Austrian trials rider and Red Bull athlete Fabio Wibmer has uploaded his first significant film in more than two years, Video Game, which mixes bike action with gamification. In a Grand Theft Auto style, Wibmer stars as the main character and the film focuses on his typically awe-inspiring biking skills. The Austrian trials bike legend invites his audience into a world inspired by his passion for his favorite video game.
For the uninitiated, Grand Theft Auto is a series of action-adventure video games with gameplay that focuses on an open world where the player can complete missions to progress an overall story, as well as engage in various side activities. The games in the Grand Theft Auto series are set in fictional locations modeled on real-life cities, with the original game's map's based in three cities—Liberty City (based on New York), San Andreas (based on San Francisco) and Vice City (based on Miami).
Fabio's nod to the series starts with him hurtling down a forest line in Innsbruck before hitting the dirt, a real life crash that forced him to pause creating video projects for over a year due to ankle and shoulder injuries. WASTED!
One year on and viewers are transported to the Côte d'Azur, Fabio's home for the video. The video is created to make it feel like the audience is controlling Wibmer and directing him to his next destination on the French Riviera.
The attention to detail is on point, with a city map in the lower corner of the screen, camera work reminiscent of Grand Theft Auto’s third-person interface, familiar dialogue and illustrated loading screens as he navigates dizzying heights, performs his trademark handlebar ride, and stuns the public with tricks, jumps and technical urban riding before ending with a pulsating best downhill mountain bike blast.
Like the game series, no transport is off-limits with Wibmer also taking control of a boat, helicopter, and sports car. He uses three different bikes, with the trials bike a Canyon Stitched CFR FW model that gets the GTA respray during the film, a Canyon Spectral and Canyon Torque also make an appearance.
The 27-year-old explained his motivation to Redbull "It was only a matter of time before somebody combined urban cycling with the signature vibe of GTA. I'm glad we got the opportunity to get this done first. We filmed over 50 days in a heatwave with temperatures up to 40°C and some of the individual scenes were very demanding and required a few attempts.
Another challenge was connecting the different scenes to create a smooth rhythm and flow. The motivation with this kind of project is to push myself, to find ways to make challenges work, even if it's really difficult, until it's done, and it works. The feeling when you get it right definitely motivates me."
In our opinion Fabio definitely gets it right! As GTA character Michael De Santa says "You forget a thousand things everyday, make sure this isn't one of them!'
You can watch Video Game below or on Fabio's YouTube channel.
