Staying The Course with Filmmaker & Mountain Biker Kelly Magelky
PHOTOGRAPHED BY ESTHER LEE LEACH
WRITTEN BY ANNIE BLOJ // CULTURE & STYLE EDITOR
STYLING BY ANTHONY JORDON // CLOTHING: STATE & LIBERTY
HAIR BY KATE WORKMAN
LOCATION: JW MARRIOTT DENVER CHERRY CREEK
BIKE: ORBEA // TEAM: GO4GRAHAM
Full disclosure, Kelly Magelky was the first new friend I made when my family moved to Colorado! The evening before we relocated, he had asked the only friend I had in Colorado to marry him. It's safe to say that we fell for him pretty quickly as well. Originally from North Dakota, Kelly Magelky is an EMMY nominated producer, director, and editor of short- and long-form nonfiction films. In addition to being an incredibly talented and accomplished filmmaker, he is a champion professional mountain biker. He is deeply connected to the international music and arts culture with the projects that he is currently working on and continues to compete while raising twin boys with his wife, Rachel Sturtz.
Annie Bloj: Kelly- this is so fun! Can you share how you got started both in filmmaking and mountain biking?
Kelly Magelky: It’s always fun to get to chat with you, Annie! It’s interesting for me to look back on how these two aspects of my life essentially became my jobs. I wasn’t athletic when I was younger, but I also didn’t have a lot of time for sports since I was working for my step-dad and learning this whole other trade at his auto shop. My parents were steadfast in their genuine support for whatever I wanted to do and the main point that my step-dad drove home for me was to work hard at whatever I chose to do. I take that advice seriously to this day. At the time, I was really into skateboarding, which ultimately led to my love of filmmaking. I remember seeing a black and white Pepe Jeans commercial in high school that had a bunch of skateboarders in it and I realized what I loved about the sport was the aesthetic of the athlete’s movement and their control over this small piece of wood with wheels attached to it. Dave, a high school friend of mine, and I shot a lot of skate footage in our hometown of Dickinson, ND, and pieced together our first “film”. Later, while I was in engineering school in Colorado, Dave and I were on the phone when he told me I should look into film school. I enjoyed engineering, but he could sense I might be more fulfilled if I pursued a life in film. I promptly switched gears and enrolled in the CU Denver film school.
Around the same time, another friend of mine introduced me to mountain biking. My first attempts at riding the trails around Golden were pitiful, if not a total blast. I was determined to make it to the top of a big technical climb after it defeated me my first time out. However, I persisted and by the 6th day I made it to the top and I was hooked from then on. I’m guessing that was the catalyst that formed me into becoming a climber on the bike.
All of this culminated at the coffee shop where I worked when I met an extraordinary group of people. I’d have to write a novel to explain it all, but the gist is that the people I met went out of their way to either work with me or guide me on my journey in these two passions of mine. I met Olympic and world champion cyclists who began to mentor me and one ultimately became a coach of mine. I also met my collaborators and the people I would end up working with in the film industry while there. I was lucky enough to start my own production company in 2005 as well as get my pro cycling license in 2006 and I owe a lot of the success of those things to the people I was around then.
AB: What do you enjoy the most about the filmmaking process, how do you choose the stories to tell?
KM: I know this can sometimes come across as a cliché answer from filmmakers, but my dream job is to tell stories and I’m beyond lucky to do that as a career, especially in the non-fiction realm. I love the fact that every day is pretty different and that there’s a certain level of problem-solving involved in each day, whether producing, directing, editing, or shooting. I constantly get to meet new people and a part of my job is to understand where they come from, what experiences they have had, and how best to make them feel comfortable.
As far as choosing stories, I ended up navigating toward music and sports early on. I started my production company with a friend who is a musician and just when we were getting things up and running, his band completely took off and he had to focus on a whole new career. I pitched a documentary idea about his band to their record label and by some miracle I got my first shot at directing a pretty high-profile project. I had a lot of confidence going into it because I knew the guys so well and I knew how I wanted to tell their story. After that experience, I knew I needed to tell stories that I cared about and I was getting to know musicians and athletes very well at the time. I heard an interview with a sports journalist a while back and he said what kept him in it for so long was the fact that no matter what, no matter when or where - there will always be drama in sports. There’s always a winner and a loser, and there is plenty of tension that fills the space in between. I love that aspect of the sport. I feel it within my own experience as a cyclist, which makes interviewing other athletes a lot of fun.
AB: Having watched you work on so many fascinating films big and small, local and internationally, it’s apparent how difficult it can be to get a project started and completed. How do you keep going when roadblocks get thrown in your path?
