Behind the Scenes: Discover Bentonville By Drone with Anderson Ta and Anneke Beerten
Jul 12, 2024Season 7Episode 24
Visit Bentonville
What happens when a drone enthusiast and a world champion cyclist cross paths? This episode features Anderson Ta, founder of Benton Drones, and Anneke Beerten, a celebrated BMX and mountain bike champion, as they embark on a collaboration that merges high-quality drone footage with professional cycling in the mountain bike capital of the world.
Anderson shares how he transitioned from the 3D printing industry in Houston to capturing stunning mountain biking footage in Arkansas, while Anneke takes us through her journey from riding a bike in the Netherlands to California, and finally Bentonville. Their shared passion for biking and drone technology has led to some breathtaking projects including the Discover Bentonville video. We get all the juicy details of how this video was made and hear about future projects.
What happens when a drone enthusiast and a world champion cyclist cross paths? This episode features Anderson Ta, founder of Benton Drones, and Anneke Beerten, a celebrated BMX and mountain bike champion, as they embark on a collaboration that merges high-quality drone footage with professional cycling in the mountain bike capital of the world.
Anderson shares how he transitioned from the 3D printing industry in Houston to capturing stunning mountain biking footage in Arkansas, while Anneke takes us through her journey from riding a bike in the Netherlands to California, and finally Bentonville. Their shared passion for biking and drone technology has led to some breathtaking projects including the Discover Bentonville video. We get all the juicy details of how this video was made and hear about future projects.
Welcome to A New American Town, a podcast proudly presented by Visit Bentonville. I'm your host, Beth Bobbitt, broadcasting from Haxton Road Studios, and it's not every day that you have a world champion cyclist and a drone builder and operator in the same room, but here you two are so glad you're here.
Beth Bobbitt:
Welcome Anneke Beerten and Anderson Ta to the podcast today thanks for having us yeah, thank you for having us, of course, so you are both so good at what you do and we'll get into that in just a bit, but I want to hear your origin stories. Um Anderson, let's start with you. You're the founder Founder of Benton Drones in Bentonville and do some very high quality, possibly even dangerous shoots. How and where did you get your start with drones and the focus on mountain biking specifically?
Anderson Ta:
Yeah, so I started flying drones when I moved to the Bentonville area about four years ago. I spent the past 15 years in the 3D printing industry and that's when I first came across drones, or FPV drones FPV stands for first person view and a lot of the companies that were developing these drones were using our equipment to build their drones using our equipment to build their drones. So when I moved to Bentonville, it was around COVID, like summer 2020, you know we all had a lot of free time. You know working from home and remotely, and I decided that this was a good chance for me to pick up. You know flying drones started flying simulators, thought I knew what I was doing, went out, bought a drone, immediately crashed it, went back to the drawing board, just more and more practice and just kept at it and got a hang for it, and just from moving here, I was motivated to be here for riding one wheels on the trails I wasn't even into mountain biking at the time and got into mountain biking with e-bikes and in that whole progression, looking getting into mountain biking, I saw the coverage we had for Red Bull Crankworx just drones, drones everywhere.
Anderson Ta:
And here we are in the mountain bike capital of the world and there wasn't any drones in sight. And that kind of motivated me like hey, this is something I see as up and coming for the mountain bike world, let me try and do it here. And that just kind of led from one thing to another and then eventually leading to working with Anika kind of showcasing that technology and our trail systems here.
Beth Bobbitt:
Yeah, right time, right place.
Anderson Ta:
Absolutely. Where did you?
Beth Bobbitt:
move from.
Anderson Ta:
So I moved from Houston Texas, was visiting here once a month for six months in a row and then, once COVID hit, I was like I should just live here, yeah, and just made it happen. Knew no one packed up everything and just moved to Bentonville.
Beth Bobbitt:
I love that story. There's a lot of people that have moved during the pandemic because there's so much. You know our trails, nature lakes, all of it. Yeah. So, Anneke, two-time BMX, three-time mountain bike world titles. You have a really beautiful story. Tell us about growing up in the Netherlands and what brought you here and kind of the journey that led you to crank it up.
