Salt Lake City has a long history of Sunday closures because of its deep religious background and traditions—duh. There was a time when businesses, restaurants, bars—pretty much everything—were closed on Sundays, and not always by choice. Blue laws prohibited many commercial activities and retail sales on Sundays. Times have shifted, and today plenty of restaurants and bars are open—including The Clubhouse, where we locked in the first showing of Videograss’s two-year movie, LIFEFORM.
There are so many lanes we could take this recap, but Sunday Service feels the strongest. Justin Meyer delivering the sermon. LIFEFORM as the gospel. And the congregation showed up.
We tested the whole “But nothing is open on Sunday!” theory. On paper, it seemed questionable. Who throws a snowboard premiere on a Sunday in a notoriously sleepy state?
Turns out, it doesn’t matter what day of the week it is. People will show up for Videograss.
We didn’t technically break any blue laws, but there was definitely no sleeping at The Clubhouse. I’ve been going to snowboard premieres for over a decade now, and with this being the first stop of my fall premiere tour, I’d call it Sunday School—a lesson in what a snowboard premiere should look like.
The doors opened at 7 p.m., and by 8, The Clubhouse was packed. All ten riders ( Reid Smith, Jill Perkins, Justin Phipps, Mike Liddle, Kennedi Deck, Norm Schoff, Ben Bilodeau, Spencer Schubert, Cody Warble, and Dan Liedah) and the main filmers/editors (Justin Meyer & Colt Morgan)were there, and I’d guess somewhere around 300–400 people showed up for Sunday Service.
This VG offering has been two years in the making, and none of the riders had seen the finished movie before. This was truly the first look—and judging by the reactions in the room, we can’t wait to get this thing in front of everyone else.
The first rider’s name came across the screen: Cody Warble. And in classic snowboard-premiere fashion, about two minutes in, the USB disconnected. The crowd immediately let us know—we weren’t missing a second of this movie. We sorted it out, started over, and picked right back up with no energy left behind.
Thirty minutes later, everyone had felt the gospel. Thank you Skull Candy, Brighton, and Clubhouse for helping us through the world Premiere.
Reid Smith, Jill Perkins, Justin Phipps, Mike Liddle, Kennedi Deck, Norm Schoff, Ben Bilodeau, Spencer Schubert, Cody Warble, Dan Liedahl, and more
FILMED ON LOCATION IN
Baltimore, Cincinnati, Japan, New York City, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, Montreal, Pittsburgh, Poland, Stockholm, Utah, and more
Filmed & Edited By: Justin Meyer and Colt Morgan
