What film has had the greatest impact on Blister’s managing editor, Luke Koppa? The one we’re talking about today. ‘180° South’ details the adventures, friendship, and philosophies of Yvon Chouinard and Doug Tomkins; it documents Jeff Johnson’s attempt to retrace their 1968 trip to Patagonia; it features an all-time soundtrack and the animation & artwork of Geoff McFetridge; and the film is just as relevant today as it was when it came out 15 years ago. Let Us Know Your Thoughts! Email us he...
Jul 08, 2025•49 min•Ep. 44
Today we’re talking about a film that just celebrated its 60th anniversary. ’Ski Party’ came out on June 30, 1965; it stars a couple major actors and singers; and when we recently learned of its existence, we immediately knew who we needed to recruit to watch and discuss this movie: Amie Engerbretson. Is ‘Ski Party’ a great movie? In some ways, Yes. Is it also a terrible movie? Maybe. But should you watch it? Definitely! And today you’re going to hear Amie and Jonathan talk about it all, includi...
Jul 01, 2025•1 hr 28 min•Ep. 43
Last week we discussed Forrest Gump, a film that Brendan Leonard believes introduced millions of people to ultrarunning. Today, Cody and Jonathan discuss what many regard as the greatest ultra film of all time, ‘ Unbreakable: The Western States 100 .’ It documents the 2010 running of Western States, and the 2025 race happens this Saturday, June 28. As always, Cody and I discuss what’s aged the best, what’s aged the worst, who needed BLISTER+ the most, and more. Let Us Know Your Thoughts! Email u...
Jun 24, 2025•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 42
Forrest Gump premiered on June 23, 1994, then went on to get nominated for 13 Oscar awards, and Tom Hanks won for Best Actor. But according to Brendan Leonard ( semi-rad.com ), the real story is that this blockbuster film introduced millions of people to the sport of ultrarunning. So Brendan and Jonathan discuss that, plus what’s aged the best, what’s aged the worst, who needed BLISTER+ the most, and more. RELATED LINKS: BLISTER+ Get Yourself Covered TOPICS & TIMES: Why This Film?(1:18) Impr...
Jun 17, 2025•1 hr 23 min•Ep. 41
On this day — June 10 — in 1982, ‘E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial’ premiered in the USA. This film by Steven Spielberg won multiple Oscar awards, became the highest-grossing film of all time, and caused a significant boost in BMX-style bike sales. So today, Jonathan Ellsworth & Simon Stewart revisit E.T. and discuss what’s aged the best, what’s aged the worst, “loose parenting,” Reese’s Pieces, who needed BLISTER+ the most, and more. RELATED LINKS: BLISTER+ Get Yourself Covered 2019 E.T. Commerci...
Jun 10, 2025•1 hr 23 min•Ep. 40
Forty years ago (May 22, 1985), snowboarding was featured for the first time ever in a massive, mainstream film: the James Bond movie, ‘A View to a Kill’. So in honor of its 40th anniversary, Jonathan, JBobb, and Simon break down the opening on-snow action of the film; discuss its historical significance; and share a number of wild facts about this crazy movie and its star-studded cast. RELATED LINKS: BLISTER+ Get Yourself Covered YouTube: The Ski/Snowboard Scene CO Snowsports Museum: Bond’s Sno...
May 27, 2025•1 hr 23 min•Ep. 39
Cody and Jonathan discuss The Eiger Sanction, because it celebrates its 50th anniversary this week; it stars Clint Eastwood, who was the biggest movie star in the world at the time; and, perhaps most importantly here, Alex Honnold has called The Eiger Sanction the most realistic climbing film that Hollywood has ever produced. So … is Alex right? And how does the rest of the film hold up? RELATED LINKS: BLISTER+ Get Yourself Covered TOPICS & TIMES: Why ‘The Eiger Sanction’? (1:44) Satire or S...
May 20, 2025•1 hr 14 min•Ep. 38
Today, we are talking to Mountain Gazette editor, Mike Rogge, about the film ‘Jeremiah Johnson’ that stars one of the most famous actors of all time, Robert Redford. So why did Mike want to discuss this film that came out 53 years ago? Why was it so important to Robert Redford? How did it end up becoming one of the most popular GIFs / memes today?? And how well does the film hold up? RELATED LINKS: BLISTER+ Get Yourself Covered Mountain Gazette TOPICS & TIMES: Next Week’s Film (1:08) Why ‘Je...
