Last year we had the wonderful launch of Seamus Foster’s new video from Hathenbruck(™), a project which was a personal highlight for me and the rest of the Place staff. The obvious reasons applied, good work, the social media response was amazing but most importantly it allowed us to break into the US more than previously and grab the attention of the people we need the most. The creators, Sam Greenwood is one of these people that started writing us and showing his work. And this time we felt it was time to go back to Salt Lake City and show some other local talent. Both behind and in front of the lens. *SPOILER ALERT Cal Ross will be ranked in your top 15 need to watch skaters after this. Anyway, what is an episode of Place Presents without a proper introduction to the person that is responsible? So without further ado, we are very happy to Present Sam Greenwood!

Text & interview by Roland Hoogwater.

Film & Edit by Sam Greenwood.

Hi Sam how are you? tell me a bit about yourself.

My name is Sam Greenwood. I’m 24 years old. I grew up in Beaverton, Oregon then moved to Portland to go to college for a few years. I struggled in college and ended up dropping out, and ended up moving to Salt Lake City, Utah in early 2018. This was the best decision I’ve ever made in my life. Since then I’ve met so many wonderful people through skateboarding. It has truly been a blessing.

When did you start skating?

I started late. Probably when I was 17 or 18 is when I first started pushing around. I didn’t get serious about learning tricks until I was around 20. It was only when I moved to Salt Lake City that I really pushed myself on a skateboard. 

So how long into it did you start filming?

I guess you could say I started filming in the summer of 2019. I broke my foot skating and started filming the homies on my iPhone. I came out with a bunch of Instagram edits that year. But it wasn’t until fall that I bought a little Handycam. I used the shit out of that Handycam. I remember the viewfinder was trash so I would hold the camera down at my hips and use the flip screen to film. One day that camera got stolen by some tweakers on 33rd and state street. It’s one of the worst but best things that could’ve happened. If it wasn’t for that I would never have bought the HVX200, which I bought off eBay in January of 2020. With that HVX I filmed a number of things; apart from Bradley Culebro called “Groove”, my first 10-minute video called “VIDEO NO TITLE 5 FINAL NO TITLE”, and a few experimental videos called “BADACID.mp4” and “NEWVIDEO!”. All of that was in 2020.

The progress was noticeable, tell me a bit about the scene in Salt Lake.

The scene in Salt Lake is incredible. I moved here in January 2018 and didn’t know anyone. One day I met now one of my best friends, David Bridges. He had just moved here from Georgia. We started skating parks almost every day. Then I met Cal Ross. Through him, I met a handful of other locals, and by the end of the year, I knew most of the scene. There’s a saying out here in Salt Lake; everybody knows everybody. And even though I’m nowhere near the best I’ve only received love and support from everyone here. It’s a great scene that deserves more recognition.

Your last video was great, can you tell me what you wanted to do differently this time around?

I wanted this video to feel like a fluid production. I edited the video while I was filming it instead of editing it when all the footage was collected. This allowed me to try different things with the footage; songs, intros, transitions, etc. By spacing it out, I could see each section in the broader scope of the whole video. 

I need to know about the soundtrack, it is amazing especially the first two tracks, tell me how you came to use them and tell me your general process of picking songs and how important that is.

I like it when videos start with bold intros. I was in the car when that western song popped up on my phone. When I heard the beginning all I could picture was people’s names popping up on the screen. Once I thought of that I knew I had to use it. As for the second song, I wanted something to capture how beautiful skateboarding can be. The first thing that I thought of was classical music. They just go so well together. As for the other songs, a few were recommended to me and a few I had saved on my Soundcloud.

Why ATL and SLC?

My good buddy, Cobe Harmer, lives in Atlanta. We’d been planning a trip for while, and I decided it’d be a great opportunity to film for this project. I visited him for two weeks and filmed a bunch of great skaters down there. In that time Cobe, and I, filled out a full part, along with some bonus footage from some of the other guys. I have to thank Adam Robo and Brandon Kerstetter for their part in filming in the Atlanta section. They added a lot of great footage to the project. As for the Salt Lake portion, that’s where I live. I’ve had the opportunity to meet so many great locals here. Giving exposure to these guys is a great feeling, and it’s what they deserve.

Tell me about the title, how did that come about.

I try to keep my titles simple. Overthinking titles creates forced titles which is never good. I upload all my videos to my Youtube so that I can view them in a more conscious setting. I’ll unlist them so nobody else can see it. This was the 26th version of the project that I had unlisted on my Youtube. That’s when I decided to name it UNLISTED26.

I think that was it Sam, thank you so much for doing this with us!

Thank you Roland!