Slow Baja - Filmmaker Michael Squier On The Baja Bug Movie

Episode Date: November 29, 2021

Michael Squier is a filmmaker and storyteller. In this podcast, we discuss his ambitious film project, The Baja Bug Movie. The project tells the story of the humble VW Beetle and the people who modified them for off-road use.  I met Michael on the NORRA Baja 500 while filming the movie. We recorded our conversation at the Cervezeria Transpeninsular in Ensenada during the NORRA Baja 500 awards party. To support the completion of the film, check out Michael's Go Fund Me: "We plan to tell the story of the Baja Bug through the people that are at the heart of it. We want to include racers, enthusiasts, builders, fans, and anyone along the way that helps tell the unlikely story of a small car designed in the 30's that became a legendary off-road car. We plan to tell the history of baja bugs, including the first one built and the early off-road racing days and show the evolution into what they are now. The story of the Baja bug is one that keeps evolving. Each generation adds their own touch." Follow The Baja Bug Movie on Instagram Follow The Baja Bug Movie on Facebook

Hey, this is Michael Emery. Thanks for tuning into the Slow Baja. This podcast is powered by Tequila Fortaleza, handmade in small batches, and hands down, my favorite tequila. Hey, I want to tell you about your new must-have accessory for your next Baja trip. Benchmark Maps has released a beautiful, beautiful Baja California Road and Recreation Atlas. It's a 72-page large format book of detailed maps and recreation guides that makes the perfect planning tool for exploring Baja.

Pick yours up at Benchmarkmaps.com. It's Slow Baja, and I'm at Cervasaria Trans-Peninsula. I'm with Michael Squire who's making a movie, and we got to bounce through the desert last couple of days together during the Nora 500, and you're making the Baja bug movie. Yeah. The Baja Bug movie. The Baja Bug movie. You know, why not keep it simple? All right. Well, Michael, let's just jump into that.

Yeah. We literally met on the side of a road, and, you know, you're good fun. You were with RJ and shooting a film and shooting pictures of us when we were bouncing in front of you. So tell me a little bit about yourself. Yes, well, it was funny. We saw you guys driving, and we had wanted to catch up to you guys and, you know, meet, and we were like, wait, is that FJ them? Is that Slovak? It is.

So we just jammed and caught up to you guys and followed you. And I think we told you we were going to follow you in. And I think you guys thought that we said something was on fire. Well, we could have been on fire because we'd had this horrific gas leak all day. From our first fill-up in the morning, I literally had a puddle of gas under my floor mat. And I was spilling out underneath the car and had no idea what it was. So it was. And no time to sort it, really.

Yeah, I can smell it when we stopped for tequila shots. Two fire extinguishers was our solution. So we definitely had to quit smoking. Yeah, as soon as I got out of the Jeep, I, quickly noticed the smell and I was going to offer you my fire extinguisher. So that, all of that aside, so you're making a movie and you're down here filming Baja Bugs and you're telling you a little bit about yourself. So I have a background in filmmaking. I come from a line of kind of photographers and advertising. I've grown up with a camera in my

hand since I was three years old and storytelling is just in my blood. And, Like I said, I have a background in filmmaking, and then I went into advertising for a number of years. And then we sold the company I was with, and I started my own freelance, my own production company. And once the pandemic hit, everything just kind of dried up and just stopped. And so I had plenty of time to reflect. And the documentary about a Baja bug was something that had been in my head for a number of years. And it really started when I had bought a Baja Bug. It was left for dead in Fallbrook.

It had no motor, no transmission. Pans were all rotted out. I bought it through a friend of mine, a vintage buggy, Douglas. He had found it, and we got it, and we drug it to our friend's shop in St. Clementi, JDR1 Services. And he walked out and he said, where did you get this Baja bug? This is the car my dad and I built in the 70s as a pre-runner for a car. a race car. So they had a...

