Most mainstream sports fans know Shaun Palmer for his scene-stealing multi-sport performances at the Winter X Games. In the early days of X, Palmer bounced between gold medals in Downhill Mountain Biking and Snowboarder x wins before taking top slots in Skier X and Ultracross, too. Between 1998 and 2001 he earned multiple "athlete of the year" accolades.
But snowboarders know him as something more than a fierce competitor. Palmer played a major role in the development of snowboarding, and for years was the poster boy for the culture's early unruly, anti-conformist attitude. He is also the owner of one of the all-time best methods.
Catching up with Palmer is no easy task. So it's no wonder that the movie version of his life, "Miserable Champion" has taken so long to make it to the screen. The biopic, done by Brad Holmes, traces Palmer's trajectory from childhood through his early snowboarding career and onward through podiums, an overdose, and the end of Olympic dreams due to an Achilles tendon blowout right before the 2006 Winter Games.
Palmer's story is without a doubt unique, revolving around a missing father figure, the influence of drugs and alcohol, and a relentless and some say unmatched desire to win, no matter what the sport. The idea for the film started in 2006, but was delayed when Palmer became injured, and was slow going after because Homes and Palmer wanted to make sure they got the film right.
"Miserable Champion" finally debuted at the X Dance Film Festival in January, and took home awards for "Best Biography" and "Athlete of the Year," so we got Holmes on the phone to find out more.
ESPN: Why are you releasing "Miserable Champion" now?
Holmes: A lot of stuff went down during the making of the movie. Shaun got hurt, and we just wanted to take some time off. And another reason is that this is a totally independent film, we don't have any sponsors or any reason to have to come out with it. We just wanted to make sure it was right, and I thought it would be a good time to release it when Palmer was coming back to the X Games.
What is the backstory behind the film's start/stop production?
Palmer came to me five years ago. I was making ski films at the time, just getting into it. I was kind reluctant because I knew what a huge responsibility it was. He talked me into it, though. The thing was a total Shaun story from birth until now.
Going into the Olympics he blew his Achilles tendon and that seized the project up. And then two months later I blew my Achilles, too, so we were both laid up and just didn't work on it for a while. The film was thrown to Sundance and they were really excited to get it in there, so that kind of forced me to finish it up. I'm happy that happened because we probably would have waited another year.
When is it going to be released to the world at large?
We'll see. It'll probably be out on DVD in three or four months. It's been an incredibly difficult project with all the history and trying to dig up old footage from all the different sports, along with the long interviews.
Why do you feel it was important to make this movie?
Shaun is one of my best friends. I've known him for 35 years -- we grew up skiing together. I think people see him one way, as "the X Games guy," but there is a huge story behind him that people need to see. It's not that easy being Shaun Palmer. He's battled though a lot, and the story is about a guy who just doesn't give up through all these ups and downs. As a filmmaker it's an incredible story and I think it's hard to top. Anyone would love to take on this project.
Was there any challenge in being his best friend and his biographer?
Shaun is all over the place. One minute he'll want to go back to the X Games and the next he'll be in a motocross situation. There are challenges like that, but that's what makes Shaun's story so rad. He's not rooted in one thing that he wants to do in life, and he's got the skills to do all these different things.
What's the biggest thing that fans of Palmer will learn from the film?
Shaun not really having a father figure maybe was a positive thing, because it gave him the opportunity to try all these sports. I grew up a professional skier and my dad didn't want me to go ride motocross because he didn't want me to get hurt. And what you learn from Shaun is that he's an incredible individual, and not having a father figure he kind of did whatever he wanted. I think that's why he is who he is.