May 13, 2025•1 hr 18 min•Ep. 37
‘ Downhill ’ stars A-list actors and comedians (Will Ferrel, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Zach Woods); features realistic skiing; takes place entirely at a ski resort; and was released on Valentine’s Day. So it must be every skier’s favorite Rom-Com, right? Not exactly. Today, you’ll hear Amie and Jonathan’s strong reactions to one of the most puzzling ski movies we’ve ever seen. RELATED LINKS Get Yourself Covered: BLISTER+ Join Us! Blister Summit 2025 TOPICS & TIMES: Why ‘Downhill’? (2:15) The 10 M...
Feb 15, 2025•1 hr 11 min•Ep. 36
Jonathan talks with Nikolai Schirmer about snow monk warriors, obsessive weirdos, and his outstanding new movie, ‘Ski: The Greatest Ski Tour of All Time.’ Plus, Cody Townsend (who is in the film) joins in to talk about the evolution of ski culture, filmmaking, and more. RELATED LINKS Watch the Trailer for ‘SKI’ Get Yourself Covered: BLISTER+ Join Us! Blister Summit 2025 TOPICS & TIMES: BLISTER+ Member Competing @ Kings & Queens (0:44) Niko’s Film Tour & Travels (3:00) Cody's Involvem...
Feb 06, 2025•1 hr 12 min•Ep. 35
Jonathan and Amie Engerbretson break down Katie Burrell’s ski comedy, Weak Layers . It’s a hilarious, not-very-suitable-for-work movie that features many of your favorite skiers and an incredible number of great lines, but please, just remember to “Shhhhhhh!” RELATED LINKS Get Yourself Covered: BLISTER+ Join Us! Blister Summit 2025 Blister Summit Awards 2024 TOPICS & TIMES: Why This Film? (2:43) Most Rewatchable Scenes (16:31) The Lead Actors (21:58) Best Lines (28:17) Cameos (33:20) Hottest...
Jan 28, 2025•1 hr 10 min•Ep. 34
Mike and Jonathan talk about the state of snowsports films today, and make the case for 5 new films from 2024 that deserve your attention. So check out these films, let us know what you think of them, and let us know what else you think were some of the standout films of 2024. RELATED LINKS Get Yourself Covered: BLISTER+ Join Us! Blister Summit 2025 Blister Summit Awards 2024 TOPICS & TIMES: Jonathan is Skiing, Mike’s Watching Ducks (2:29) Circle of Madness , Markus Eder & Viktor de Le R...
Dec 31, 2024•51 min•Ep. 33
Amie Engerbretson and Jonathan discuss this Lyndsay Lohan Rom-Com / Christmas / Ski movie, and have a very festive time debating whether it’s a Christmas delight or a modern-day dumpster fire. All that, plus you have an opportunity to win a brand new pair of Atomic skis. Check it out! RELATED LINKS Get Yourself Covered: BLISTER+ Blister Summit 2025 Watch: Falling for Christmas Watch: Blue Hour TOPICS & TIMES: Amie Goes All In On Christmas (3:38) Amies' New Film, Blue Hour (5:20) Ugly Christm...
Dec 17, 2024•1 hr 15 min•Ep. 32
In honor of its 30th anniversary, we’re discussing one of Cody’s all-time favorite movies; you’ll learn why it’s such an important movie to him; and you’ll hear Cody make the case for Dumb & Dumber being the greatest ski movie ever?? Check it out, and let us know if you agree. RELATED LINKS Get Yourself Covered: BLISTER+ TOPICS & TIMES: Very Dumb Bets (3:00) Greatest Ski Movie Ever?? (6:08) Fun Facts & Film Factoids (12:41) Most Rewatchable Scenes (29:44) Best Lines (35:44) What's Ag...
Dec 10, 2024•1 hr 20 min•Ep. 31
Jonathan talks with Connor Ryan, Ryan McClure, and Isaiah Branch-Boyle about their powerful new film, Surviving Our Story . This film is a ‘must watch’ for anyone who backcountry skis, splitboards, snowmobiles — or does any form of backcountry travel on snow. RELATED LINKS Get Yourself Covered: BLISTER+ TOPICS & TIMES: Conditions That Day (4:45) 1st Slide (10:34) 2nd Slide (14:07) Making Contact with Ryan (23:03) Isaiah's Perspective (26:52) Ryan’s Femur (28:49) Search and Rescue (32:32) ‘Pe...