What are the odds of that? Right. Come on. It's amazing. It's amazing. And so they had a paint shop back then and they still do. His father passed away but he still does and they painted race cars. So my car is bright orange with these blue, orange, yellow stripes inside. It's very distinctive. And so

he helped me bring it back to life. We replaced the pans put an engine and he still had the frame air filter for it in his garage and he still had the CB radio for it in his garage that he had saved all these years. because they used it as a printer from the 70s up until I think about the early 2000s, and his father passed away, and they lost the car. They hadn't seen it.

He hadn't seen it in, you know, decades until it got brought back to his shop. Wow. And so that really showed me, you know, I loved Baja Bugs, but I didn't really know the impact Baja Bugs could have on people. And so in seeing that connection he had with the car and with his dad through the car, It really showed me that there's more of these cars than just the cars themselves. And the cars themselves are something that shouldn't be able to do what they can. It's a car that was, depending on where you go back in history, designed in the 20s.

And it has a checkered past. It's got a very interesting past of, you know, it was essentially designed in the 20s by Joseph Gantz and then was taken over by the Nazis when it was kind of the Third Reich was trying to build up and modernize Germany. And that's when, you know, Porsche was brought in to kind of champion the people's car, the Volkswagen. And it took off from there. But once it was brought into the U.S. in the 50s, it didn't do good.

Like, when it was first brought in, you know, in the 50s, think what was going on there. You have hot rods. Cars were a little bigger than. A little bit bigger engine, you know, it didn't want small. You wanted big. You wanted power. And everyone coming back from, you know, overseas knew how to tinker with it. So they're making hot rods and, you know, getting creative.

nobody wanted a little German car made by the Nazis that was tiny with no power, and they did horrible, you know, they didn't sell many. And one part of the story of the Baja, not the Baja bug, but the bug that I love is it was, you know, DDB, Doyle Dan & Burbank in New York. Great advertising. Oh, some of the things. Exactly. You know, my father worked for DDB when I was younger, and so I kind of grew up in a lot of ad agency, sorry. And, you know, the, Doyagan and Burbank, they pitched that whole

Think Small campaign to the Germans. And it's like, I would have loved to be a fly on the wall in that. Like, imagine this Jewish ad company pitching to the Germans about a Nazi vehicle, let's make fun of it. Yeah, exactly. Imagine those executives at Volkswagen saying the one guy who is in on the program

and voting yes trying to convince the guys who are not. Oh, yeah. You know that that was a hard sell. Exactly. But my dad bought one as soon as he graduated college in 1961. He went from a 56 Chevy to a 61, you know, Volkswagen Beetle, drove it cross-country, started in aerospace because he just wanted a well-engineered car. That's what they did.

He was an engineer. They worked. They worked. He wanted something that's well-engineered. Exactly. I mean, that's kind of what led to them being used for off-road is they held together. They have, you know, a rear engine. They have their lightweight.

They're well designed. And when you start taking them off road, they're light. You know, they handle. And a little bit of modification, you put some tires on it, and that thing can go just about anywhere. And that's what they found, you know, I mean, with the 67 Mexican 1,000, when they entered the Myers-Manks and Bruce Big Red,

like that really showed the world what a little Volkswagen could do. Right. And that was kind of that inciting event, which sparked a huge revolution in off-road. you can directly trace Baja Baja Bugs to Myers-Makes. If we didn't have Bruce Myers-Creating the Myers-Manks, we would never have Baja Bugs. And what about, I'm blanking as it, Gary Emery, Rod Emery's dad? Yeah.

So is he really the father of the first Baja Baja? Tell me about that. You must have done some research by now. Yes, and I've definitely sat down with Gary. This is the way it's been bookmarked in my mind, so, you know. So from what I've learned, there's kind of two paths to the history of the Baja book. Because in 1967, in the first Mexican entail was in the Nora, there were bugs being run. There's stock beetles, pretty much a class 11, with light modifications.

