Spencer Whiting, popularly known by his handle @gimbalgod, is a talented snowboarder and filmmaker who has significantly influenced the snowboarding community. By merging his passion for snowboarding with his love for cinematography, Spencer has mastered the art of high-stakes videography. His innovative filmmaking techniques not only showcase his impressive skills on the slopes but also inspire fellow snowboarders and filmmakers.
His unique blend of talent, creativity, and dedication has established him as a standout figure in the worlds of snowboarding and filmmaking. With each new project, Spencer continues to elevate the standards of both sports, inspiring others to push their limits and embrace their creativity.
The beginning. Up until this point, Spencer Whiting had only dabbled in photography and videography. This was the year he created GimbalGod to showcase a social media page focused solely on snowboarding. In April, he took his first trip with professional snowboarder Stale Sandbech as a test trip. He shot and edited the first of three “RK1” videos. By June, he started working with Stale full-time. The main project was the “StaleLIFE” series, which lives on Stale’s YouTube channel.
The success of the “StaleLIFE” series was immediate. By early 2018, Spencer Whiting was licensing footage from X-Games to Monster Energy. He also began working with both Oakley and GoPro in a more professional setting. June 2018 was the highlight of the year, where he shot for the upcoming GoPro Hero 7. He and the Monster Energy crew turned a campaign shoot on one jump in Norway into one of the more viral park edits, called "Golden Hour". He signed with Monster Energy that fall, and the "Golden Hour" video was his first deliverable.
“LINES,” Stale Sandbech and Spencer Whiting’s marquee project, debuted in March 2019. The short, three-minute video was edited in the form of an infinite follow cam. This was the project idea that originally led Stale to hire Spencer. What was supposed to take six months ended up taking two years to perfect. In May, Spencer blew out his knee, which inspired him to hone his skills in other aspects of cinematography. By the end of the year, he had traded his cameras for a Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera.
With COVID cutting the season short and sending the world into disarray, Spencer Whiting focused on other aspects of his talents. He created his first GoPro tutorial, teaching general users how to achieve his signature looks, editing techniques, and apply LUTs to color their footage. In the fall, he edited footage from the past season that would launch as Stale Sandbech’s “Team Collection” for Oakley, which debuted in Times Square on the Luxottica digital billboard.
X-Games Real Snow was an opportunity Spencer Whiting had always dreamt of. He and Stale Sandbech shot from October 2020 through January 2021, at the height of COVID, throughout Europe. They focused on capturing street and backcountry scenes to create a well-rounded 90-second piece. They ended up placing 3rd in the competition and won Fan Favorite. In April 2021, Spencer took his first trip to Alaska with Jamie Anderson, which opened his eyes to an entirely new aspect of snowboarding.
The 2022 Olympics marked Spencer Whiting’s commercial debut. From 2020 through 2021, he dedicated most of his filmmaking efforts to mastering cinema cameras, determined to prove he was more than just a GoPro filmer. He transitioned from Blackmagic to a RED Komodo in 2020, and by the end of 2021, he purchased a RED V-Raptor. Throughout 2021, Spencer shot Olympic campaigns for Toyota, Oakley, NBC, and Procter & Gamble, all of which premiered at the 2022 Olympics on both global and national television.
That same year, he went all-in on backcountry snowboarding. After completing a Risk Maturity class in 2021, he bought a truck and sled combo and spent most of the winter with Sage Kotsenburg at the Natural Selection Tour. In May, Spencer directed his first short film for Monster, titled "Hell Week", and began producing his first full-length film, "Greenhorn."
"Greenhorn" and "Temple of the Dawg" mark a new chapter in Spencer Whiting’s filmmaking career. "Greenhorn" is a 14-minute piece showcasing Judd Henkes' talents in both the mountains and the ocean—a passion project that explores the challenges and beauty of filming water and snow. "Temple of the Dawg" is a true snowboarder’s video part, featuring Torgeir Bergrem. It was Spencer’s first experience producing, planning, directing, and shooting a full project.
Throughout the process, Spencer gained invaluable logistical experience: camping in the backcountry for 21 days, setting up his first-ever Alaska program, and diving into surf filmmaking.
A year of learning. While many things were planned, Mother Nature had other ideas. The main projects included shooting for Oakley’s 24/25 winter campaign and organizing a quasi backcountry camp in Haines, AK, which will be released as "Valley of the Eagles".
In addition to brand projects, 2024 marked Spencer Whiting’s biggest push toward YouTube. The GimbalGod channel grew from just 17K followers to over 50K in one season. This was also the first year that his long-time intern, Demetri Zervos, joined as a full-time employee.
"Committed to nothing, able to do anything" is a phrase Spencer Whiting and Sage Kotsenburg coined after their 23/24 season, which was ideated because of relentless challenges from Mother Nature. Spencer will soon launch his GoPro Masterclass, a project nearly four years in the making. His primary goals are to fine-tune the community around the Masterclass and continue growing the GimbalGod YouTube channel.