Dec 03, 2024•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 30
James Bond films have probably put skiing and snowboarding in front of more people than any other film series. So Jonathan and James-Bond-aficionado, Simon Stewart, discuss this fact, then, in honor of the 25th anniversary of ‘The World is Not Enough,’ they break down that film — and its absolutely-all-time ski scene. RELATED LINKS Get Yourself Covered: BLISTER+ Get Our Winter Buyer’s Guide Watch: The Ski Scene TOPICS & TIMES: Why James Bond? (2:22) The World Is Not Enough (8:04) Film Factoi...
Nov 27, 2024•1 hr 29 min•Ep. 29
55 years ago today, the movie ‘Downhill Racer’ came out, and it starred two legendary actors, Robert Redford and Gene Hackman. The film critic Roger Ebert calls this “the greatest sports movie ever made,” and today, Jonathan discusses ‘Downhill Racer’ with one of the greatest American downhillers of all time, Daron Rahlves. Now normally, our advice is that you should watch the film before listening to our conversation about it, but in the case of ‘Downhill Racer,’ we think that listening to our ...
Oct 29, 2024•1 hr 38 min•Ep. 28
Jonathan talks with our great friend and longtime Blister reviewer, Paul Forward, about a beautiful new series of three short films about Paul, called The Hard Way . It is presented by Sitka Films, and it delves into Paul’s lifelong passion for traditional bow hunting, and the ethics that guide Paul’s practice. Paul and Jonathan have talked about some of these topics on various Blister podcasts, and we’ll include a link to those conversations in the show notes of this episode. But today, Paul an...
Oct 15, 2024•1 hr 19 min•Ep. 27
Today, Simon Stewart is joined by former pro cyclist Joe Park to revisit the 1977 documentary, A Sunday in Hell , often regarded as the greatest bike racing film of all time. Having raced the 1988 Paris-Roubaix, Joe brings a perspective only someone who has suffered on the infamous cobbles of “The Hell of the North” can offer. Director Jørgen Leth’s gritty documentary style puts you right there on the famed cobbles of northern France to witness the 1976 edition of the Paris-Rounbaix road race, w...
Oct 08, 2024•1 hr 10 min•Ep. 26
Jeremy Jones & Jonathan Ellsworth revisit the 2010 film, Deeper, that Jeremy calls the most important movie of his snowboarding career — which is saying something, coming from a guy who was named snowboarder of the year 10 times, and a guy who’s starred in over 100 films. But there is no question that DEEPER represents a watershed moment in snowsports films, when riders like Jeremy, Travis Rice, and Xavier De Le Rue are here pushing the limits of what is possible on the steepest slopes. In o...
Oct 01, 2024•1 hr 12 min•Ep. 25
One of the best (and unique) things about snowsports is that, every fall, we get to meet up as a community, go to some theater, and watch together the season’s new ski and snowboard films. So on this episode, we celebrate the start of Ski Movie Season with Drew Petersen. Drew talks about the major impact that ski movie screenings made on him; he names some of his all-time favorite ski movies, he talks about his role today in running the Salomon Quality Ski Time Film Tour , and we offer a sneak p...
Sep 24, 2024•37 min•Ep. 24
20 years ago, ‘ Yearbook,’ one of the most star-studded ski movies of all time, was released. So last week on Blister Cinematic , we talked with Matchstick’s Murray Wais and Scott Gaffney about the making of the film, and today, we’re talking with three of the stars of the film, Hugo Harrisson , Ingrid Backstrom , and Mark Abma . RELATED LINKS: BLISTER+ Get Yourself Covered Read Now : Our 24/25 Digital Winter Buyer’s Guide Order Now : Our 24/25 Winter Buyer’s Guide CHECK OUT OUR OTHER PODCASTS: ...
