Who is Neil?
This is the official Neil Hartmann (One Films) Weblog! It provides a way for me to share an important part of my life with those who have similar interests. What are my interests? Well, for a living, I concentrate on photography and film making in the Far East, Japan to be exact, focusing on snowboarding, the outdoors, yoga and music. My home is in the northern island of Hokkaido, but I spend a lot of time traveling all over Japan, and occasionally the world. If you are wondering how I got here, please read on.
Before coming to Japan in the winter of 1991, I was living and working in my hometown of San Diego, California. During my teenage years, I was making money on the streets of San Diego as a juggler and comedian. For most of that time I had a partner named Jamie Adkins. We called ourselves the Blunder Twins, and we performed regularly at the famous Balboa Park. We also performed at private parties and conventions. I can remember juggling for the wealthy at the famous Hotel Del Coronado, located just across the bay from downtown San Diego.
That is me on the left!
Much to the dismay of my partner Jamie (sorry buddy) I decided to head for Japan to work for a few years, and perhaps even learn how to save some money! My dad was living in Sapporo and he said that there might be some opportunities for young English speakers in the entertainment industry. What the heck, Japan’s economy was booming and I was always interested in TV and film. I thought that maybe I could find some work in that arena. To make a long story short, I ended up auditioning for a job as a DJ at Hokkaido’s biggest radio station Air-G’. I got the job and ended up working there for seven years. The radio work was a great experience. I learned a lot about music and how to use my voice, while doing what I enjoyed, which was entertaining people.
It was in Hokkaido where I had learned to ski and then snowboard. I had visited my dad as a teenager and he had gotten me some temporary work at Rusutsu Ski Resort. Having a free ski pass had given me the chance to learn to snowboard. I’ve always loved nature and camping, so this gave me something to do during the winter months. Well, over the last 20 years, it seems that not much has changed really! I guess I fell in love with snowboarding so much that I just never stopped. Now I ride as much as I can and most of the time I have a camera bag on my back. I now make my living by taking photos and shooting video of professional snowboarders from here in Japan and around the world. Thanks to being based in Hokkaido, a powder destination for many of the snowboarding legends, I have been able to meet and ride with many of my heroes. Here is a quote from the man, Jake Burton, himself!
“I just got back to the hotel from my first day of snowboarding in the Northern Hemisphere winter! I am a very happy boy. We are in a town called Jozankei on the Island of Hokkaido in northern Japan. Neil Hartmann, a rider from San Diego who has been living here for 14 years and is now a Hokkaido local, was kind enough to drive me up to a little resort on the top of Nakayama Pass. The resort was closed for the day and it was getting dark, but I went for a hike up the mountain with ‘Little Mt. Fuji’ off in the distance. It was an awesome hike with my headphone hat on (nice product from Burton Softgoods) and my iPod wailing. The ride down was surreal. Naru, one of our Japanese Team riders, came along for the hike and we rode down through these bamboo bushes in a foot of fresh powder. Even though I had been in the mountains of the southern hemisphere all summer (their winter), and I rode more than I ever have in a summer, I needed winter and snow in the worst way. We are all feeling the same way and when I got back to the hotel I didn’t hesitate to let everyone know that ‘winter was on.’ This was in spite of the fact that, prior to arriving here, we had spent the last six weeks in some very cool spots.”
Presently I do photography work for magazines like, Honeyee Mag, Trans-World Snowboarding, Snowstyle, Spray, Outdoor Japan, and many more. I also do video production under my own label, One Films, featuring the Car Danchi series, and the occasional MC or TV hosting job for Nissan’s X-Trail Jam in the Tokyo Dome and more. Life is good and I am grateful!