Anneke Beerten:
Yeah, so well. I grew up in the Netherlands country girl and I got a little janky BMX bike from my parents when I was three years old, got hooked on it and got into BMX racing. Then I went on on a later age to mountain biking, fell in love with that a whole new challenge and started racing, started doing world cups, um, started doing pretty good in that, won a couple of races and um to keep pursuing that dream, a couple of races and um to keep pursuing that dream of getting better and better. I moved to California in 2014, 15. And spent a lot of time there for training and racing Um, and then eventually moved here to Bentonville in Arkansas and absolutely loved it.
Anneke Beerten:
I always knew that California was going to be more temporary for me because I'm a country girl and I had visited Bentonville a couple of times, for back in the day it was called the Women's Shred Event, which is now Bentonville Bike Fest, and I was like man, I really like Bentonville. And so, yeah, I ended up moving here first, you know, growing up in the Netherlands, then spending some time in California, and now, yeah, here full-time in bentonville. And when did you move here? Uh, two and a half years ago. Two and a half. Okay, yeah, two and a half years ago. Yeah, I love it.
Anneke Beerten:
So, yes, tell me about how you met and started working together on these video projects well, I um, when I moved here, I was obviously like strolling the internet on like videos and stuff about that. And I already saw that Anderson had some really cool like drone videos, like on Instagram. And I had just recently moved here I think the first week and a friend of ours, jason, messaged me on Instagram and it's like hey, a group of us are going to go ride in Bella Vista. You should join. I was like don't notice me, guy, but yeah, it sounds great, you know, and I need to meet more people that ride. And they're like yeah, just bring your e-bike.
Anneke Beerten:
And I brought my e-bike, but I brought my SL e-bike, which is a lighter e-bike, and they were all on their full-powered e-bikes. And I was like, oh man, and Anderson was there and another friend, andrew bike reps, uh, was there. And that's how we all got connected already in the first week and it was pretty cool because from that moment on I got became friends with all of them and, um, yeah, I was like, hey, would you mind shooting a video with me with the drone, because I was so stoked to like, try that. And Anderson was like yeah, let's do it. So and then from there on we kind of started shooting more and more and we found this little kind of like a niche that not a lot of people were doing yet, with a different perspective, and a lot of people loved it because the videos were shorter, they could really quickly see the trail that they were about to go down, and we just had a lot of fun doing it and that's how we kind of started growing.
Beth Bobbitt:
Yeah, yeah, we'll definitely come back to the kind of technical perspective. Let's talk about the Discover Bentonville video. So that was hosted or sponsored by Visit Bentonville. We'll link to the video in the show notes but for the listeners it was roughly 20 minutes long. Follows Anneke along the trails, very scenic but also lots of action throughout. So it gives you a flavor for the trails but also kind of the arts and culture and business side of Bentonville, all shot with drone. Is that right?
Anderson Ta:
That's right.
Beth Bobbitt:
Ton of fun to watch. It's got roughly 16,000 views the last time I checked on YouTube, which is amazing Lots of really fun comments. There was one that I had to note said "man that was both sick and relaxing. All in one, it was like a daydream to kind of have at work. So obviously people are loving this video. Talk about what you did to prepare for this shoot and shoots like this.
Anderson Ta:
I think a big part of what you know got us thinking about this video and shooting it with Visit Bentonville is just, we participate and partake in the trail systems every day, like it's a essential part of both of our lives, whether it's me filming on it, her coaching practicing on it, and it's just how do we? It's so hard to explain to people like what this place is about, but it turns out. If you put a drone 20 feet behind a rider and slowly sweep through all these scenic environments, you kind of really do get a sense of it is mountain biking, it is the arts, it is the culture. There's just all of that. And I think oftentimes the perspective you see online is just like a chesty or a hand, like it's a very narrow perspective. What we did with the video was kind of take a couple steps back and just kind of show you the interaction of all those things together, and I think that's what kind of really makes the video really unique and really showcases what we have in this area.
Beth Bobbitt:
And I understand you did it all in one day, is that right? Yeah, talk about that in the number of miles.
Anneke Beerten:
Well, we started really early before sunrise and obviously we had a shot list in place so we already went out before, scouted and kind of like Anderson was saying, like on a daily base. When I was riding through Bentonville or some areas, I was like I want to show this to people, it's not your gnarly trail, it's actually a beautiful trail like by Crystal Bridges or Apple Creek, dumplin, right right, like all that stuff, or apple creek. It's beautiful and I wanted to show that with other people that there's more to bentonville than just like a couple of the trails that we have. It's a lot of trails, a lot of coffee shops. But yeah, we started early in the morning and we had to be on a time schedule because you could only take a couple of takes before the sun really comes up right so.