And that's essentially when they kind of started. And that's that which started in like 67, and then in about 68, and those didn't take off then. You know, the Myers-Manks took off then. So there was only a couple. But then like 68 and 69, and the Mexican-Metal, they started to get more and more. And even in 68, there was. we were looking at the driver's registration and there was a 69 beetle racing in 1968 so that was like a brand new right off the shore room floor bug racing so they

bought it toss the tires on it and went down to Mexico but so you have right around 68 is when Gary Emery started his project in Newport Beach and that came about because of him having a family so his brother had a Myers Manx went out to the desert and he had two kids at that point. He wanted to go out to the desert with his family. And so he had this little dirt bike, I think it was a little 80 and he just bought it. And Jim Chamberlain had come by his shop and they ended up trading, he had a bug. And he ended up trading bug for the little bike. And from that bug, he was, he had this idea that, you know, we could transform this into something that I could have a backseat to take my family out into the desert.

And so they started that then, and they started that in the back of Chick-Irison Volkswagen, because he had worked in the parts department, and his dad was a, you know, legendary bodymaker. And so that was really when that started. So you have kind of the Mexican Baja Bugs that started racing in more of a stock form, and then you have the more the cut fender more well thought out a full complete Baja bug. And that's where Gary Emory is the first Baja bug, you know, with the cut fenders and really changing the way that it's thought about. And so that was finished around like end of 68, 69. And so you have kind of those two parallel starting points of the Baja bug.

And then from there they kind of merge. And that's when you start getting the 516s. and then ultimately it just keeps going. And once, you know, in the 70s and switched to score and things started, you know, they were trying different stuff in the 60s and the 70s and the bugs and the buggies and the Myers-Makeses just kept doing great. And they still, to this day, I mean, what other car designed in the 20s can you take off road pretty much stock form and be able to go anywhere? I mean, if you look at it even today, like fast forward to 2021, you know, I was just racing in the, Baja 500 with Eric Solisano and in a class 11 and we're racing on the same stuff that

trophy trucks are and we're able to handle it after they've made you know four foot ruts and it's like you guys are in the Cadillacs just cruising we're going through your mess and the stuff that you went through and still handling it and something that was made way before I was and it's it's impressive you know it's it's a little car that conquered the desert and it's there's something special about it especially when you see a Baja bug flying down the dirt road, like it just puts a smile in your face. Well, that's exactly what I was going to say. Like, you can't not smile when you see one of those things.

You can't. It's, they're just, it is. And, you know, yesterday, driving around, we were on the racecourse and, you know, looking for specks of dust behind us because something's going to come flying up and we've got to get out of the way and pull over. And there's not pullouts, you know. I mean, you're driving on these little one-lane dirt roads

and you're looking, keeping an eye on the, horizon all the time for a little wide spot that I can jump off and my land cruiser so a trophy truck can go by or a you know a buggy can rip by but you know the the Volkswagen so we saw we didn't see any class 11s unfortunately but the ones that made me smile I think it was Tim from Dirt Sunrise was driving that blue one and it's just and when I saw it it was just like you know awesome oh yeah you know and I can't I can't convey what a

you know, okay, trophy truck. It's like you stop and you're in awe. And then a Pilaris or whatever rips by and then something else rips by and something else rips by and then there's this buggy and that buggy and you know the purpose built things. And then this beetle this beetle goes by

and you can't help but smile and thumbs up and screaming. Yeah. Jerry and Puck were driving that that yellow one. And I when they came by it was totally spontaneous. I screamed, go, go, fuck, go, go, Jerry.

And it's like, wow, where'd that come from? You get into it, you know what I mean? It's not the same. And it was so honest, it just jumped out of me. It's just natural. All right, back to you. We're not talking about which cars I'm cheering for. But that's the thing is that emotional response you get from a car is you don't get that from a trophy truck, like you said.

You don't get that from a side by side. You know, it's, you don't. I hate to say it that way. I mean, it's true. I don't. I mean, yeah, sure, some people do, but it's not the same. You know, they don't have the history. They don't have that character.

Right. You know, you see a trophy truck coming down the racetrack. That thing's mean. It looks like it was to. It's all-inspiring, but it is mean. It is, yeah. You know, like, I'm on the race course, too, chasing in the Jeep shooting. It's like, I have to pull off to the side and keep an eye off for those guys just like you do.

