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Professional SkateBoarder: Bill Breithaupt ( Bright-Up )
HomeTown: Novato, CA age: 38 Stance: Goofy
Date of Birth: 12/29/69 Years Skateboarding: 26
First SkateBoard: 1975 - Jaws ( the movie) SkateBoard.
Favorite Tricks: Tailslides, Grinds, KickFlips, HardFlips, Tre Flips
Favorite Terrain: Skateparks, Transitions, Banks, Bowls, Curbs, Ledges, Hubba's, Street Ramps, Mini Ramps, Stairs,
Ditches, Pools, Flatland, Walls, City Streets, Hills, Handrails
& of course anything Vertical.
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photo left Classic Bill (james Dean) Breithaupt shot by Mike Voorhees, 1987.
 
Photo by: VoorheesPhoto.com Breithaupt at Chino Hills SkatePark 20years later.
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Tricks Invented: "360 no-comply stick" & the "the Bright-Hop"
other hobbies: SnowBoarding, Scuba Diving, Mountain Biking, Hiking, Rock Climbing, Golf, Trampoline, Gym, Motocross, Sailing, SkyDiving, Kayaking, Wind Tunnel, Rollercoasters.
----------------------------------------------------------Age nor Injury can stop Bill Breithaupt from skateboarding ever Skatepark in California.
 
Breithaupt Busts a couple Kickflips, at the Upland & San Rafael Skate Park, 2007
 
Breithaupt Kickflip, San Rafael 2007 Breithaupt Frontside ollie, Livermore 2007
 
Bill Breithaupt tears this coping a new one at the Chino Hills Skate Park, 2007
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Bill Breithaupt Chillin with his Skate Hero, Steve Caballero
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" Check out Bill Breithaupt's new film about Burning Man"
" Dare to take a trip "
Professional Skateboarder Bill Breithaupt turns into an Award Winning FilmMaker
AquaBurn: Wins Best Documentary Short Film
at the Coney Island Film Festival
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Breithaupt KickFlip, Livermore 2007 Breithaupt I-5 Ditch 1987
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Chino Hills Skate Park, 2007
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Breithaupt Kickflip, Novato Skate Park Bill Backside ollie,(hometown) Novato
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Breithaupt Kickflip, Livermore, 2007 Breithaupt, Allen Texas
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Skate Injury List: broken Leg, torn knee ligaments, broken kneecap, numerous rolled ankles, broken hand
Non Skate Injury List: Sliced Hand, Dislocated elbow, Appendix's removed, Broken Nose, Neck and Shoulder tramma.
Past Sponsors: Independent Trucks, Walker SkateBoards, SkateRags clothing, FreeStyle Watches, Amigaz, StyleEyes Sunglasses , AstroDeck,ThunderBoltz, Alva Wheels, Awesome Shoes, Novato Cyclery , Bills Wheels Skate Shop, Inland Surf Shop, and Gangster Planks (Bills venture SkateBoard Company) SkateBoards.
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Lets Step Back in time 20 years to when Street Skating was being born.
 
I-5 Ditch 3am Session Frontside layback Grind at the i-5 Ditch
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Breithaupt get a full page ad i-5 Ditch 3am Jam
in Thrasher magazine 1987
 
3am I-5 Ditch session, 1987.
i-5 Ditch, 3am session 1987
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i-5 ditch 20 years later - 2007
i-5 ditch 20 years later - 2007
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Bills Favorite SkateBoarders: Steve Caballero, The Gonz, Hawk, Tommy G, Mullen, Mike V, Hosoi, Dave Reul, Noah Salaznek,
Erin Vincent, Sterling Tyler, Chris Baucom, Bruce Walker,
Monty Nolder, Stevie Rotor, Chuck Dinkins .
 
