Danny Boy

It’s the morning of the Gravel National Championships and Big Brennan Wertz and I are making our way downtown to the start line when my phone starts buzzing. It’s videographer extraordinaire Danny Awang. I’ve negotiated my way into his signature Chevy Astro van for today’s race and I couldn’t be more stoked. Danny is not only indescribably talented with the moving pictures, but he’s the consummate professional. Danny wants to know what type of snacks I want for today’s adventure. I have no idea. Not only have I never been asked what snacks I want in the chase vehicle, I’ve never had snacks in a chase vehicle. I tell him “dealer’s choice.” You can immediately tell Danny spends a fair amount of time on the road, as he has thought of everything. There are bananas and beef jerky and sour patch kids and water and… the list goes on. We will not be going hungry out on today’s 130 mile course.

As the day wears I begin to wonder if Danny is actually working. I mean he tracks the race like a pro and we always seem to be one-step ahead of the race, but he also wanders around the road like he’s looking at the flora and fauna. He recognizes riders by name from an absurd distance away, flies his drone like he’s playing pacman and then climbs in his wonder van and does it over and over all day long. His calm demeanor is both impressive and at times unsettling. While everyone around him has their heart rate pugged (including me), it’s as if everyone around him is sped up, but Danny is part of some absurd slo-mo clip. You know. Like in the movies. At the end of the day, as I am panickily looking through my photos for anything usable, up pops a video on my instagram feed from Danny. The video is from today and it is pitch perfect. It captures perfectly what it felt like to be at the National Gravel Championships. It’s both journalistically accurate and beautifully artistic. The fact the race finished just a short bit ago, makes this little edit all that more magical.

He’s not only an artist, but a miracle worker. Truth be told, I’m a little envious of his talent.

So, let’s find out a little bit more about Danny Awang, the filmmaker documenting gravel.

Danny can you start us off with a little biographical information to orient us. And don’t just share the “facts” with us, give us a little behind the scenes Danny.

So I was born in Silver Spring, Maryland and have spent essentially the majority of my life in Bowie, MD. (I’m a sucker for geographic specifics). However, earlier this summer I made the leap out to Colorado and I’m currently based in Lafayette, just east of Boulder.

Danny, I’ve run into you in all kinds of crazy places, but mostly all over the heartland of America. Can you give us a quick rundown of this year's highlighted covered events?

This year was a comfortably busy year covering many of the marquee gravel races starting at Mid South Gravel and going to each of the Life Time Grand Prix races as well as SBT and USA Gravel Nationals where we got to spend some time together. I also got to travel to Western States and the Hard Rock 100, two of the biggest running races out there.

There are a lot of people trying to make a living being creative, but it seems like so many of them are trying to do it all, words, photos, video, running social channels, etc. You seem to be focused on creating the moving pictures. Was this a conscious decision or did it just work out that way. Was video always the game plan?

I’d say honing in on video was a conscious decision. I have a love for both mediums and I’m trying to think whether it’s a chicken or egg situation but I’d say they both came into my life at about the same time which all started as a means for documenting my lived experience. When I started down the path of trying to make a living through creative work, video was the choice for a couple reasons. I love how all encompassing the process is. Being able to incorporate the sounds of an experience, the opportunity for the subject to have infinite space to express themselves, and ultimately how the post production is a true blank canvas to turn a hard drive full of files into something meaningful. And secondly, I saw opportunities. I’m not saying I had some crystal ball or anything because I have to give a nod to Behind the Barriers and the Rapha Gone Racing films which were inspirations for me. I’d say with the introduction of the Life Time Grand Prix and more athletes having a platform in the US; I was in the right place at the right time to capitalize on a really cool opportunity.

I see you crisscrossing the country in what appears to be a cross between the Scooby-Dooby mobile and A-Team van (I know I might be dating myself, but tough). Of all the possible van-life meets media vehicles, how did this particular choice come about?

I knew I wanted some sort of van since high school. What opened my mind to the possibility was reading some Climbing Magazine article or Youtube video that was highlighting Alex Honnold’s rig. I believe it was a Ford E-350 or something. I always figured I’d get one of those, but when I was finally able to drive and buy myself a car the Ford vans just seemed bigger than what I wanted to have as a daily driver. That’s when I discovered the Chevy Astro, which is probably dating myself given this is like 2016 (11 years after the Astro was discontinued LOL). Love at first sight. Perfect size for someone who never planned to live out of it full time, but wanted the space to take long trips and haul gear/friends. I loved it so much that I got another one when my first called it quits.

How many miles do you rack up in a given year?

