How a builder and his pro surfing mate became adventure-film creators.
When builder Matt Gilsenan and his mate, Blake Thornton, released their action-based documentary Chase That Feeling earlier this year they packed out the Randwick Ritz cinema in Sydney’s eastern suburbs. It was the sort of premiere where the crowd weren’t afraid to hoot and holler at the on-screen action. The film, which is now available on streaming platform Garage Films, follows Matt and Blake as they surf and snowboard through Canada, Iceland, Alaska, Australia, New Zealand and Tahiti. While the film was shot over a seven-year period in the pre-Covid era, it’s really the culmination of a life-long journey marked by friendship, major challenges and a lust for adventure.
Early days in Maroubra and beyond
Matt and Blake grew up in Maroubra, and while the long, crescent-shaped beach was a fantastic aquatic playground, the surrounding suburb was a forest of apartment blocks, hard edges and high-density living. Once they got their licenses, the two friends would travel up and down the coast chasing different waves and new experiences.
“We always had a handycam and used to film each other surfing,” reflects Matt from the office of South Sydney Constructions, the busy, eastern suburbs building company he co-owns.
Work hard, ride hard
At a young age Blake’s surfing rapidly improved, and despite being a gifted junior rugby league player he gravitated towards a career in professional surfing. It was regularly Matt who found himself behind the lens, shooting clips of his talented friend, which could be used to provide performance feedback or to create mini films. When Blake eventually began following the professional circuit, Matt elected to pursue his own passion for snowboarding. At age 20 he moved to Whistler, the Canadian ski-town famous for its steep, snow-covered peaks and party lifestyle. Whistler runs on a motto of ‘work hard, ski hard and play hard’, so it was a great place to be based at that age. But Matt’s parents urged him to make good use of the time overseas, and with a nudge from mum and dad he took up a carpentry apprenticeship in Canada.
Under the commonwealth trades scheme all his qualifications would be recognised back in Australia, so Matt could hammer away, confident in the knowledge he would be able to work when he returned home.
On the frigid foothills of the mountains, Matt soon learned to strap on his tool belt in any conditions.
“It starts to rain a little bit here (Australia) and the sites shut down, but over there it’s absolutely torrential rain and snow and they just put their rain jackets on and keep going.
“Sometimes it was minus-20 and you were wearing full snow outfits and gloves and having to use blow torches to clear all the ice and snow off the slabs and the timber before you started the work for the day,” he explained.
Meanwhile, in summer they’d pull twelve- hour shifts to make up for time lost in winter when the days were short and the work was slowed down by the weather.
Despite the stoic approach, Matt remembers the bosses were also open- minded when it came to making the most of the Whistler lifestyle.
“The beauty of living in a ski town was everyone was kind of there for the same reason,” said Matt. “The boss of the construction company would say, ‘If it snows over 20cm, go snowboarding and then come into work after you get a few hours in.’”
Once upon a time in Mexico
With a trade to his name and miles of fresh tracks lining his memories, Matt eventually returned to Australia, and it wasn’t long before he reunited with Blake and started plotting their next adventure. They journeyed to Mexico where Matt once again picked up the camera and soon discovered technology had improved dramatically since his early projects with the family camcorder. Matt relished having equipment that could document surfing action, classic scenery, travel lifestyle and people.
“They were really, really hospitable to us, and I just got some amazing shots of local people and filmed as much of the journey as possible,” he recalls.
Back home Matt sifted through the footage and turned it into a short-film called The Journey Begins. It was well received when Matt and Blake released it online, which gave them the confidence to start documenting their adventures on a grander scale.
Cameras loaded
For their next trip, the intrepid duo plotted a month-long itinerary that incorporated Canada and Alaska. The idea was to pick locations that would encompass their dual passions for surfing and snowboarding while sharing the filming responsibilities for the entire journey. In Tofino, Canada, they camped out in a coastal wilderness where bears, cougars and wolves roam the forests. They almost lost all their supplies when the esky broke open as they swum it to shore on an isolated island, a scene that would later provide comic relief to the finished film.
One morning they woke to find giant, wolf- paw prints in the sand and felt reassured their guide had a brought a shotgun along just in case.
“Behind us was just dense forest,” remembers Matt. “If you had to go back there to go to the bathroom or something, you made sure you let someone know.”
To surf, they hauled on thick rubber suits and donned booties and gloves. The water may have been icy, but the waves were clean and the backdrop of towering pine-trees and snow-capped peaks made for great footage. Thankfully, they never came across the pods of orcas known to frequent the waters.
Up on the mountains they were blessed with great weather, freeing them up to roam the backcountry in search of fresh trails.
“I was kind of amazed by the conditions we that we got. It was safe, and avalanche danger was quite low,” recalls Matt. “So we got to go up in these huge mountains and snowboard some cool stuff.”
There’s a classic moment in the film where Blake, who is far from confident on a snowboard, is dumped on the peak of a near-vertical Alaskan mountain by a chopper, alongside his scheming mates. I won’t reveal how it plays out, but the reality of the moment – horrifying for Blake and hilarious for his friends – is captured with brilliant candour.
