(birds chirping)
(water bubbling)
- [Announcer] Thrill seekers have a new place
to get their adrenaline fixed in Canton.
Berm Park is the brainchild of Seth Alvo
widely known YouTube creator (indistinct).
It just offers a specific, dedicated space for the
(jazz music)
- Hey - Hello.
- Two years ago
this area was essentially
an abandoned construction site.
There were talks of it becoming a housing development
and even our rock quarry.
But thanks to conservationists
private companies, a very willing town
passionate trail builders
and most of all
members of this audience
Berm Park and Chestnut Mountain
are now open to the public.
(country music)
Berm Park is just the first phase
of a much larger project encompassing
all of Chestnut Mountain.
And by nestling Berm Park
within a larger park
we were able to put all of our resources
into trails and features
while the town of Canton
took care of the parking lot
as well as trails in and out of the park.
They also ensured that grand opening day
would be a celebration to remember.
(country music)
Thousands of you came out
from every corner of the country
and even abroad.
And you came armed with money.
Anyone selling anything at grand opening
either ran out of it or came close.
And I know of two food establishments in Canton
that sold out of menu items by mid afternoon.
I've been trying to tell everyone
this is how mountain bikers say thanks for having us.
And that was just the scene
on the first floor.
- Holy crap dude you made it.
I can't wait to show you this.
I wanna climb up together.
I can't, I wanna show you - [Kevin] I'm down.
I won't even do it
until I can go with you.
- [Seth] Climbing up to Berm Park
there was a healthy mix of mountain bikers
and pedestrians looking to see what was up there.
(suspenseful music)
- [Man 1] My mic broke.
- [Seth] Before even dropping into a trail
the flight deck is impressive.
I got sticker shocked
when I saw the invoice for the signs
but in person
they're pretty worth it.
They make Berm Park more memorable
more impressive and more fun.
And I'll have you know
they weren't easy to hang.
(tense music)
- Because the sign are powder coded
flexing them too much
could crack the paint.
And because they look sick
putting a dent or scratch in the surface
would just break your heart.
And so elevated trail design
needed all hands on deck
to transport these signs safely
and hang them without any mishaps.
(upbeat music)
I might be a little biased when I say
this trail head is world class.
And the trails themselves
have just the mass appeal
we were hoping for.
(upbeat music)
That morning Canton's mayor told me
those trails look like something out
of Sonic the hedgehog
he's not wrong.
(upbeat music)
One of the things we wanted for Berm Park
were bike park features
that you don't see every day.
At least outside of Green Hill Zone.
Berm Park has several drops
an on off bridge, an up box
two wall rides
and a cannon.
This in addition to many bonus skinnies
and rock features off to the side.
For many visitors
these were new and exciting experiences
but no experience compared
to the stress test
we gave On the Fly.
We had about
two, three, 17 million people
on a train On the Fly.
- April then you then me
and then everybody
who wants to ride On the Fly.
- [Man 2] We have a posse
(upbeat music)
It's so fun, woohoo!
(upbeat music)
It was really cool to see Kyle and April at Berm Park
but it was even cooler
to see Kyle manual the up box on clickbait.
(country music)
Also really cool was seeing Owen ride clickbait trail.
(upbeat music)
The little dude just stepped up to a full size bike
and now he's getting serious air time.
I almost blew that one.
What amazed me about grand opening weekend
was how many people were riding Berm Park's
most advanced features.
There's not a whole lot of this stuff here
so those riders came out in droves
to get their taste of it.
There were also a healthy amount
of families and kids.
In fact I'd say over half the visitors
were part of families arriving together.
(country music)
WLOS did a piece on Berm Park that night
and it ended with a shot of this guy
which is exactly what the general public imagines
when they think of a bike park.
And while bike parks are absolutely for him
they're also them and them.
And while so many forward thinking
municipalities already know this.
I'm so very happy
we have another example
to help prove their case.
We have so much ground to cover
on the topic of Berm Park.
What did I learn from this?
What was really happening behind the scenes?
How has this affected the town of Canton?
How can you use Berm Park as a case study
to make the same thing happen in your town?
Once the dust settles
we'll cover all of this in detail.
Now we need to maintain it.
Study its effects on the town, the community.
This is an ongoing story.
(instrumental music)
- Just getting bombarded with positivity right now
all these people are having a blast.
They're loving the trails
busting laps on clickbait.
This is everything we had hoped for.
Right now I'm getting lots of emails from companies
offering to help on the next project
whatever that is
and that's awesome.
But these companies went in blind
not knowing if we would pull this off.
Now they're were looking pretty smart.
My friend Dror sponsored an entire trail
without any description of what we would build.
The town of Canton
went out on a limb
and partnered with a crazy YouTuber.
The Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy
rescued this property from sudden doom.
And it was the first time
they had ever partnered
with mountain bikers.
Elevated trail design was hired to build these trails
but they also spent countless hours working
with the Conservancy on water management
and juggling their schedule
around the weather.
They went above and beyond.
And from where I sit
I owe the biggest thanks
to all of you
who donated to make Berm Park a reality
even those of you who didn't
or to couldn't donate.
Still gave me the influence to do this.
And considering many of you
will never see Berm Park in person
you have restored my faith in humanity.
And if you couldn't make it out to grand opening
Berm Park will be right here waiting for you.
Thanks for riding with me today
and I'll see you next time.
(jazz music)