Behind The Scenes: Under Armour/Sports Authority Shoot

TNP Performance Training Council lead Todd Durkin is featured in the current Under Armour/Sports Authority TV spot airing now. Here is the first in a two-part look at TD's experience at the shoot:


Have you seen the new Under Armour / Sports Authority commercial?  If you think the tire flips, dumbbell crawls, plyo jumps onto the oil barrels, plate pushes, skater plyos over the park bench, and all the other exercises we did are crazy, you should have been on the set!  When I see the final version of the commercial, I marvel at how the Under Armour team took the hundreds of hours of footage that we had and packed it all into a 60 second spot.  Let me share some insight “behind the scenes” of some of the highlights and “insider news” that no-one would ever know about if just watching the commercial.

We first shot with Devin Hester in Chicago.  Devin is a quiet, humble man who has a passion for speed.  It was great to work with him.  Despite rain showers on and off in Chicago that day in Chicago, the expert team of about 50 people on the set were just highly skilled and getting what shots they needed.  We shot from about 11 am -5 pm for Devin’s parts on the L-train and his training exercises.

Next, we were out in San Jose, CA to shoot Patrick Willis & Patrick Kerney.  First, we shot with Patrick Willis.  If you could only have seen the area we shot at.  When I first pulled up to this old warehouse that more closely resembled an old chicken coup, I thought, “Are you kidding me?  How are we going to film a national commercial in this hole?”  Lo and behold, these guys knew what they were doing because when I walked inside, they had converted this warehouse into a makeshift gym.  As a matter of fact, I loved it as it resembled an “old-school, bust your butt, nothing fancy, sweat until you drop” kind of place.  We shot there from 3 pm until midnight that night and got some great takes.  Patrick Willis is a specimen and an unbelievable athlete.  More than his athletic prowess, he was a hard-working, cordial, congenial, and fun dude that did what he needed to do to get the job done.  I was impressed that when it was all over and well after mid-night, he stopped and thanked the entire crew that helped make this shoot come to fruition.

We all went home and crashed for the next day as it was Patrick Kerney’s day to perform. More on his day and seeing the commercial for the first time in my next entry. Stay tuned!

TD

Check out the spot at: http://www.underarmour.com/tsadedicated/