Anneke Beerten:
I wanted to get that sunrise in the morning, get the intro right, and um, yeah, we went all the way to sunset to um, get that video done in one day. Yeah, we wanted to make sure that it flowed the way I we would normally ride it as well. And amount of miles, I don't know. I think I probably did about 30 miles that day, but also because we had to reshoot often. So if you see the trail that is very familiar, it's called choo-choo. It's all berms on berms.
Anneke Beerten:
I had to do that one a couple of times because we're both like perfectionists and Anderson was like, no, that wasn't right. And he's like, oh, I'm gonna try something else. He's like, can you do it again? And then he's like, oh, I'm going to try something else. He's like, can you do it again? And then he's like, can you do it again? And then I'm like, just tell me when you have to shot, I'll keep going back up. So it's just there goes a lot into something like that to make it look the way it looked. And, yeah, we had a perfect day. There was like it was starting to get green already, but it was not too covered yet. And, yeah, we were really stoked on how it actually came together in the end.
Beth Bobbitt:
So I was watching it may have been a different video, but a behind the scenes of you riding on the back of a cargo bike with these crazy goggles. Talk about the technical aspects, either that, specifically, or what you have to do to prepare for the technical aspects of shooting.
Anderson Ta:
The video you're referencing was for a different shot, but that actually was probably the precursor. That got us thinking. It was like whoa, maybe we should be flying a little bit further back, showing off a little bit more of the environment. But for the whole Bentonville shoot we were using a DJI mini pro 4, so that's a camera drone. It kind of hovers by itself. It's what you can go to Best Buy and purchase for the video you're talking about. You know, using the goggles, that that's what we refer to as FPV, so first-person view. The drone I'm flying has a camera on board and those goggles is giving me that camera feed. So I'm pretty much becoming the drone and steering it with a remote control. And that specific shoot was our.
Anderson Ta:
Typically when we're shooting trails, you know trails go on a certain distance in a certain direction and typically we have to leapfrog our way down the trail to get full coverage. So in that instance we implemented a cargo bike so I could sit on the bike, someone else can pedal it and continue going and keep us within range so I could chase Anneke all the way down the whole trail without a single stop. Super nauseating, super technical, cold sweats. You know I'm flying. I see one thing my body is facing the back of a bike in a different direction. I'm being thrown around just turns and bobbles. It's just four different perspectives all combined and you're supposed to just keep it cool and not crash which we ended up crashing a lot.
Beth Bobbitt:
And then the outcome is just so peaceful and serene and beautiful that you just can't possibly know what goes into something like that. So thanks for sharing. So this is a great segue. We ask all our guests that come on the podcast if you could have a dream day in Bentonville, what would you do and see and eat, kind of like from the, you know, the beginning of the day to the end of the day? Anneke, we can start with you.
Anneke Beerten:
Yeah, I think the video that we did for Visit Bentonville is showing that.
Anneke Beerten:
Yeah, and that's what we're kind of trying to show. You know, like there's so much more here than just the trails, like, starting in town at a coffee shop or at the square, get some food and start riding. Make stops along the trails, like, starting in town, uh, at a coffee shop or at the square, get some food and start riding. Make stops along the way airship, you know get a coffee, keep riding. Stop somewhere else at a food truck, and or go to crystal bridges, uh, go to Coler, and then, you know, wrap up the night in town with, you know, one of the fantastic restaurants we have. So I think kind of that that's, you know.
Anneke Beerten:
In a nutshell, for me that was what we did in the video is my ideal day, yeah, of being in Bentonville and then for me, I can just pedal home and you know be at be home. So, yeah, it's just, yeah, pretty, pretty unique and surreal yeah that's fantastic what about you, Anderson?
Beth Bobbitt:
Yeah, I mean collectively.
Anderson Ta:
I mean that whole flow, flow of how we shot the Visit Bentonville video can be taken as a day in Bentonville.
