Journey of The white Bear #14: The corridor concept

Before you play the clip above, in the still image, you can see a cameraman just to the left of the rider's back wheel, wearing black shorts and a white shirt with big black circles on it.  That's me in 1989, shooting video of the 2-Hip King of Vert for sponsor Vision Street Wear.  At 1:06 in the clip, Mat Hoffman does a barspin disaster right in front of me.  The way I stumbled into video work is an example of the "corridor concept."

Life Lesson:  When you set a goal and head towards it, other opportunities spring up along the way.

I first heard of the "corridor" or "hallway" concept at a business seminar I went to in about '91.  The speaker was talking about goal setting, which is a big theme in business and success lectures.  But he threw out an idea that I'd never heard before.  He said that when you set a big goal, and start working towards that goal, you will often have great opportunities come out of nowhere.  He compared it to walking down a long hallway in an office building.  Your big goal is the door at the very end of the hallway.  But as you work towards your goal, walking down that hallway, a door will open on the side and present you with an opportunity.

When that happens, you have to decide if you should say "no" to that opportunity, and keep working towards the original goal, or take the opportunity.  The speaker said that this happens continually to people who set goals and work hard toward them.  Sometimes the door that opens, the opportunity, is just a minor distraction and you need to keep going towards your goal.  Other times the opportunity may be much greater than your original goal.  In each case, you have to decide which way to go.

My big goal when I started seriously getting into BMX freestyle in Idaho was to become a pro freestyler, get a factory sponsor, go on tour across the country, and meet lots of girls.  Instead, my family moved to San Jose, California, and I started a zine.  My goal in self-piblishing my zine was to meet and ride with the great riders in the San Francisco Bay Area.  I soon achieved that goal, and focused again on becoming a pro freestyler.  But I liked doing my zine, and kept at it.

Several months later, I got a call from Andy Jenkins, the editor or FREESTYLIN' magazine, asking me to write an article about a contest for them.  A door opened out of nowhere, and I took that opportunity.  Then they offered me a job at Wizard Publications, the publisher of BMX Action and FREESTYLIN' magazines.  Another door opened as I walked down the corridor.  But I kept working towards being a pro freestyler practicing two or three hours nearly every night.  Then I got laid off at the magazines.  I was still a long way from being a pro caliber rider, but I found a factory sponsorship with Raleigh.   I got free bikes for a year, but didn't get paid and we didn't tour.

 I found a job at the American Freestyle Association, editing their newsletter.  A new job, and I kept riding to improve my abilities.  One day, after working a few months, Bob Morales, my boss, walked in and asked me if I wanted to produce a TV commercial for the upcoming contest in Austin, Texas.  I had absolutely no idea how to produce a TV commercial.  Another door opened up along the corridor, and I took the opportunity.  I produced the commercial, with tons of help from the people at Unreel Productions, the video company owned by Vision Street Wear. I went on to produce six contest videos for the AFA that year, and spent a lot of time at Unreel.  In December of that year, Unreel offered me a job.  Another door opened and I took the opportunity.  a couple years later, I was the Unreel staff cameraman, and I wound up on the ramp in the video clip above.

I never became a pro freestyler.  But I did have a factory sponsor for a year, even though it wasn't a company that focused on BMX.  I also wound up going on a summer tour for three weeks with Vision skateboarders Buck Smith, Mike Crum, Chris Gentry, and Mark Oblow.  When Vision got into business trouble, another door opened, and I wound up working on TV shows.  I worked on over 300 individual episodes of a dozen different TV shows in the 90's.  I produced my own bike video, which led to the opportunity to produce and edit the first two videos for S&M Bikes.

As a kid in Idaho, I had what seemed like a ridiculous dream of becoming a pro BMX freestyler, getting a factory sponsorship, and going on tour.  I didn't achieve that goal of becoming a pro.  But  I did get sponsored, and I did go on a tour, and I met a few women along the way.  More important, because of that initial goal, I had opportunities pop up that went far beyond my initial dream.  That's the corridor concept in action.

Sometimes you set a big goal and avoid all distractions to achieve it.  But sometimes even greater opportunities come along on the way to that first goal. Either way, the initial goal and work is worth the effort.