Jim Phelan, an optometrist by day, is the man responsible for filming the Thunderstuck snowmobiling films by night and on weekends.
“I started making movies in 1995,” said Phelan. “I went into still photography just as a hobby through high school and college, and one day my buddy invited me snowmobiling and he said 'bring your camera,' . . . that is how (Thunderstruck) was born.”
Originally named Big Sky Xtreme Team, Phelan changed the name to Thunderstruck in 2000. Over the years, numerous hard core riders have joined the Thunderstruck team and their fans have formed quite the following. In total Thunderstruck holds 11 to 13 premieres each year for their movies. Phelan said that there is anywhere from 200 to 500 people at each premiere, not including some of the riders showcased in the movie.
Phelan said that unlike Sled Necks, which mainly focuses on jumping, Thunderstruck focuses on hillclimbing and deep powder riding.
“We are powder and hard core hillclimbing,” said Phelan. “We do the craziest stuff that we can find. Our average age is 42—we are old men that can’t jump anymore. But we have more money because we have had jobs all our lives so we have better sleds that do things that jumping sleds can’t. It is the perfect trade-off.”
The Thunderstruck team is scattered amongst parts of Canada and the United States. Phelan said that it order to get the best shots captured on film, they have to constantly look for prime weather conditions. In fact, Phelan won’t include shots of cloudy days in his movies.
“Have you ever seen Tornado Chasers on TV?” said Phelan. “We are like snow chasers. We will seriously go anywhere that there is sunshine and snow. I watch the weather and I watch the snow and that is how we do it. We film in Utah, Montana, Wyoming, Idaho and lots in British Columbia—the Castlegar area, the Slocan Valley and Revelstoke.”
A sledding guru
Randy Swenson, an accomplished sledder and the regional sales representative in Western Canada for Yamaha, is one of the stars of the Thunderstruck movies, according to Phelan. In fact, Swenson won the 2009 Xtremey Award, given to the best rider in a snowmobile film.
Swenson lives in Summerland, B.C., and said that his backcountry playground is near Revelstoke, B.C. From an early age, Swenson embraced the winter months and turned his passion into his career.
“My love of winter and snow has always been there,” said Swenson. “I gravitated to recreational backcountry free riding and went hard core the last 15 years. I joined up with Thunderstruck seven or eight years ago and have rode in every movie ever since . . . It is my passion, it is my hobby, it is my life.”
The next Thunderstruck movie premier will take place in Kelowna on October 2. No venue has been selected at this time but information will become available on the Thunderstruck website. The final film premier of the year will take place in Lewistown, Montana, during the last weekend of October.
