Finding Ultra — Official Movie Trailer

“Real Wealth is Ideas Plus Energy”
– Buckminster Fuller

I don’t see this as a mere truism, but as a mandate.  And the more I can embody this ethos, the wealthier I become.

Everything starts with an idea.  The energy you put behind it alters reality.  Well combined, it’s an unstoppable duo.

So much of who I am is a manifestation of my efforts to embody this edict.

Today marks further validation of Bucky’s words.

5 years ago, I was lost, overweight, depressed and rudderless.  Today I am complete.  By putting consistent and relentless energy behind ideas — many of which seemed at best ludicrous  — I have been reborn.

Two years ago, I had yet another insane idea.  Write my story.  Find an agent.  Turn it into a book.  Sell it to a major publisher.  Share my journey with the world in the hopes that another just might harness a spark of inspiration from what I have endured — and subsequently overcome — to discover and unleash his/her own latent potential to pursue that dream deferred.  A catalyst to to find your own personal “ultra”.

To say the odds were against this ever happening is an understatement.  These days — with the publishing world contracting like a black hole — the chance that an unknown first-time author like myself would land a deal with Random House is as improbable as a band getting signed by a major label, or selling a screenplay to Disney.

Nonetheless, I continued to put energy behind the idea.  And now here we are.

Today, retailers confirmed shipment of  Finding Ultra  pre-orders.  And in less than two days, the book will finally be released to the public.  Another in a long line of improbable dreams realized over the last few years.

Whether you buy it (or not); read it (or not); or like it (or not), I could not be happier with — or more proud of — the book, and where I am in life right now.  Because I know in my heart that I gave it every single ounce of energy I had to give.

Now it’s up to you to decide.

This incredible trailer is the product of the talented band of outlaw filmmakers at Dirty Robber, to whom I owe a huge debt of gratitude for delivering a kick-ass film.  Well-deserved shout-outs to:

• Chris Uettwiller — Dirty Robber CEO and, quite perfectly, the guy who captained my crew at Ultraman in 2008;
• Charles Haine — my amazing director;
• Kimberly Culotta — cinematographer, and also worked with us on our short film Down Dog in 2005;
• Max Feldman — 1st AD & GoPro wizard
• Aditya Nair — my killer editor who did an amazing job narrowing 7hrs. of footage down to one concise minute
• Colin Kohler — graphic sfx wizard and the man behind the cool titles
• Ashley Hu & Matt Roe — producers who make shit happen
• Jeff Lowridge & Shoeba Hassan — my tireless production assistants; and last but hardly least,
• Debra Baum — my music supervisor who came through in a pinch with licenses despite suffering from pneumonia

I plan on writing a future in-depth “behind the scenes” post in the near future on how the video was made.

So, what do you think of the trailer?  I’m anxious to know.  But please leave your comments on the YouTube Page rather than below.

In the interim, get off your butt and buy the book, dammit!