And it's not the same. You know, it's, there's something kind of with what you're, you know, saying of the slow Baja. I mean, there's so much beauty here in Baja that when you're flying by in a trophy truck, all you see is the road right in front of you and that's it. You're in a tunnel vision. You miss all that beauty, you know, that you're flying by. And that's kind of the beauty of being down here in Baja is being in Baja. Yeah, slow your roll a little bit. Slow down. it, smell it, taste it. It's really not, like us shooting the film,

we're out here, you know, in some of the races, I've been co-driving, and, you know, and Eric's, you even let me drive some of the race. And, you know, but then when we're out here, like this race, we were chasing and shooting. You know, sometimes we're out there sitting for hours, waiting for a car.

And you just kind of slow down and just enjoy the world around you. And, you know, the people that are hanging out and you're focused on what you're doing and you're cheering for these cars. is to just, you know, you see him coming from out of nowhere and you're like, that's amazing. And then, I mean, for me, it's like I see a UTV coming. I'm like, I get a let down.

I'm like, oh, you're just going to kick dust up in the cameras. Thanks. No offense to my UTV future sponsors. Sorry, guys. I love you guys, but grab a Baja book. No offense, you, Polaris. I'd still like to be sponsored by you. Let me clarify.

There is a time and a place that UTVs are amazing for. Those things are so capable. They can handle. Like for filmmaking, level. Toss the camera gear in, you know, mount a camera to them, mount an arm. They're amazing. It's just me personally, I want a clutch. I want something with a carburetor.

I want a smell. Like, I want a car with some cahones. You know, you can't just go buy off the showroom floor. You know, I want something that's a car. It's a personality. You know, like each. No, you said it character. It's character.

So let's take a quick break here so I can, deliver a plug for my good friends. Jeff Hill, who's here with me in Baja. He's been such a great sponsor. He jumped into the safari class and did it. So let's have a word with Baja Bound, best Mexican insurance, and then we'll be right back with Michael Squire. Hage. Pady, wish you had joined us on the Nora 500. Well, here is your chance. It's double the mileage, double the fun, double the parties, double the dirt. It is the Nora Mexican 1,000. We're going to drive by day, we're going to party by night. I'm pouring shots of Fortaleez at tequila. April 30th through May 6th, 2022. We're driving the entire peninsula. You don't want to miss out on this one. Again,

if I can do it in my 1971 Toyota Land Cruiser, totally stock, you can do it in any modern 4x4. The Nora Mexican 1000 is the happiest race on earth. Check it out at nora.com, N-R-R-A-com, or on Slow Baja. Here at Slow Baja, we can't wait. to drive our old land cruiser south of the border. When we go, we'll be going with Baja Bound Insurance. Their website's fast and easy to use. Check them out at Bajabound.com. That's Bajabound.com, serving Mexico travelers since 1994.

So we're back. Michael Squire, we were talking about character and cars. And I think that you're absolutely spot on. It's certainly what I relate doing my thing in my old land cruiser. You were saying earlier, Dad was an ad man and you were in the advertising business yourself. How did you decide to make this transition? You did talk about COVID and what was going on with, you know, business. You had a production company and that dried up to a degree like a lot of businesses came and went during COVID. So that's a kind of odd left turn, right turn story. So I worked in production. I worked

on commercials, feature films, mainly commercials. It's music videos as well. And then in In 2009, there was a big writer strike that happened up in LA, and everything shut down. And I was actually went through all the processes, testing everything, was about to sign on the line. It was Friday the 13th of March, 2009. I remember I was about to sign to join the Marines as a combat photographer. It's like, let me hold off. I'm going to just wait, come back on Monday, let me think about it.

Went outside, and I made a call to my cousin who owned a company in Orange County. I didn't know quite what he did. He got something that can maybe hold me over until this writer strike is over and production picked back up. Long story short, he owned a genetics company. So I went down and started working for this genetics company originally in the lab.