I didn’t do the specific math but I’m probably averaging 1.85 coast to coast trips per year over the past 5 years. Last year might be my most miles and I think it was somewhere around ~25,000 miles?

I am curious about what your favorite part of your job is and what might be your least favorite part of your job.

There’s so much to love about this job, but I’d say I really enjoy the variety on a week to week basis. I get to travel to so many different places, every project is different, and I think it just works for my brain and my current lifestyle. I joke a lot after an event finishes by saying “now the real work begins”. Tight turnarounds are probably my least favorite part but that’s just a part of the game.

For the nerds, can you give us a rundown on what equipment you are using day to day and maybe the one piece of gear you are lusting after at the moment.

My kit is pretty simple and this is probably the first year I haven’t made any significant changes because I’m quite happy with it. I shoot 90% of my work with the Sony FX3 with a hodgepodge of various lenses. I have the Sony a7IV as a B cam and for the occasional stills assignment.

If there was one thing you wish the brands and athletes you document knew about your job which would make it easier and more fulfilling what might that be.

Any time this conversation comes up I always say I'm so lucky to work with the brands and athletes that I work with. They are available and game for anything and everything.

I always hear how time consuming editing video can be, what percentage of time would you say you spend actually documenting and what percentage do you spend hacking away at your keyboard?

The rumors are true! Video editing is quite time consuming. I always envy my photographer friends who can close their laptop, leave the media room, and say “done!” the evening of the race. My typical workload with short form video deliverables would entail another 2 or 3 days of work. Long form projects are case by case but could be weeks of editing.

What is the weirdest place you have ever had to hole up and edit in order to meet a deadline?

I love this question because you gotta get creative. I’m definitely one to go out of their way to find a nice coffee shop but sometimes you just don’t have the option. One time I was at a Panera in Falmouth, MA and when they closed I had to leech off their wifi sitting on the curb just outside the store. It turns out they turn the wifi off an hour after they close, and I found myself driving around until I found a Dunkin’ with their wifi still on. A cop pulled up on me wondering what the hell I was doing. I don’t think he understood, but thankfully he didn’t give me a hard time. The list expands to various McDonald’s, semi formal pizza restaurants, hotel lobbies where I did not have accommodations, Denny’s inside of TA rest stop, etc.

Is there one event or destination on your bucket list you are hoping to tick off next year?

There’s a few events I would love to see eventually. Paris-Roubaix, Tour of Flanders, and some of the MTB World Cups. I’m not sure if any of those will work out this coming year, but I’m really excited to be heading to Belgium for the Kerstperiode races this year. I’ve always wanted to see the heart of cyclocross and this year it’s finally in the cards to go and experience it firsthand.

Okay, time for a little dish. Do you have a favorite athlete or two you love to work with? Are the brands or the event promoters more difficult to work with? Are you getting all the free shwag or is it a myth the brands throwing free products around to all you creatives.

Tea!! Like I said before, I’m really happy with the relationships I’ve gotten to build with the athletes and brands that I work with. I have to give a shoutout to Jeremiah Bishop who received my shot in the dark IG video message and allowed me to follow him to many races and introduced me to a ton of great people. I’ve also spent a ton of time with Ryan Standish over the past couple of years who I now consider a good friend. I’m grateful to have formed some sort of friendship with lots of athletes that I’ve worked with. It’s more than just showing up to a start line with a camera. It’s sweaty hugs after a great race, occasionally a ride to the ER, chats without the camera rolling, and much more. As for sick schwag, I can only speak from my own experience haha. I’m not very good at asking for things so not too many goodies are being collected over here, but I have done my fair share of trading work for products that I’m stoked on.

We are super excited you are sharing your polaroid project with us. Can you tell us a little about how it came about, what drives you to do it and if there is some secret longterm plan or is it just something you enjoy.

After I quit my job to pursue freelancing again I went on a cross country road trip. I found this cool camera store somewhere in Chicago and they had a few Fuji Instax Wide cameras in stock. It was definitely a bit of an impulse buy, but I documented most of that road trip with that camera and I was in love. When I started to travel to bike races, I brought it along as a 3rd cam just for personal fun. Then it turned into a great thing to gift to people and also as a way to introduce myself. Fellow creatives know we never get photos of ourselves so I started to observe everyone else at work. Imagine them kneeling in a bush, squinting through the viewfinder as riders whiz by. Then “Hi I’m Danny, here’s this cool photo I got of you.” It’s a fun way to start a conversation, a little something to remember me by, and I get a lot of joy seeing their reactions. It’s one of the cheapest cameras I own, and it might be my favorite.