Anderson Ta:
Riding the trails, stopping at a coffee shop whether it be Airship, Onyx, Heroes, coffee pick your choice and then go ride some more, ride up to a food truck somewhere. The vicinity of all these different amenities to the trails is kind of what makes this place really unique, and I think that's what we're trying to really show is you pretty much don't need a car, Just get on your bike, have some fun, find some food, find something to drink, go have some more fun. And it just keeps going, and everywhere you want to go is connected one way or another by something you can take that isn't a car.
Beth Bobbitt:
Right, right, yes, it's so unique and I take it for granted, for sure, but that's what makes Bentonville wonderful. So a little off script here, but I'm very curious what you're up to now. Do you have any upcoming projects you want to talk about or would you like to share anything about what you're doing to now? Or do you have any upcoming projects you want to talk about or um would you like to share anything about what you're doing? Coaching wise?
Anneke Beerten:
yeah, I'm full-time coaching now. Even this time of year when it's a little hotter in Bentonville, still a lot of people visiting, so, uh, really busy with that and always doing some other project projects on the sideline coaching with USA cycling. We have some events coming up with them and, yeah, just mainly focusing on coaching now and helping people get better on bikes. Yeah, yeah.
Beth Bobbitt:
Love it. What about you, Anderson?
Anderson Ta:
Yeah, so with Benton Drones, we've really found a niche in showing off new trail systems, and that's always an ongoing thing in our area.
Anderson Ta:
There's always new trails being built, not just in the Bentonville area but all across Arkansas, so a lot of what we do in terms of showcasing the trail systems is something that a lot of other builders or trail system developers are catching on to and inviting us to go out. You know, most recently, benton Bike Park in Benton, arkansas. You know we were invited out there to shoot a whole video, and then you know, we're getting invites to do Horseshoe Canyon other venues that are coming online for just the mountain biking scene here. And then, as a business, instead of just focusing on film projects or these kinds of shoots, we're also now starting to manufacture the drones that we use to film these kinds of things. As someone that's just constantly evaluating the technology, I just see a lot of issues for someone that wants to use this. You know these drones to do what I do, and instead of waiting on someone to develop it, we're just building and selling the drones that we want to see and use ourselves.
Beth Bobbitt:
So interesting. It's crazy to think about how new this technology actually is and it's just developing in real time.
Anderson Ta:
Yeah, drones have just skyrocketed in terms of relevance, and it's not just drones that fly. For me, drones is like another branch of robotics and it's just becoming more and more prevalent in everyday life. Right Fascinating.
Beth Bobbitt:
Well, thank you both so much for being here and anything you want to share about where people can find you, Benton Drones.
Anderson Ta:
Yeah, you uh find us mostly active on Instagram at Benton Drones. We do have a YouTube as well. You can check out some of our past work there, but most of our recent work will be found on Anneke channel.
Anneke Beerten:
That's right yeah, yeah, you can find all the videos that we shoot together on my youtube channel and instagram, of course, uh, and on the website. So we're just know we're going to keep it going. We love sharing the Stoked and it's been so like fun too for us to be out on the trails, because we started this, because we both love what we do right, I love riding my bike, he loves, like flying the drone. And then now when we're out on the trails, it's like so often people come up to us and they're like we love what you do, we love your videos. And then we always joke. We're like, oh, we actually have people watching our videos.
Beth Bobbitt:
That's pretty cool.
Anneke Beerten:
16,000 people, that's pretty amazing, it's so awesome and with that project, like I had it in mind, or we had it in mind for such a long time, and it was so different than what we've been doing, because we've been doing all those trail previews or the funny videos where he sits on the back of a bike and gets nauseous and this was a really long one and different, and I'm really happy that everybody really enjoyed watching it.
Anneke Beerten:
And, yeah, hopefully we'll keep that going and maybe we'll do another one in the fall and we can show how beautiful it is here in the fall, like our favorite time of year, right that's right?
Beth Bobbitt:
Well, we'll have to follow back up in the fall when that one comes out and follow along with both of you. Thank you so much for your time and for being here. Yeah, thank you for having us.
Anderson Ta:
Thanks again for having us.
Beth Bobbitt:
So check out Benton Drones and crank it up, don't forget. Visit Bentonville is here to help navigate things to do, where to eat and stay and what's going on in our new American town. Give us a follow on social media, sign up for our newsletter and check out the website at visitbentonvillecom. Thanks for listening and we'll see you on the trails.