Just kind of random, like, I don't know what I'm doing. He's like, you'll figure it out. So I learned the business and learned the marketing and actually became the creative director for this company, which was an independently owned. genetics company which was a pioneer in a lot of stuff and acquired a lot of companies and I was able to create a production company within there to shoot all of their commercials and we actually were able to kind of lend out the production company to shoot a whole lot of other stuff we shot three feature

length documentaries under that so I was able to kind of use the partnerships that I had formed through nonprofits and through those corporations to fund these films to tell these stories of families that had been touched and kind of an inspirational thing that way And I did a lot of short films. And then we sold that company in 2017. And that's when I started my own production company and did freelance stuff, rebranding companies and commercials

and shooting little films. And then that's when the pandemic hit. And I had all this camera equipment, everything I needed. And I had a lot of time to think. And that's when I made a commitment to the project. And I said, you know, I looked, I was in my garage. I remember a very distinct moment.

And I was in my garage, and I looked at all my camera gear there. It's all on the shelves. And I looked at all my editing and whole editing setup. And I was like, what am I doing? I need to just do this. This product has been going around in my head for so many years. I either need to commit to it and do it 100% or it's going to drive me nuts. And so right then there at that moment, I committed to it 100%.

And I put my life savings into it and just went for it. And I haven't let up yet. And that was in April. And so I started reaching out to people. and, you know, the connections I already had from having a Baja bug, and it just quickly started snowballing. And I reached out to the Baja Society, which is a Baja club, and went out to one of their meets

and started, you know, they had 40-some Baja bugs out there. It was great to see so many, and then went out to a couple other meets, and it was really this cool thing to see all these people come together. And one thing that's, you know, I was talking about the uniqueness of, Baja Bugs, you know, you're not going to see any two that are the same. And the same thing goes for the people that own them. They're so unique. And they make that such a captivating story.

The story of the car is an amazing story in itself. It's a history that needs to be told. And it's a shame that it didn't, but I'm glad it didn't because then I wouldn't have the chance to. Yeah, you've got an opportunity. Exactly. And so the people behind the cars are just as unique as the cars themselves and that's what really makes the story is the the people in the cars and what it's able to do you know just that going out into the desert in such simplicity in the beginning and just can we do it and it's still alive today and I've found that the more I come down here it's it's more of like a family and everyone's just willing to help out it's like you know I'm in the middle of desert shooting you know 150 miles from anywhere and truck row

up and hey, what are you guys doing? You know, hola! You know, they have food, beers, Cerva. It's like, you you're just welcome. And it's sad because of kind of living in the States,

Mexico gets a very bad rap. Even from people that are close to me, they're like thinking I'm going to get shot coming down here. It's like, the only thing I'm going to get a shot of is tequila from slow ball on the side of the road. For the record,

At what time? I believe it was about 8.30, 8.15 somewhere around there. You're just trying to shake off the morning chill. Yep. Get the fur off our teeth. It was day two. Dust out of our throats. Yeah, it was day two, so I think we had only had about three or four hours of sleep.

So it was still kind of just rolling over from day one. So where are you in the process now? So we're probably about three quarters the way through, a little bit more. We plan to shoot until about end of December, and then we have post-production scheduled up until about April, and then we were planning on doing some private screenings with the sponsors around then, and then we are going to take the to film festivals,

and then ultimately distribution. We have a few offers for distribution right now, but we're planning to go through the film festivals first. We want to get it out there, and we really want it to have the longest legs it can. We want it to reach as many people as possible, because everybody has a connection to Volkswagen. You know, as I'm doing this project, at the gas station, this place, you know, everyone has, oh, my dad had a Volkswagen.

It was my first car. You know, everyone has that connection. And it's not even like 10 degrees of separation. It's like one degree of separation to this car. And it always has held a special place in people's hearts. And it does in mine as well. Yeah, I can see it's genuine for sure. Have you, I mean, these cars, the Baja bug movement, the Baja bug creation,

only goes, you know, it's just over 50 years now. Yeah, and it's... So do you, have you met some Baja Bug OGs? I mean, there's some guys out there that I built those car when I was in high school. Oh, yeah, there's so many of them. And it's like even some of the guys racing, I mean, like Mike Proman here, I mean, he was, what, 19 in the first Mexican 1,000? He was there.

