry cough. Thinking nothing of it we continued on with the trip. Keep in mind this was in January.
One morning I woke up feeling awful but I forced myself to push through it. We did not have a spot in mind this day so we ended up driving around Minneapolis on the hunt. At this point the sickness was hitting me in waves. I’ve never been one for medicine but this was the exception. We were driving around this cute neighborhood. When I started to feel a wave coming on, I felt like I would pass out at any moment. I was about to ask Tim to drop me off at the AirB&B when we noticed this colorful wall ahead of us. As it drew us in we saw it was about 10 feet high with this perfect tree right in front of the wall. I’ll never forget Savannah looking at me and saying this is all you.
That’s when my internal battle started to rage, on one end I’m optimistic on the other my immune system was failing. I remember thinking “alright here goes nothing.” My dream trick for this spot was to tap the tree and do a back three. The drop was a little bigger than I anticipated and my body felt so disconnected. After a few good falls I decided to adjust and consult with Bryden, we decided a back one would be better. The waves of sick were still coming and now the external battle was raging.
Eventually I got a shot that I was happy with. Feeling thankful that I stuck it out. Feeling ever more thankful for Bryden, Tim, and Savannah. For their patience and especially the words of motivation. It was a tough day, the kind that puts everything into perspective.
The end.
Success!!
Naima rides the Gnu Velvet
