The Crash Reel – Reflections from the Documentary.
I am not a huge snowboarding fan. I am also not a huge fan of documentaries. Regardless, I found myself with the TV on when the new documentary The Crash Reel came on HBO. I wasn’t really watching it to begin with, but slowly it pulled me in and kept my interest. The documentary chronicles the life of Kevin Pearce. It details his rise within the sport of snowboarding. It shows him and Shaun White, along with others as they train and compete. Kevin was weeks away from competing in the Olympics, his ultimate goal, when he suffered severe head trauma while training. The second half of the documentary focused on his recovery and how he and his family have dealt with his traumatic brain injury.
Kevin was extremely lucky considering the severity of his injuries. The documentary also showcased others with similarly injuries who were not as lucky. It talked about and showed how this can happen in other sports like football, surfing, water/snow skiing, motorcycling, etc.
The documentary acknowledged that these athletes take a chance every time they compete or train. While they take as many safety precautions, accidents still happen. Kevin Pearce will never competitively snowboard again. But he has dedicated his life to talking about his TBI and helping others. This was a very good documentary that hits on a lot of different issues within extreme sports, TBI, healing, and growing.
I would recommend this documentary to anyone.
Stay safe and continue sharing the road with pedestrians, cyclists, motorcycles, and all other vehicles.
Thanks for reading!
Patrick
