We can’t stop watching adventure motorcycling filmmaker Sterling Noren on YouTube and from his rising presence – seemingly everywhere on ADV motorcycling is to be found on the internet – neither can a vastly growing audience of fans. We here at Motolicious feel that Sterling is the closest thing the motorcycle expeditioning has a to a ‘Yoda’ figure – sage, weathered, and off-the-charts competent.
An independent filmmaker and hotelier from Bisbee, Arizona. Sterling travels the world by motorcycle and shares his adventures in gorgeous, god-tier cinematography. His intentionally measured pace and steady delivery reminds of ‘Mister Rogers,’ slowly drawing-in the viewer until they are hypnotized like a pre-nap toddler. Quite unintentionally, Noren has landed on a uniquely original formula that’s a mash-up of ASMR meets IMAX, while remaining 100% unforced and uncontrived.
There’s an old saying in advertising that “great work divides.” Noren’s method and manner embodies a “slow cooking” approach that admittedly won’t likely find much love with fast-food audiences looking for single helmet-cam views of saggers on gixxers and red-lined lane splitting. As they say, however, “those who like it, like it a lot…”
Sterling made his first motorcycling film in 1998. Since then, he’s filmed, directed and edited over 20 feature length documentaries about motorcycle travel around the world for clients including Backcountry Discovery Routes, GlobeRiders, Touratech, Rawhyde Adventures and BMW Motorcycles and is currently focused on videos about the solitude and challenges of riding solo.
See our full profile of Sterling Noren in this month’s ‘Locals & Legends’ column.
To kick-off our inaugural ‘Stone Roads’ monthly column we pay tribute to the man whose work inspired our direction. Given the prolific volume of work available on Noren’s YouTube ‘Motorcycle Travel Channel,’ we recommend the recently dropped “Moto Camp – High Above the Desert” as a beautiful introduction to his cinematic style, tone and manner. At just over 11-minutes, it’s also a low-risk investment of time to see if he’s the droid you’re looking for.
For more information visit Sterling Noren here: http://www.norenfilms.com/
To check out his boutique motel in Bisbee, AZ go here: https://www.thejonquil.com/
