Naveed's Story

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I was always in awe of John’s stories of his professional cycling days. I  would ask him many questions and that was how I learned that he was  writing short stories about his experiences, while he was competing all  over the world.

As a filmmaker I immediately saw a blank canvas  in front of me that I wanted to fill with one of John’s stories. He  accepted my suggestion to make a film and gave me a stack of paper on  which he had printed many of these stories that were filled with  incredible lines, which immediately turned into images in my mind.

After  I finished reading the stories and talking to John to learn more, I  learned about his pre race rituals, which seemed very interesting.  However after digging deeper, John revealed a private story that became  the heart of our soon to be collaboration on Tiny Robot. 

 John told me the story of his son Romeo, who was born premature on would  only live 17 days. The pain was enormous for John and going back to  cycling was his only way to escape the agony. Getting back into the  saddle and riding hard, would give his mind a chance to disengage  temporarily to think about Romeo.

Tiny Robot is a film that we  made with John about his experience. It took us close to 3 years to  finish it, because unlike the story itself, pushing forward everyday was  not an option for us. We had to follow a pace, which would allow both  of us to navigate through the delicate pathways of this experience. We  were in no rush. The experience was like letting water run down a  mountain and let it find its own path until it reaches its destination.  Our film also found its own aim as we moved forward step by step.