N.S.S. (National Skate Search) S.H.S (Style, Humor & Speed)
This was the 1st Skate Magazine This was Bill Breithaupt's 1st
that Bill Breithaupt and John Gowan Video Production Company Published during summer break of 1985. that he established in 1989.
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Classic Vikkis Lounge shot by Mike Voorhees 1987
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Bill Breithaupt's SkateBoarding Competition Results
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Contest Results
Vero Beach, FL - Street 1st place
Ft. Lauderdale, FL - ESA - Street 1st place
San Jose, CA - Street 1st place
Napa, Ca - Street #2 1st place
Ocala, FL- SkatePark - Bowl Contest 1st place
Napa, CA - Street #1 2nd place
Marin Academy Street, CA Street 2nd place
Ocala, FL - Skatepark - Bowl Contest 2nd place
Sacramento, CA - Sacto Street 3rd place
Santa Rosa, CA - Street #1 3rd place
San Francisco, CA - Hunters Point Dish 3rd place
Santa Rosa, CA - Street #2 3rd place
Sonoma, CA - Street 3rd place
Pompano Beach, FL - ESA Street #3 3rd place
Stuart, FL - ESA Street 3rd place
St. Augustine, FL - Street 3rd place
Tustin, CA - Church Street contest 3rd place
Pompano Beach, FL - ESA Street #4 4th place
Roseville, CA - Street #1 5th place
Gaiesville, Fl -Inland surf Street 6th place
San Francisco, Ca - Hunters Point Dish #2 7th place
Simi Valley, CA "dogtown" Street 8th place
Jacksonville, FL- Kona ESA Championships 89' 8th place
Irvine, CA - Street gonz 8th place
Petaluma, CA -Street parker doubles 8th place
Anaheim, CA - Streetdave ruel 9th place
Deland, FL - Street hung over 10th place
Orlando, Fl - ESA Championships 88' 14th place
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Rainy Days Bills House 1986 Allen Texas Skatepark 2007
 
Scuba Dive level: Dive Master Years Snowboarding: 18
 
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Breithaupt's Current Sponsors: Adrenaline Network
years working with Film and Video: 28
 
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Inspired by Star Wars at a young age (as many of us were), Bill had the realization that filmmaking was what he wanted to do in life. By age 10 he was enrolled in classes, and made his first film "Trick or Treat", a disturbing portrait of one child’s hallucinogenic-induced homicidal ragon Halloween night.
 
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With a competitive streak ever-present in his character, as well as a high level of energy, Bill was involved in many sports including swim team, soccer and skate boarding. Skate boarding became his passion. As his skills grew, followed by his trophy collection, he decided to attract the attention of sponsors by renting a home camcorder
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and filming his incredible tricks, which no one was doing at the time. His brilliant idea worked, and under the sponsorship of such companies as Independent Trucks, Skate Rags Clothing Co., Stylized Sun Glasses and Walker Skateboards, Bill went on to win more skate competitions, bigger trophies and even more sponsors.
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Pro SkateBoarder turns FilmMaker
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Bill get his name on full page Independent ad in Thrasher Mag 1990
He then returned to his earlier passion of filmmaking. Apprenticing under the photographer Mike Voorhees in Newport Beach, CA he improved his framing techniques. He studied graphic arts at the Art Institute of So. California, film/audio techniques at the Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale, FL, computer animation under Jimmy Hayward at the Academy of Art in San Francisco, and 16mm filmmaking at San Francisco State. He has an Associate’s Degree in Film and Audio Recording, and is working toward a B.A. in Computer Animation.
 
He began his career making videos: music, modeling, wedding, corporate and extreme sports, you name it, he has probably caught it on film. None of that compared to the footage he began capturing in 1999 when he was invited to by a friend to attend and film the annual Burning Man Festival held in Black Rock City, Nevada. What started off as fulfilling a friend’s request for a souvenir video of the event became a
passion for Bill.
  
