If being a professional BMX biker was enough to keep someone busy, Frenchman JC Pieri didn’t get the memo.
At 23-years-old, Pieri is not only a pro rider, but also an accomplished filmmaker. His films were originally inspired by his passion for riding.
“I just wanted to film me and my friends riding to have some souvenirs about us learning BMX,” Pieri said. “BMX and extreme sports were my first motivations.”
Pieri also mentioned being inspired by films like “The Art of Flight,” directed and produced by Nimia client Brain Farm Digital Cinema.
Unlike many professional filmmakers, Pieri didn’t go to film school. Rather, he studied sports and events, and is mainly self-taught.
“I just love filming and I learned by myself,” Pieri said. “I think it’s the best thing because you can learn what you like and make your own style of filming.
“What I enjoy the most is to create something new, and if somebody else can enjoy what you created, it’s the best,” he explained. “I also love just taking my camera and going somewhere alone to shoot the nature. You can wait all day long just to shoot one clip if you love it.”
Pieri’s passion for filmmaking extends well beyond what appears in his films. He’s an avid traveler and loves to explore the world as well as meet new people.
“I can’t describe how this is awesome. You have to live it to understand,” he said.
Being only 23, it’s not always easy for Pieri’s work to get noticed. Like anyone trying to make a name in a hyper-competitive field, Pieri has to work his butt off to get projects.
“I worked a lot for that,” he said. “I’m really serious in my job. When I say I want to do something I will try my best to do it.
“I did a lot of videos for famous riders and this was the best thing for me to make a name in the extreme sport scene,” he continued. “I shared a lot of videos and thanks to the hearsay, I started to do some others productions, like music clips, events, etc.”
Lately, Pieri has been working on a variety of projects. The biggest one being titled “The Blackbelt Project.”
“We filmed two houses in the south of Corsica in France, one in Italia and the next project will be in Miami in December,” he said. “I’m the director and the editor in this project. My friend Olivier films with the drone and Jacques is our artistic consultant and also the person who is looking for the houses to film. I can’t really talk about it now, but I hope it’s going to be huge.”
While the old adage is ‘love what you do and you’ll never work a day in your life,’ many people don’t have that luxury. And while countless professionals claim this is the case with their jobs, sometimes this is hard to believe. Fortunately for Pieri, he seems he’s found it.
“My philosophy is simple: My dad always told me you have to do a job that when you wake up in the morning you have to be happy to go,” he explains. “And today I just love to wake up because I do what I love. If you can live out your passion it’s the best thing you can do.”
To view and purchase Pieri’s licensable content, click here.
