Matthias Dandois on ice!

"Cold Was The Ground" is a project we filmed in the north of Sweden, on the Haven Islands, in the middle of winter, with temperatures far below zero. I wanted to see if it was possible to ride BMX on a frozen lake. In BMX, slipping is usually your worst enemy. You’re always looking for grip and control. This project was about doing the exact opposite: putting myself in a situation where sliding is constant, and learning how to deal with it. Riding on ice is completely different. There’s no grip, everything moves, and you have to rethink your entire balance. It’s one of the hardest riding conditions I’ve ever experienced. But what makes it even more intense, is that the lake is never still. The ice cracks, shifts, and produces deep, resonant sounds all the time. It feels like you’re riding on something alive. To make it possible, I built special tires with screws in them to get traction on the ice. It turned an impossible surface into something I could actually ride. The only downside is when you make contact with the spikes tires it's quite unforgiving. This project is about adapting, experimenting, and pushing BMX into a place where it doesn’t belong. For the sake of progression, for the sake of making something beautiful." - Matthias Dandois