Is strength found in outrunning our physical reality — or in surrendering to it?
A Documentary Film
The Protagonist
A 32-year-old X-ray tech and father of two from Medford, Oregon. Raised playing hockey in West Texas where 'disability' was a bad word. Pete uses extreme physical dominance to outrun a deeply ingrained cultural shame around his physical reality.
His trauma response to a childhood defined by pity makes him an incredible athlete — but a deeply flawed father willing to risk his marriage to protect his ego. He is driven by a massive internal contradiction: attempting to set a world record for disabled athletes on Denali while actively outrunning the very label that qualifies him for it.
The Foil
A professional athlete who proudly embraces the exact identity Pete is running from. Vasu champions the radical idea that being disabled is not something to outrun — it's something to live with, openly and without apology.
He is Pete's perfect foil: the embodiment of everything Pete is terrified to accept.
The Arena
Denali is an active, lethal antagonist that specifically targets the climbers' vulnerabilities. At negative 42 degrees, the extreme environment attacks the complex prosthetic systems Pete and Vasu rely on — causing crucial parts to freeze, become fragile, and break. This constant threat of equipment failure forces them into a terrifying physical limbo, stripping away Pete's illusion of invincibility and amplifying the life-or-death stakes of every interaction.
The Approach
Severe, immersive verité coverage dictated by the extreme logistical constraints of Denali. With no porters allowed, the camera acts as an exhausted, freezing participant rather than an objective observer.
When the extreme environment makes visual coverage impossible, the storytelling shifts to raw, unvarnished audio — heavy breathing, clipped exchanges, and off-camera friction. But rather than pure misery, unexpected laughter acts as both a survival mechanism and a complex release valve for the ideological war between two opposing egos.
Hold My Leg
Driven to outrun his childhood trauma, a fiercely hyper-independent amputee attempts to conquer Denali unassisted — but when the lethal mountain begins destroying his prosthetics, he must survive a volatile psychological war with his climbing partner, an athlete who proudly embraces the exact 'disabled' identity he is trying to escape.
Coming Soon