Austin Augie, a Filmer

Many of us have creative outlets that we find at a young age. For some, they may come later in life. For Austin Augie, it came as an extension from his career as a BMX rider. Austin Aughinbaugh, better known by Austin Augie, realized that he was spending all his money on partying and smoking weed, and decided he needed to make a change to his life. He then decided to start a daily vlog where he film his life in 365 consecutive days.

When I asked Augie what made him pick up a camera he said “I needed to make a change, I was living out in California making little money, practically killing myself doing dangerous tricks on my bike”. (Austin Aughinbaugh, personal conversation, 10/26/2018). Augie decided he needed to move away from California. He stated in a Q&A once that “Everyone thinks they’re famous in Cali, it doesn’t feel real.” (Aughinbaugh, 2017) Austin then moved to New York and brought his YouTube audience with him. To me, when I hear the name Austin Augie come up in conversation, I think of a personality living his day to day life in the big apple, displaying the ups and downs of living in the biggest city in the United States through his lens. I discovered Austin from word of mouth, and now, he’s become one of my biggest idols with his open mind, creative visions, and sense of style. I asked Austin What it’s like to live in New York as a filmer, his response came as no surprise when he said “It’s Great! Everyday’s different, you never know what you’re going to see”. From Brooklyn, to Manhattan, Austin has many videos documenting himself and fellow pro BMX riders like Billy Perry and Anthony Panza riding threw heavy traffic in NYC on bikes. Having watched his daily vlogs since shortly after he started them. He recently decided to quit producing them. “I thought it was time to move on. The channel has grown, and I believe that my audience is able to understand that I get more joy out of putting out a video from time to time with more heart into it”. (Austin Aughinbaugh, personal conversation, 10/26/2018). We can’t forget the fact that Austin has made a huge name for himself in the BMX industry. Before shooting his life through a lens, Austin became a pro rider for the fit team. Known for his street style, Austin brought a range of tricks to the table that may not have necessarily been the most technical, but had an immense amount of style that made them look great. “I never pictured myself making it onto a pro team, I’m just super grateful that I had the support from my friends growing up”. (Austin Aughinbaugh, personal conversation, 10/26/2018). The last thing I asked Austin with curiosity was where he thinks he’ll be in 10 years, he responded “I’m not sure, I’d like to be touring around the world with my bike and camera”.

Austin Augie has proven to be an inspiration to me, a humble, yet exciting guy, proved that if you think you need to make a change in pace, you can do it with creative outlets. Austin has shown me that you don’t have to be young to get into a specific hobby.

(WC: 560)