Here is a Sample of Bills Artwork
He passed out the edited footage to friends, who passed it to friends, who gave it to their friends, etc. Stoked by the floods of compliments, Bill began his own tradition. It was in the year 2002 that he made his breakthrough film "Aqua Burn".
AquaBurn is an award-winning documentary film by director Bill Breithaupt showcasing "The Floating World" theme of the 2002 Burning Man Festival. AquaBurn features many of the incredible Burning Man art installations, the imagination and originality that went into their creation, and the artists who conceived them. Unlike conventional documentaries on the Burning Man Festival, AquaBurn captures the true feeling and excitement of the event itself, transporting the viewer to a hot, dusty wonderland without ever leaving home.
AquaBurn introduces you to artists like Peter Hudson, who created Sisyphish, a life-size 3D zoetrope of a swimmer, Nate Smith, who conjures a 20 ft. fire tornado, David Best & his crew’s 78 ft. Temple of Joy - a tribute to 9/11, Deirdre DeFranceaux’s beautiful sculpture of singing sirens, Shane Rogers and the Sky People show off their sky diving skills over Black Rock City, Terry Shreck’s glowing metal sculpture Beacon, and Kiki Petit’s incredible fire waterfall Egeria.
introduces you to artists like Peter Hudson, who created Sisyphish, a life-size 3D zoetrope of a swimmer, Nate Smith, who conjures a 20 ft. fire tornado, David Best & his crew’s 78 ft. Temple of Joy - a tribute to 9/11, Deirdre DeFranceaux’s beautiful sculpture of singing sirens, Shane Rogers and the Sky People show off their sky diving skills over Black Rock City, Terry Shreck’s glowing metal sculpture Beacon, and Kiki Petit’s incredible fire waterfall Egeria.
Although not the first Burning Man film by Bill Breithaupt, AquaBurn has become the most popular. Breithaupt is a ten year Burning Man veteran, having attended and filmed the festival every year consecutively since 1999, when he ventured out to the playa for the first time and was blown away at what he experienced. Returning home he couldn’t stop talking about how amazing Burning Man was. Realizing that he never could quite convey the experience to others through words, he decided to express it through film, a medium he’s been working with for over 28 years. Breithaupt hunkered down and spent hours editing his footage into a film, Playa Project, which featured Dr. Megavolt. When he came back to the playa the following year he brought with him 100 copies of Playa Project to gift to his fellow burners. This became his annual tradition, filming, editing and returning the next year with films to gift on the playa.
In 2000 Breithaupt started screening his films at Flambé Lounge, a pre-Burning Man party held in San Francisco. At Club Cocomo he gave the video jockey a copy of Playa Project, which was promptly played on the screens in the club. It was a hit with the crowd, hailed as "hip, new, and exciting". The next year at Flambé Lounge they showcased his film, Got Fire? from Burning Man 2000. It was through this event that he met Andie Grace, Burning Man Org Communications Manager, with whom he shared his idea of a Burning Man Film Festival to showcase the many Burning Man films suddenly springing up. There was electricity in the air as people embraced the year’s upcoming theme The Floating World at the Flambé Lounge Blue Ball in 2002. Breithaupt showed his 2001 film PlayaScape, and the crowd was ecstatic, cheering in unison as the credits rolled.
A few months later, in July of 2002, Burning Man Head of Media Operations, Jim Graham offered Bill Breithaupt a spot in the 1st annual Burning Man Film Festival held in Santa Cruz, CA. This was a surprising request, as Burning Man is known for having strict policies regarding filming at Burning Man and the usage of such footage. Jumping at the opportunity Breithaupt headed to Burning Man for his fourth year in a row, partying with his friends and filming the entire week as usual. Aside from the beautiful time-lapse footage and cinematic shots he’s known for, he also captured some fantastic insight from his fellow burners thanks to the verbal skills of his good friend Scott Sheppard. When he returned home he locked himself in his studio and edited, determined to make his best film yet. With only three weeks between the end of Burning Man 2002 and the day of the film festival, he began burning the midnight oil, editing 14-16 hours straight, rarely sleeping. At the end of this crazy schedule Breithaupt had edited a total of 180 hours, and was off to the festival without having slept for two days straight. The final result was the film AquaBurn. The 300 + audience that packed into the Rio Theater that day were awed. At the end of the film they cheered, then quieted to watch all the credits, and then cheered again, rising to give Breithaupt a standing ovation (at the end of which he thanked his mom). True to form, he filmed the audience’s enthusiastic reaction, and was even quoted as saying "it was one of the best moments of my life".