His dad started it. He's got firsthand knowledge and every driver's log that goes with it, you know? and even like then you have some of the because not everyone started racing then like some of the people who were that kind of legendary weren't always in the beginning like you have like

Pepe Rodriguez or Eric Solisano who didn't start until more of like you know 70s 80s and then they made you know they're very dominant in that those guys are legends like talking to Pepe the stories I got from him

were amazing you know tell me about all the the Mickey Thompson off-road series and he had a great line in there. Everybody cheats. Some people just cheat better. He told me that when he was telling a story about how he would wire his brake lights to a button on his steering wheel

so that going into the corner, it would look like he would break early and he would just hit the button, so the guy behind them would break early, and he would just go full throttle into the corner. You know, there's a lot of these little stories that come out, and it's great to hear them so, you know, from the people that were there.

You know, a lot of the field, that have been done kind of about Baja are very much done in the narrative sense. You know, they're a film that's, there's a narration written that strings the story along, and this isn't that kind of film. This is a film that's going to be told by the people who made it, who are there, who have been a part of it, and it's their story. You know, I'm not, I have no part in being in the film. This is not my story. This is my story to facilitate them telling their story. And that's the story. thing I want to hear is, you know, these guys have, I mean, these guys have so many amazing

stories. And the thing I'm going to have to deal with at the end is I'm shooting about a 100 to one ratio, so I'm going to have 99% of this stuff that still needs to find a home. And it needs to be seen, too. So there's going to be, there's going to have to be some continuation. The Baja Bug Library. Right. The Baja Bug Memorial. Yeah. I mean, like, even like just the journey of the film has been such an amazing thing like going and meeting all these people and you know all these legendary racers and these race shops and like like going to montez's race shop and seeing what they do there and all the you know the difference in in everyone and even just like yesterday we were driving around

ensnata and we saw a bug on the roof of a shop like and then a bunch of bugs parked out forever like this is too rad I got to stop I was like literally just stopped in the middle traffic put the hazards on I'm like RJ grab him some stickers I'm taking him a banner and I just walked in and it was like you know what we were doing talked to him for a little while and they were ecstatic he walked me around the whole shop he's like we're cooking food it's not ready yet I'm sorry come back you know it's I just walked up and now I'm welcome in like you're can you touch on that a little bit I mean my show is very broad in general interest Baja you know I talk about everything racers and winemakers

and chefs and whatever people who lead tours or make movies about you know riding on mules how do you define Baja you know that's a hard one because what you think Baja is before you experience it is one thing but when you come down here and you're involved in it in such an intricate way and you're you know like we've been right in the thick of everything and in score and Nora and and even in the States and there's a distinct difference with Baja. It's it slows down. Life is is different. Your priority shift. You know, the normal stresses of the day aren't the same. And it's, it's a place that is special to me and everyone down here and it's one of those things that once you

find Baja, I think Baja is, I mean, obviously it's a place, but I think it's more of a state of mind, a mentality, and what we come down here for. You know, once you find it and you get hooked, like, you can't get rid of that. You know, it's like, I hear it all over and over and over. Once you go, you're never, you're going to keep going. And it's one of those things that once, you can't understand it until you experience it. Like, it's such a great place. The people, everything.

It's amazing. Yeah, I think it's just that walking into a, job and having somebody say, I'm sorry, the food's not ready. Yeah. But please come back and meaning it. 100% meeting it. Like, he was very sorry that the food wasn't ready. I'm like, I just stopped in the middle of the street to give you stickers.

And, you know, that's the... No, but that's hard to fake. You can't fake that. And that's what depresses me so much about the things I hear in the States. Like, you're going to get shot. You're going to get robbed. You're like... I mean, realistically, I've...

of these trips I'm bringing $100,000 for the camera gear down here and I'm going to the middle of the desert and I get nothing but support and welcoming like hey I live here if you need anything parts for your Jeep waters let me know like it's it's about as far opposite of how it's portrayed as it could be and Slow Baja makes no guarantees. Oh, I'm not saying, you know, if you come down here and you make poor decisions, things are going to happen. But, you know, if you're smart, you're respectful, you pay attention, and you don't try and disrupt things, there's no reason to be. Organized crime is organized. Yeah. No, I mean, honestly, you know, you saw my car. I'm driving a completely open vehicle.

