BLOOD BROTHERS

Call them stunt men. Call them homegrown filmmakers. Call them extreme sports specialists. Call them crazy. Just don’t call them “Jackass” posers. Meet Mike and Ryan Gaboff, the masterminds behind the PCP Boys and producers of the DVD “Hella Crazy.” The brothers share their experiences of performing successful stunts and others that go terribly wrong, as well as their thoughts on the ruckus movement. Mike talks about his gig filming scantly clad women covered in oil and lets us in on a stunt he is planning for “Hella Crazy 2.” Halloween birthday boy Ryan discusses the frustration of someone forgetting to press record before a dangerous stunt of his and how being inspired by something and copying it are completely different things.

Above, Mike and Ryan Gaboff flipping out.

Below, from left, Ryan and Mike.

CCF: Ok, to get things started I want to know when the “craziness” began. At what age did you guys start crashing into things, jumping off houses, etc. and at what point did you decide to start videotaping it?

MG: The “craziness” began the day I was born, October 24, 1986. As far as filming it, my dad bought this video camcorder for a vacation when I was nine. I seemed to enjoy it way more than he did.

RG: For me, the “craziness” started October 31, 1985. Yeah, I was born on Halloween. My parents got a trick. We got the junkie camera when I was about 10. We just randomly collected footage and shot our own home movies. It wasn’t until about 1999-2000 that we started putting stuff together.

CCF: What were the early home videos you guys shot like?

MG: Very stupid, but very funny.

RG: We would just bring friends over and film everything we did.

CCF: Were you doing stunts back then?

MG: Yeah, me and my brother have been doing stunts on camera for as long as I can remember.

CCF: For those that haven’t seen your stuff yet, what can they expect from a PCP Boys release?

RG: Entertainment. I will leave it at that.

MG: Stunts, Pranks, chaos and extreme sports action.

CCF: Who makes up the PCP crew?

MG: The main crew is my brother and I and two of our real close friends that we have known forever. We are the four people who produce these DVDs. Evan Hart is a freestyle motocross rider and Bob Pyrochetts is a fire expert madman.

The PCP Boys, from left, are Bob, Ryan, Mike & Evan.

CCF: Of you two – Mike and Ryan - who is the craziest?

MG: Ry will say different, but I know I am the crazier one.

RG: Well, my brother does more stunts, but when it comes to something big I’m usually first in line.

CCF: Do you consider yourself stuntmen, homegrown filmmakers or what exactly?

MG: I do stunt work on the side. Once I get on with S.A.G, which will hopefully be within this year, I hope to get bigger jobs but right now I am strictly doing independent films. I consider myself to be a filmmaker in the sports genre.

RG: There’s so much more involved with this lifestyle that I can’t put a title on everything I do but I consider myself a stuntman, a stunt coordinator and a producer.

CCF: So Mike, your interest in filmmaking is much bigger than “ruckus” videos? What kind of other stuff are you interested in and what have you done?

MG: I am a big fan of comedy and action films. I made some short films back at school, never a feature yet. I am just waiting until a really good idea hits me, then try to see if someone will give me a few million dollars to make it.

CCF: (LOL) Good luck with that one… What are some of your own personal influences? Are either of you fans of Tony Jaa or Jackie Chan?

MG: Jackie Chan is the shit! Though I use to like him better before he did films in America. In his American films, ninety-nine percent of the time the glass is fake.

RG: I’ve been influenced by so many people I wouldn’t know where to begin. I’m not too familiar with Tony Jaa, but I’m fan of Chan.

CCF: What are some of the most insane stunts you have done or attempted?

MG: I jumped over a moving car doing 50 miles per hour from an eight foot ladder and I got to walk away.

RG: I did a 150-foot ghost ride on a dirt bike and somehow ended up doing cartwheels in the air.

Mike Gaboff jumps a car moving 50 miles per hour.

CCF: You ever think of a stunt and then kind of tell yourself, “There’s no way I could pull that off, so I’m not going to even attempt it.” Or do you kind of push yourself to try anything you can dream up?

MG: I push myself every time we film. I get scared a lot, but I know the rush I get will be worth it.

RG: I’ve never backed down from doing a stunt. Even if I don’t think I have a chance, I go for it anyway.

CCF: In the “Hella Crazy” DVD, one of you runs over a moving car. Do you both do that stunt?

MG: Just me, I don’t think Ryan ever tried it yet.

RG: Yeah, he did that. I know I could do it too but there’s no point now that it’s been done.

And they say this site doesn’t care about the female readers.

CCF: What was it like trying that stunt for the first time? That’s my favorite thing on the DVD by the way.

MG: My grandma could have done it at the speed I first tried it at. (LOL) We gradually kept driving the car faster as the day went on and it started getting really risky towards the end.

RG: Hey, if it’s really as cool as you think, I will do it backwards and blindfolded.

CCF: That would cool. Definitely work on that Ryan. Either of you gotten injured real bad? Give me a rundown on injuries.

MG: We’ve both had our share of hospital visits and we also do pay more than the average person for insurance. Broken bones, concussions, stitches, road rash, I have seen it all.

RG: We get pretty hurt quite frequently, but nothing life threatening. Where do you think I was for my first FOX TV appearance? I was lying in a hospital bed, waiting for a leg x-ray, watching it with a bunch of nurses.

(Continued - Click to read Part II)