The Storm Chaser

11/10/2022

In a world where everyone is competing for attention, it sometimes feels like everything we do must also be an act of self-promotion. Travelling across the globe just to capture a photo. In extreme sports, athletes are often pushed to take increasing death-defying risks to get the best footage for their socials. A video clip could be the difference between landing that big sponsor, or disappearing into obscurity.
But Thomas Traversa is different. Having never held a major sponsor, he spends his time studying storms then chasing them across far-flung corners of the globe - often alone. For Thomas, riding in the eye of a storm isn’t about personal accomplishment, it’s a chance to experience nature in flow and at its most extreme, reconnecting with the natural rhythms of life.
Key to his deeply personal methodology is that he never takes unnecessary risks. He has an intuitive sense of whether it feels safe to go out on a given day - a sort of contract he makes with the natural environment - drawn out of humility and respect - and one he will never break. This is why he often rides solo, unburdened by the pressures or expectations of others, leaving him to focus on what brings him joy.
With The Storm Chaser, Jack Pirie wanted to explore the dramatic and profound encounters that take place between humans and nature at its extremes; and the harmony that can be found therein.
Storms have always held a mythical power over humankind, and the aim was a film with a mythical sensibility itself. Something thrilling, but also deeply psychological and meditative, crossing between the borders of fantasy and reality.
Although The Storm Chaser is about an extreme athlete, Jack Pirie didn’t set out to make a sports film. In the media, extreme sports can sometimes feel like a battle between human and nature - risking death to secure the best photo or video clip, and thus come out the victor.
But in The Storm Chaser, he wanted to look at how, in the case of Thomas at least, this relationship between human and nature could perhaps be viewed as more dance than fight - a complex but harmonious choreography, mirroring the chaos we all navigate in our day-to-day lives. His goal wasn’t about victory, it was about experiencing a joyous moment - a moment that reflected life itself. As Thomas expresses in the film, it isn’t about "fighting the elements or going against the current, it’s about finding a way to play with it".