Be Who You Are — Cole Sax

What would you tell your younger self?

Be Who You Are is a series of six short films for Oakley Snow, each one told by an athlete in their own words: Mikaela Shiffrin, Eileen Gu, Mark McMorris, Henrik Harlaut, Sage Kotsenburg and Ståle Sandbech. The idea was to pass them the mic and let them talk to the kids coming up behind them, about what drives them and what it means to be yourself. I directed the series and was its creative director.

Be Who You Are

Oakley Snow

OakleyBranded seriesSix films

The athletes were spread around the world, so instead of flying a crew to each of them, we built the films with them. A pre-interview over Zoom found each story, and they recorded their own voiceover as a voice memo. We sent a Mini-DV camera and disposable cameras, and a friend or someone close to them filmed them for a day. They sent us their childhood photos, home videos and phone footage too.

The edit cuts that self-shot material together with competition footage and colour-washed title cards. The disposable-camera prints were scanned and drawn on by hand, and they run through the films and the stills here. Each film is about a minute long.

For Oakley Snow
Director and creative director, Cole Sax
With Mikaela Shiffrin, Eileen Gu, Mark McMorris, Henrik Harlaut, Sage Kotsenburg and Ståle Sandbech

Athletes featured in the series

A climber hangs under a roof at the World Championship

Skateboarding, surfing and climbing enter the Olympics.

Next
World
Debut

YouTube Originals · Feature documentary

Passing the mic

Oakley Snow