We caught up recently with Paul Minihane of Blood Sweat and Gears. Paul like us is not only a huge fan of Motocross but also rides when he’s not filming!
Blood Sweat and Gears has a big following in UK Motocross. How did it all start?
The show started purely by accident, I used to be in a rock band and our old albums were selling for considerable sums on eBay, so we reformed hoping to cash in, our lead guitarist Ralph was working for a small production company at the time producing cage fighting shows whilst I was commentating on the MX scene, we made a demo for fun and the next thing we knew we had a TV show on our hands.
For those that don’t currently watch the program, where and when can they find it?
We are on the extreme sports channel, our current series airs on Saturdays at 10am, 2pm, 8pm and midnight, the channel is available on virgin and sky.
How many guys are involved in getting the program on to the TV?
The whole show is pretty much produced by myself and Ralph, freelance camera guys are used on the shoots but everything else is just me and him.
What’s your favourite race, championship you look forward too?
I’ve got to say I genuinely love all the events, I’m a complete off road nut.
What has Blood Sweat and Gears been up to in 2011?
It’s been a very busy year for us, the show this year is going out to 52 different countries, which has meant a lot more behind the scenes production, scripting it for five languages, plus getting so many events into the twenty episodes, we have covered supercross, enduro, trials, British masters mx, quads, grasstrack, if it’s wheels turned off road we were there.
What will you guys be covering in 2012?
We will continue to expand the show next year, taking on more events, also as a production company, more channels are asking us for content, I think forty shows are so far scheduled next year under various banners. The future for BSG is looking good we will continue to evolve the show towards a more documentary feel, whilst continuing with more generic sports shows under different titles.
A well respected company and TV program with fans really appreciating the coverage you guys give the sport, is this just down to being a rider yourself and understanding what people want?
Thank you very much, that means a lot to us. I hope it does come across that way, making the show has been a huge learning curve, but we still felt as riders ourselves that one of the most important aspects which are not shown was the amateur and youth as they are the backbone of the sport. There is a lot more we would like to put in from an insiders point but that at the moment comes down to time and money.
I know you’re a keen rider yourself, Do you still ride? Or has the business taken over?
That is one thing the show now takes up so much time that I don’t get out as much, but the plus side is I’m working in the sport I love, but I have made a promise to myself for more bike time next year.
Any moments either funny, memorable that stick out from 2011?
The whole year has been a blast, but the most memorable was in Spain. We were out filming with the Toro trail boys doing a feature on extreme trail riding, when WOR promoter Steve Ireland failed to make a climb up a rocky hill that made the hill at Hawkstone look like a pimple. Steve went to spin the bike round and hop back on but instead caught his leg causing him to run down the hill alongside, he got up to about 25mph before binning the bike and himself into a pile of boulders, fortunately Steve was ok and the whole thing caught on camera and radio mic, so a fair amount of bleeping.
