This one had no client, no brief, and no budget — just a group of friends, a stretch of Northern California coastline, and an idea worth chasing. When Mellow, one of the most respected climbing media companies in the world, launched the Mellow Rock Games, we knew immediately we had to enter. We pulled together a crew — Cove, Kyle, and Jonah on the rocks, with Nyah, Evan, Yut, and Max out there holding it down — and made a plan to spend eight consecutive weekends filming at Lost Rocks in Klamath, CA, one of the most unique beach bouldering destinations on the West Coast.

The film we set out to make wasn't about grades or accolades. It was about the feeling — you and your friends, climbing rocks for the pure love of it, in one of the most beautiful places on earth. To match that spirit, we brought a deeply filmic visual approach to every frame: rich, considered b-roll, a hand-drawn map printed on plain paper and processed to feel like a relic, and a soundtrack that captured exactly what it felt like to be out there. An unusually dry spring and perfectly timed low tides seemed to conspire in our favor, and what came together was something we're genuinely proud of. The Search for Lost Rocks went on to place 2nd at an international level — the only film from a non-sponsored, non-professional crew to make the finals.