Building Gnarnia is a multi-media project by Pat Fisher, intended to help navigate the past, present and future of BMX and skateboarding.

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Pat grew up in Northern Arizona, biking in the pine forests around Prescott. This riding slowly evolved from cross-country mountain biking to freeride to trials. Moving south to attend the University of Arizona, this transformation accelerated as an adaptation to Tucson’s urban (and overwhelmingly flat) landscape. During this time they explored the various style disciplines of BMX, as well as their appetite for critical and analytical thought. Pat graduated from the department of Gender and Women’s Studies in 2010, having completed their honors thesis on abstinence only sex education as a form of post-welfare state governance, but kept sitting in on a few grad classes for fun. Shortly thereafter they decided to combine their interests into a quick ride edit/mini documentary, to talk about some of the ways that streetstyle interacts with urban space. This seemingly straightforward idea quickly exploded from a few napkin notes into the all-consuming research project unfolding before you…