KM: Sometimes a very small problem can seem like a massive issue and a lot of us can chew on those things and make them into a bigger deal than they should be. Historically, I’ve not reacted well to difficult situations and that just led to a ton of unnecessary stress. It took me a while to realize that living like that is unsustainable. I’ve learned to do my best to get an overall perspective on situations and take a breath before reacting. It also helps to have someone you trust who you are working closely with. My co-producer and director of the current doc series we’re working on is a good person to have in my corner for tough situations. Having been self-employed for 17 years I’ve been through so many ups and downs financially, creatively, relationally and in the real dark moments, I can point to specific conversations with friends that were integral in keeping me going and I’ll never be able to express my gratitude for those moments. I think the best thing I can do is pass along those experiences to others, which in a way keeps me going today.
AB: What are some of your proudest achievements as a cyclist and what have you learned from racing that you can apply to your daily life?
KM: First off, I never for a second thought I’d win a bike race at any level. In fact, my first race was as a beginner in Winter Park, CO and I completely imploded in the first 5 minutes and finished 80th out of 87 riders. So last year when I won my 40th race as a pro at age 40 I was overcome with emotion coming across the finish line. I’d say it’s one of my biggest wins, but I also tend to not dwell on the past victories - or defeats. I try to stay present and not put too much value into the past. Some other notables on the bike for me are winning a silver medal in the solo 24-hour world mountain bike championships and two silver medals in the same event in the US Nationals before finally winning the solo 24-hour national series championship in 2017. I have a picture of me holding my twin boys on the podium after winning my 3rd consecutive Maah Daah Hey 100 race a few years ago, which is one of my all-time favorite photos! I’d have to throw in the King of the Rockies wins, too.
As far as what this sport has taught me, I cannot stress enough a few things I’ve learned that has changed my life. A coach once told me to live in the now, because I’ll blink and suddenly be talking about now as “back then”. That hit me profoundly. At the time it was his way of saying, “I know you’re planning on building up to these huge goals this season and even next season, but take in the air and your surroundings every day. Right now you are in the glory days that you’ll be talking about years from now while around a dinner table.” Fortunately, I’ve looked around and taken it all in every step of the way.
Another vitally important lesson the sport taught me was to not put too much value into victories or defeats - whether in sport or life. I’ve won some pretty big races and at the time it’s the absolute most exhilarating and intoxicating feeling, but it had no effect on how strangers viewed me or how my boys reacted around me. It’s so fleeting and such a dangerous measuring stick to make yourself feel valid or like you’re worth something. In an individual sport, you’ll likely lose more than you win so it’s something you have to deal with. I made it a point early in cycling to not let a terrible performance or a crash or a 2nd place (of which I have many) put me in a bad mood. I think we, as humans, feel like the spotlight is always on us, but in reality, it’s not. My ego will feel great if I win an award for the films I work on, but that won’t truly make me a happier person in the long run. I honestly just want to keep doing good work.
AB: You have some big goals planned for the year ahead. What are you looking forward to the most? What has this past year taught you professionally and personally?
KM: On the film front, we have a goal to get our music film out to the world. We’ve been working on it for 7 years and it’s close. Now, this might not mean it will be on screens in 2021 due to the nature of licensing, premiere dates, etc, but we’re close to wrapping it up now that we can travel again and get some final lingering interviews. We’re also working on getting two other doc series out the door. This last year allowed us to hunker down and live in post-production on these films, which has put us in a decent spot moving forward. It’s not lost on me how fortunate I am to have been able to keep working through a pandemic.
As far as cycling, I’m scaling back the number of races I’m doing, but I’m focusing on a few bigger goals/projects like trying to set some FKTs (fastest known times) on some trails out here in the West as well as up in the Dakotas. I switched teams and my bike sponsor for the first time in several years and the focus for me now is certainly to try and win the races I do or set these records, but more importantly, start giving back and possibly tell some stories via the film medium. My team, Go4Graham, has a mission to shred the stigma surrounding mental health and to promote mental wellness through exercise, community, and education. I think it’s as important now as it's ever been considering the last year and a half. I’ve learned so much more about it and about Graham, the team’s namesake, and it’s something I’m very proud to be a part of. Orbea, my bike sponsor, is more interested in telling stories through their athletes than pressuring their athletes to win races. The two just seemed like a great combination that presented itself to me right when I was toying with the idea of retiring from racing. I’m really glad I didn’t!
AB: As usual, there is never enough time to catch up, Kelly! You continue to inspire me with your genuine interest in the world around you, your big heart, and the way you've built a creative community here in Denver.
Kelly Magelky: @k_magelky // Bike: @orbea // @go4graham
Photography: @estherleeleach
Writer: @theblojreport
Hair: @kateworkmanhair
Clothing: @stateandliberty
Location: @jwmarriottden
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