Despite agonizing pain from a previous neck injury, he then logged an additional grueling 620 hours of editing time and then AquaBurn was finally complete. It also received approval for sale from the Burning Man Organization, granted to only a few select films. In a meeting with Maid Marian, Burning Man Org Mistress of Communications, she said "AquaBurn rocks my world!" Keeping all this in perspective, Breithaupt did all this for the love of Burning Man, receiving no financial compensation from Burning Man Org. All expenses were paid out of his own pocket.
In 2002 Breithaupt departed from his usual one year format and edited a 5 minute short film comprised of 5 years of footage at Burning Man, titled Are You Lost?. He entered it into the Upward Rising Online Film Festival and out of 38 final selections it won 3rd place!
In 2003 Bill Breithaupt was again asked by Burning Man Head of Media Operations Jim Graham to create another film, this time to headline the 2nd Burning Man Film Festival in Santa Cruz, leaving him only one month between Burning Man and the film festival to edit a new film. With less than two weeks till Santa Cruz, Bill took some time off from his grueling editing schedule to attend the Coney Island Short Film Festival in New York. Not only was AquaBurn an official selection in the festival, but it won the title of Best Documentary Short Film. Returning home with a cleared mind, Breithaupt resumed his editing schedule and completed Burning Karma the very morning of the Santa Cruz Burning Man Film Festival.
Burning Karma is darker and more intense than its predecessor, AquaBurn, yet it maintains a focus on the incredible art installations of the year's theme (Beyond Belief). Following many of the artists from AquaBurn, we see Terry Schrek’s project "In God’s Hands", Peter Hudson’s return with Sisyphish, David Best’s Temple of Honor, plus sky diving footage from Brian Burke & the Sky People, all set to classical music and hypnotic techno beats.
Spring of 2004 was a busy time for Bill Breithaupt. AquaBurn was an official selection in the New York International Film & Video Festival, which he attended. After spending a week in New York promoting the film, he flew straight to London for the first international Burning Man Film Festival. A more perfect venue couldn’t have been chosen than the über-hip Ritzy Theater in Brixton. Breithaupt was stoked to find out upon his arrival at the theater that AquaBurn was headlining the London Burning Man Film Festival. At the raging after-party at the Brixtonian Breithaupt bumped into Larry Harvey, founder of Burning Man (who has been known to comment "AquaBurn, yeah, we like that one").
In July of 2004 AquaBurn also headline The Burning Man Film Festival held at the Raven Theater in Healdsburg, CA. It was such a hit with the crowd that they demanded more and an impromptu screening of Burning Karma and Are You Lost? followed, even though most of the audience had already sat through hours of Burning Man films.
A few weeks later Head of Burning Man Media Operations Jim Graham once again offered Bill Breithaupt a spot in the 3rd and final Burning Man Film Festival in Santa Cruz. Breithaupt set out for the playa as usual, for his 6th consecutive year. While he was at Burning Man that year, AquaBurn was once again earning recognition in the film festival circuit. The 2004 Action/Cut Short Film Festival screened and judged nearly one thousand films on the parameters of: subject originality, content realization, visual-storytelling, production values and viewing engagement of work. Having gone through such thorough scrutiny, AquaBurn received the Special Jury Award for Documentary Short. Breithaupt was greeted with the news of his win when he returned home from Burning Man 2004. As if that weren’t encouragement enough, Burning Karma was also beginning to gain notoriety. For the second year in a row one of his Burning Man films, this time Burning Karma, was an official selection in the Coney Island Short Film Festival. Rather than trying to make the trip to New York just days before the Santa Cruz Burning Man Film Festival this year he decided to stay home and edit AstroBlaze.
AstroBlaze, like its prequels, was edited in under a month and premiered at the 3nd annual Santa Cruz Burning Man Film Festival. A mellow, reflective piece, the film focuses on returning artist Peter Hudson and his mind-blowing life-size 3D zoetrope Deeper. Nate Smith’s project, the Singularity Machine, (the fire vortex from 2002 perfected) also gains attention. In the film we are introduced to new artist Kate Raudenbush and her project Observer/Observed, a 10’ x 10’ cube of 2 way mirrors that gives it’s entrants a new perspective. Another new artist featured is David Biggs and his project Constellations, a participatory piece invoking a deeper look at the ties that connect Burning Man participants to one another.
An onslaught of film festivals followed. In November that year AquaBurn headlined the Under the Couch Film Festival in Newport Beach, CA. In December it was shown as a Special Selection Kiosk Film at the Hi Mom! Film Festival in North Carolina.