“It was easily the most vulnerable I’ve ever felt in my life,” insists Blake. “There is always going to be times in life where you are scared and that fear can stop you from accomplishing a lot. There are a bunch of moments throughout the film where we are both terrified but suck it up and have a go.”
Plotting a major film project
When Matt and Blake returned from Canada and Alaska they knew they had the base ingredients for a major film; all they needed to do was plot a series of other trips that would take them on the road less travelled. Matt’s experience in planning jobs on building sites proved to be a handy transitional skill. It gave him a lot of confidence when it came to figuring out trip itineraries and mapping out concepts for the film.
However, both friends needed to work to fund their big-budget adventures. The challenges associated with juggling jobs, life dramas and an ambitious adventure program are all documented in the film. As Matt explains, they wanted to make something that was relatable and inspiring for the average individual.
“We didn’t want to sugar-coat the whole thing and say it was all smooth sailing… everyone sort of has their challenges throughout their life. And whether it’s, you know, a family member getting sick, or a close friend passing away like that. I think everyone kind of definitely goes through those tough times in their life.
“And it’s just how you react to it.”
Over a seven-year period, Matt and Blake added Iceland, Tahiti and New Zealand to their list of locations. For Matt, who spends his days hustling on job sites and weaving through Sydney traffic, it was often the moments of pure isolation that provided the most meaningful experiences.
“I remember thinking when we were in Alaska – I was at the top of the mountain on my last run of the trip – and I was just thinking to myself, like, ‘Wow, we’re in such a remote place, as far as far from home, as I’ve ever been’. I remember that was such an awesome feeling. I was so far in the middle of nowhere. And it was really cool to feel so insignificant.”
Matt experienced a similar sense of blissful solitude in Alaska when he and Blake made the most of the long, arctic-circle days to go surfing at 2:30am. Adrenaline levels were a little higher when Matt performed a wing- suit jump out of a chopper over Iceland’s spectacular landscape, and he’s quick to point out he did everything to manage the risks associated with the jump.
“I was skydiving, doing at least 10 jumps a week in the year leading up to that. So I was super-confident in my flying ability. And it was the first time I’d jumped out of a helicopter.”
Of course, all of this is captured in the film, and the action in many ways is far more exciting because Blake and Matt come across as two regular guys taking on new challenges, trailblazing into the unknown and conquering their fears.
Taking on the heaviest wave
Tahiti’s Teahupo’o is considered to be one of the fiercest waves in the world. Injuries are common and several people have died while trying to ride the fabled break where thick coils of swell fold like liquid concrete over shallow reef. However, if you get it right, the funnelling left-handers of Teahupo’o offer one of the most exhilarating experiences in surfing.
Before they started filming for Chase That Feeling, Matt and Blake had agreed to choose locations that took them outside their comfort zones. As a novice snowboarder Blake had been forced to face his fears when a chopper dropped him on the peak of a sheer-faced Alaskan mountain. In Tahiti it was Matt’s turn to confront a situation that would put his fight-versus-flight mechanism into overdrive. Although Matt is a handy surfer, riding Teahupo’o requires a high level of skill, presence of mind, and the guts to throw yourself over the ledge on a wave that transforms from a lump of swell into a beyond-vertical slab in a split-second. When Matt and Blake pulled up to Teahupo’o, a crew of well-known pro surfers were already in the lineup, and the way Matt remembers it, even they were struggling.
“I remember watching three or four of the Oakley team going over the falls and just getting absolutely annihilated. And I was just like, ‘If the Oakley crew can’t make the take-off, how the hell am I gonna make the take-off?’”
As a former world tour surfer Blake was familiar with Teahupo’o and confident in his ability. With a little help from Blake, Matt was eventually able to figure out the tricky take-off and conquer his fears. “Having Blake there to sort of guide me through was so beneficial, and probably the only reason I ended up getting comfortable enough on that last day,” reflects Matt. “I got a six- to eight-foot barrel out there, which I’m just stoked with.
“It was one of the best waves in my life I reckon.”
Inspiring others
Matt and Blake always set out to make a film the average person could appreciate. At its core Chase That Feeling is about two regular guys doing exceptional things and having a lot of fun along the way.
At a very fundamental level the whole process taught him how important it is to have a travel goal in your life.
“Having something to look forward to is really important. And it doesn’t need to be a two-week adventure trip in Iceland. It can be a weekend down the snow here, or even a weekend surf trip to the south coast or north coast. Just having something in the calendar to be excited about and work towards and count down to. I think that’s really important as far as keeping your work ethic strong.”
In the wake of Chase That Feeling’s success Matt and Blake have started families, however they are determined to make the kids a part of the next chapter of their lives.
“That adventure is kind of part of our DNA now,” explains Matt. “I think we get so much joy and happiness out of going on these trips that I feel like it’s gonna be a part of our lives forever. And to include our families in that would be amazing.”