100%. Completely open. Help yourself. What do you want? What do you want? What do you want? in front of my house overnight in San Francisco. Exactly.

And expect to have things that are in the glove box remain in the glove box or things that are tucked under the seat or behind the seat or whatever. That's my point. Somebody would help themselves in the middle of the night. Like your FJ has been parked outside of here for a number of hours. If you're to do that in San Francisco, everything in your truck wouldn't be gone. Depends where you park. But anyways, I want to wrap things up here.

And bring me back to the film. Tell me where you've got great, I hate to say it, the style, the swag, the joy of re that you bring to your presentation. Did you design everything? I did. So that's one thing that, you know, when, you know, I worked in the film industry for a number of years and I was able to kind of learn a very wide variety of skills in filmmaking. And then I have a background, so I was in advertising.

I grew up around advertising agencies, sorry, let me, Cibble Water. and so that was kind of ingrained in me and so then when I switched into being a creative director it was brought alive and then I was able to really enhance that and learn how to grow a company so I mean I was able to grow a company from 50 people to 100 you know 1,500 people you know controlling having the marketing of it and really branding the company and other companies under that umbrella

and that really gave me a lot of skills to be able to pass onto this So I have those skill sets to be able to design the look and feel of it as well as keep it cohesive with the film I'm actually making. And it's simple. Keep it simple, stupid. If it doesn't need to be there, get it out. You know, if it doesn't enhance what you're doing, it shouldn't be there. You know, and the same goes from my filmmaking style is once you can take everything out that you can, that's when it's done. You know, you keep taking out until there's nothing else you can take out, and that's when it's finished.

You know, you don't need anything else. And it goes back to me being a still photographer, first and foremost, is if someone doesn't want to look at one of my photographs, why the hell they're going to want to look at 24 of them a second, especially for, you know, two hours long? So everything needs to push it forward. Everything needs to have a purpose to be there. So you've got great swag. Where can people find it? So you can grab shirts through Shreddy Life, the company there through Blake Wilkie.

He's been a supporter early on and he's actually helped me produce the film. So you have the official Baja Bug movie shirts there. And I actually have a side clothing company that in kind of my adventures, I was partnered with skateboarder a long time ago and we had created a clothing company. And so if you go to findemirors.com or Instagram is see the mirrors for that, You can find tank tops, shirts, hoodies, jackets. Those are kind of stuff that I just put up there more for myself. And just so I can have a place to play kind of with my design stuff.

And like, oh, I want to make that hat because I want to wear it. So you can check them out. But shreddy is where you can get the official swag. And where are the spots on the internet that people can find out about the film? So you can check us out on Instagram at the Baja Bug Movie or the Bajabugmovie.com that can direct you to the Instagram. We'll be adding more to that as we go. Right now it's pretty much just directing you to the social media

and we're also on Facebook at the Baja Bug movie. So pretty much if you just type Baja Bug and add movie in there, you're going to find it. And that's essentially why the title is that way, because it's simple. It's, you know, in the world we live in now, everything's digital. It's searchable.

It's not, you don't see it on a movie post or the same way you would. And so with this wanting to be, We want it to be seen as many people as possible. So with that kind of a title, it keeps it simple. What are you doing? It's right in the title. It's right there.

We're not hiding anything. We're not hiding anything. Keep it simple. Yeah, less is more. Less is more. Less is more. And Baja Bug is even less. Yes.

Which is even more. Exactly. And we're going to leave it right there. Michael Squire. Thanks, man. Thank you so much for having me. Glad to have you on the show. It was a pleasure.

So Baja and the Baja bug movie get to talk again when the film comes out. Definitely. I got your stickers. in the jeep and I'll put one on my barbed when I get home. All right. Thanks. Appreciate it. Have I told you about my friend True Miller? You've probably heard the podcast, but let me tell you,

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