AquaBurn was chosen as an official selection of the Flint Film Festival in May of 2005, and the Crested Butte Reel Festival in August. In September of 2005 Bill Breithaupt made the trip to New York once again. AstroBlaze was an official selection of the Coney Island Short Film Festival, making it the third consecutive year that one of his films had been chosen by this film festival. Founder Rob Leddy put on a fantastic film festival, with a smashing pre-fest party including a freaky side show & engaging burlesque performances. It was an honor for Breithaupt to attend the festival and present the film to such an eager and appreciative audience. Also attending the festival to support AstroBlaze was one of the stars of the film, Kate Raudenbush.
In February 2006 AquaBurn was chosen for the new Cinequest Online Film Festival. In February of 2007 Burning Karma was chosen to be the only film shown as part of the exhibit "Burning Man & Beyond" hosted for one month by the Santa Rosa Junior College.
Breithaupt has been working on his newest Burning Man films; however they will not be available to the public until direct approval from Burning Man Org is granted. He is looking forward to attending & filming Burning Man.
When he is not making killer films he can be found tearin’ up the slopes in Lake Tahoe with his friends and girlfriend. Although he retired from pro skating some time ago, you might spot him ripping over the newbies at the local skate park.
The SCUBA Dive Master, with over 150 dives under his belt, is also fond of taking trips to Monterey, CA to catch a few shots of the "locals" with his underwater camera.
A Little About Burning Man:
Officially beginning on Baker Beach in 1986, Burning Man began on an impulse when Larry Harvey & Jerry James created a man out of wood and burned him on the beach. Various myths and rumors circulate about what the man represented: a love lost, a memorial to Larry’s father, etc. Larry insists it is not what it represented that matters, but that the act of burning the effigy was the "first recorded form of what we now call ‘radical self-expression’ " (from Burning Man’s MySpace page) a concept that became his gift to the world. Others joined him for the burn on the beach, bringing their influence and arts, having their own moments of "radical self-expression". The crowd grew each year, and in 1990 San Francisco police stepped in to halt the expanding event, and a new location was obtained in the Nevada desert.
Now, over 45,000 people travel to Burning Man Festival at Block Rock City in the Nevada desert to participate in an experience that is unlike any found in modern society. For one week in late August they become part of an experimental community, which challenges its members to express themselves and rely on themselves to a degree that is not normally encountered in day-to-day life. They are to provide their own food, water and shelter, enduring sweltering temperatures often above 110 degrees and overwhelming sandstorms.
In the face of such a formidable environment the society flourishes. There is no commerce, Burning Man is built upon a gift economy mentality. No commercialism, no vending, no money at the Burning Man Festival. Gifting is part of the experience. And an experience it is. All around the playa large art installations challenge the elements, rising above the horizon. Theme camps are abundant, each offering their creativity to passers-by in the form of body painting to grilled cheese sandwiches.
Burning Man is the catalyst for boundary pushing artists & scientists. MIT Press Journal article on Nate Smith & Kiki Petit’s projects. People are beginning to take it seriously as an arts festival, rather than just a bunch of crazy hippies partying in the desert. Dr. Megavolt
On Saturday night the man is burned. All the members of this unusual city convene in the center, watching as the 40 foot structure is ignited. As the flames burn higher and the Man falls, each takes away his own memories and experiences.
One would be wary of truly being oneself, even in such an uninhibited environment, if the threat of exploitation of one's art for any commercial purposes was present. It is for this reason that film and video cameras are forbidden without permission at Burning Man. All video cameras must be registered and tagged. If you are considering filming for professional purposes, you must have a commercial agreement on file with the media team prior to your arrival onsite. Even with an agreement on file, you still must have permission from Burning Man (the Burning Man Organization) to use any images commercially.
This is one reason why AquaBurn is so unique and special. Not only is it a Burning Man sanctioned film, it is also highly entertaining, stunningly beautiful and shockingly hip. It has become the most popular Burning Man film with festival attendees, as well as general public.
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Quote: " How in the world can you not be skating, with all these brand new Sick SkateParks ? " Bill Breithaupt
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