Too Fast is a documentary film rooted in B.C.'s Cariboo dirt, through friends sharing a passion for the outdoors, and especially for riding knobby-tired motorbikes.
The documentary promises to go much deeper than finding out where young men who grew up in the Cariboo riding from their back yards eventually ended up.
Instead, it hopes to inspire and inform the audience. Besides bringing to light one man's mission to continue to do the things he loves after a life-changing injury, it may help expose some of the challenges people with disabilities can face in wanting to do the many things a lot of us take for granted.
The film will explore the incredible resolve of one friend in particular, Brayden Methot, known as Too Fast by many of his friends. Despite losing the use of his legs and much of the use of his arms in a car crash, Methot has worked for 10 years towards independence and a return to his first love — motorsports.
The film is the brainchild of Nolan Gentles, a longtime friend of Methot, and a newly trained filmmaker just starting his own business, Lab 18 Media.
Gentles knew he always wanted to become a filmmaker, but he said he didn't have the confidence to make the leap at first into the creative career.
"I grew up a little introverted," said Gentles, who was raised 45 minutes out of town on the Esket'emc (Alkali) reserve with no internet and no cell service.
Through his 20s, Gentles applied to film school three times and was admitted, but pulled out last minute all three times.
His partner Breanne Evjen eventually encouraged him to purse his long-held dream.
"I'm so happy she did, because now it's changed the trajectory of our whole lives and it's pretty special," he said.
"It's a unique feeling waking up and enjoying what you do."
Having completed a one year intensive program at the Vancouver Film School, Gentles has now hit the ground running, starting Lab 18 Media and working on completing his first long-form documentary film. The film is titled Too Fast and is based on Brayden Methot's story.
The two have known one another since childhood and they grew up riding bikes in the Dog Creek neighbourhood outside Williams lake together with a group of friends.
"That's kind of where it all began, all of our passions for riding," said Gentles.
While the rest of the friend group fell out of the dirt biking scene as they got a bit older, Methot was still all-in.
"He kind of started to flourish, and really come into his own, he was racing professionally," said Gentles. "He was doing amazing, you couldn't believe the stuff he was doing on a motorcycle."
But then a vehicle collision in 2014 changed everything. Methot was sleeping in the backseat when the vehicle he was in was involved in a head-on crash. His neck was broken at his C-4 vertebrae and he spent about a year and a half in the hospital undergoing rehabilitation.
Gentles said the incident was hard to comprehend for Methot's friends, who continued to look up to him.
"He's one of the most physically capable people we've ever known," said Gentles.
While the friends then worried about how Methot would be able to move forward, and were unsure how to act around the young man whose life had been so changed, in the end, it was Methot who was able to show his friends a way forward.
"It's honestly astonishing how he kind of brought us all out of it," said Gentles. "He kind of picked us up off the floor at the end of the day."
The dramatic shift in Methot's life's trajectory which took away much of his physical mobility, did not take away what appears to be an incredible mental ability to look for ways forward, rather than worrying about what's behind him.
"Okay, I'm not going to be dirt biking anymore, but damn do they make some sick side-by-sides," said Methot in the short pitch film Gentles made for Methot's story.
For the many years since the injury, Methot has been working towards this goal, of regaining his independence and his ability to pursue his passion for motorsports.
It did not come easy, as the adaptations needed to enable his independent use of machines with only the limited use of his arms are not exactly available right off the sales lot.
"I didn't think I was going to jump right into the driver's seat but I didn't think it was going to take seven years to get there," said Methot, of his journey to develop an adaptive side-by-side to fit his needs.
The side-by-side he has now is the third one he's owned and adapted since his injury, refining the controls and sourcing different specifics, including power steering which can accommodate his lower physical arm strength.
Throughout his relentless pursuit of returning to high speed on wheels, Methot said he is really grateful for the support of his friends and family. Thanks to their help, he has also been able to repair his machines along the way, and it is only with the help of friends he can get in and out of the side by sides. His tall six-foot-three-inch frame requires two helpers to get him into the drivers seat, which is a tight space to enable him to have enough leverage to control the machine.
He acknowledged the bravery of a friend willing to jump into the passenger seat with him the first time he took the wheel again. He wasn't physically able to hit the brakes, and after about 20 minutes, Methot said he crashed into a tree.
The inspiration Methot has provided for those around him, and the resilience he has shown were a story Gentles knew could possibly help others. Not only to see what is possible with enough tenacity and grit, but also to see the multiple challenges people with disabilities face each and every day.
"Everything Brayden does is pretty inspiring, just how he manuevers around his house," said Gentles.
Even more inspiring, said Gentles, is watching Methot driving his side-by-side.
"Sometimes I won't even remember to turn on the camera because I'm so fascinated by what he's able to do with all the circumstances that he's had," said Gentles.
"It's definitely awe-inspiring watching him live his life." While many might go down a "pretty dark rabbit hole" in a similar situation, Gentles is amazed at the way Methot maintains a positive outlook.
"He's flourishing, he's figuring it out."
Methot said he wouldn't be comfortable with just anyone telling his story, but knowing Gentles for so long, he trusts his friend to tell his story.
Speaking with Methot, it is easy to see why his friend thought he could inspire others. Methot is both charming and funny.
"It's hard not to be positive when you're around him," said Gentles.
Methot admits there are a lot of things about living in a small town like Williams Lake which can be limiting as a person with disabilities, like the lack of infrastructure for him to just go to town in an accessible cab or on his adaptive bicycle in order to socialize with friends, but he still doesn't want to live anywhere else.
His friends, his family and the outdoor freedom to continue to pursue his passion for motorsports are all right here.
Gentles is hoping to have the finished film ready for submission to film fests and a premiere by the end of the year. There is a still a lot to do on the editing portion, which takes 80 per cent of the time involved in film making, he explained. But most of the filming is done.
As he spends hours and hours at the editing desk, however, Gentles is already thinking of ideas for his next film. One possibility is looking within his own family. Gentles grandfather was Matthew Dick, a player on the Alkali Lake Braves, the famous First Nations hockey team. His grandmother Martha Sure, also has a compelling story. Either way, we can't wait to see what he does next.
