Flamingo Flashback

You remember the mohawks, the neon one-pieces, and the group bump-skiing
segments. But do you know that for the renowned ‘80s film Maltese Flamingo,
Greg Stump had a suit sponsor? Or that he raised money by winning bags of
cash at Binions Casino every night? Or that the Flamingo crew almost got
kicked out of France? Cinematographer and long-time Stump collaborator Bruce
Benedict opens his photographic archive tells all.

“Making Maltese Flamingo was a lot like joining the circus: the lure of travel and adventure with someone else footing the bill. If you’re bored with what you’re currently doing—and I had been the marketing photographer at Vail long enough for the shine to wear off—well then pack your bag and follow the Wild Boys into Neverland. It was 1985 and we had all been exposed to skateboarding, and the world was getting its first whiff of snowboarding. Greg and I felt it was time for ski films to get a fresh dose of attitude. Our goal was to be outwardly irresponsible with our sponsors’ money (a cool attitude), but in a responsible enough way to not lose the sponsors (hey, we weren’t totally stupid)…”

Subscribe to see the entire piece.

CLOSE

The Ski Journal Mailing List

We respect your time, and only send you the occasional update.