Sep 17, 2024•1 hr 47 min•Ep. 23
20 years ago this week, ‘ Yearbook,’ one of the most star-studded ski movies of all time, was released. So today we talk with Matchstick’s Murray Wais and Scott Gaffney about the behind-the-scenes insanity; the in-front-of-the-camera surprises; the incredible soundtrack; the styles of Seth Morrison & Hugo Harrisson; and more. And tune in next week where some of the stars of the film (Ingrid Backstrom, Hugo Harrisson, & Mark Abma) will be sharing their ‘Yearbook’ stories. RELATED LINKS: B...
Sep 10, 2024•1 hr 21 min•Ep. 22
There’s no denying that the film Rad is a cult classic. Released in 1986 at the height of BMX popularity, it artfully combines BMX freestyle and BMX racing, with a classic underdog story based on the life of BMX freestyle legend, Eddie Fiola. Today, Eddie joins Simon Stewart, along with BMX Hall of Famer Jen Zeuner, in a fun conversation about this iconic bike film where we discuss how Eddie got the call to be in the movie; director Hal Needham being a badass; getting knocked out; the terrifying...
Sep 03, 2024•1 hr 17 min•Ep. 21
Brendan and Jonathan discuss the 1976 movie, Rocky, because Brendan has made the bold claim that Rocky is the greatest running movie of all-time. See if you agree, but even if you don’t, this is a fantastic movie and we think you’ll enjoy this conversation. RELATED LINKS: BLISTER+ Get Yourself Covered CHECK OUT OUR OTHER PODCASTS: Blister Podcast Bikes & Big Ideas GEAR:30 CRAFTED Off The Couch TOPICS & TIMES: Brendan’s Upcoming 50k (3:12) Background on ‘Rocky’ (5:09) Brendan’s Hot Take (...
Aug 20, 2024•1 hr 20 min•Ep. 20
Kevin Costner, bike racer? Yep. American Flyers was released 39 years ago this week, and Costner would go on to make some of the best sports films of all time, including Bull Durham , Field of Dreams , and Tin Cup . So how well does this bike film hold up? How does it compare to the other bike film written by Steve Tesich, Breaking Away ? Jonathan and Simon discuss — and also come up with might be their best idea ever for a prequel. RELATED LINKS: BLISTER+ Get Yourself Covered CHECK OUT OUR OTHE...
Aug 13, 2024•1 hr 31 min•Ep. 19
Whether he’s gutting out an ultramarathon, getting himself focused to ski a very techy line, or whether he’s starting conversations about topics that we often avoid, Drew Petersen has gotten very good at going deep. And in his latest film, Feel It All , Drew proves this once again. I sat down with Drew last week to have a very real, very raw conversation about some of the topics raised in ‘Feel It All’: why each of us ought to evaluate our relationships to running and skiing and other outdoor sp...
Jul 23, 2024•59 min•Ep. 18
Breaking Away features one of the biggest and coolest bike races out there (the Little 500, which is still held every year at Indiana University) while also doubling as a fantastic coming-of-age film. So in honor of the 45th anniversary of its release, Jonathan & Simon, debate what’s aged the best; discuss the most rewatchable scenes; and Simon drops the hottest of Hot Takes. Enjoy! RELATED LINKS: BLISTER+ Get Yourself Covered CHECK OUT OUR OTHER PODCASTS: Blister Podcast Bikes & Big Ide...
Jul 16, 2024•1 hr 38 min•Ep. 17
What outdoor sports film has the most star-studded cast of all time? Probably the 2017 mockumentary, ‘Tour de Pharmacy.’ And with the Tour de France starting this Saturday, we thought it was the perfect time to watch and discuss this hilarious, kinda disturbing, completely ludicrous, and very NSFW film. RELATED LINKS: BLISTER+ Get Yourself Covered CHECK OUT OUR OTHER PODCASTS: Blister Podcast Bikes & Big Ideas GEAR:30 CRAFTED Off The Couch TOPICS & TIMES: This Film: WTF?? (0:00) Hollywoo...
Jun 25, 2024•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 16
Our guest today is David Mesfin, the writer, director, and producer of " Wade in the Water: A Journey into Black Surfing and Aquatic Culture ." The film delves into the 1000-year-old tradition of Black surfing, tracing its roots from Africa to the Americas, and highlights some of the incredible black surfers and impressive surfing organizations that are writing the next chapters of this tradition. RELATED LINKS: wadeinthewaterproject.com BLISTER+ Get Yourself Covered CHECK OUT OUR OTHER PODCASTS...
Jun 18, 2024•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 15
