Without a ten year resting period of the raw footage, the content may have just made a skateboard/bike tour documentary. With ripening and editorial reflections it became so much more.

The now older protagonists individually provide deadpan commentary on their own naivete at the start of the movie. Like old veterans of a gold rush, the four protagonists reflect on their unspoken calling: Go East young men! Stay together young men! Be glorious young men! The glory of skating in Love Park, Philadelphia, gaining media fame, and the esoteric magnetism of Zoo York beckons somewhere in their young souls. Comedic levels are quickly reached when the four bungle directions already at the Chicago lake front. Recovering from getting lost becomes as much part of the story as the search for food,water, shelter, and the kindness of strangers. Young men pushing the boundary of their own optimism, testing the glue of their friendship, and ultimately reaching a destination. How far the protagonists can push the boundaries of their own optimism and youthful bodies provides ample suspense to the story line. Part danger, part cringe, part blunder, the outcome many times reaches chuckle or laugh out loud comedic levels. Unlike Hollywood heroes, who squash their opponents in uncompromising fashion, these shredders have to compromise and many times retreat. How to retreat from a rabid guard dog, a looming tornado, an uncooperative washing machine, a nasty sun burn, a steep hill bomb, a near death experience, approaching night time darkness becomes more interesting to watch then outright success.

Testing the limits of physical endurance also tests emotional endurance. While the muscles recover on a rest day, emotional recovery may need a new slogan on the bike trailer - "F*** Gas.

Even though the filming was done more than a decade ago, side themes may have been ahead of their time. Outreach and phone calls from the official media fuel progress on the road. Staying relevant to positive public opinion is uncertain.

Packed with their own recording equipment, the four shredders are their own reporters, camera men, actors, directors, editors of their story. Looming is the uncertainty if the official media will validate or shred their idea of their story. As arbiters of public opinion, will the media validate or shred America?

Great movie, not so much about skateboards, but about how 4 people decided to something grand and they achieved it. Though it's kinda weird a bit, because it does have a lot of unknown factors about backaground/behind the scenes.

I caught Shred America at the Chicago premiere last year going in excited as someone who grew up skateboarding and excited by the idea of skating half way across the country. But it turned out to be a bigger story than the stunt, which made the film that much more interesting.

Shred America is more than some cameras following the guys as they skateboard from Chicago to New York, documenting what happens in the beginning, middle and end. It's a great reflection story that plays out like a film rather than a skate video. This is most likely the product of shelving the documentary and footage years before actually making the film.

In taking time to think about what happened during the journey and since then, the filmmakers/skaters found their true story. When it premiered, they marketed Shred America as "how not to skateboard from Chicago to New York." Being able to look back at their feat honestly, the filmmakers' pointed their fingers at them selves, making their ride the viewer's ride. The film acknowledges the mistakes, mis-steps and triumphs of their silly idea. It's funny. It's wild. It's captivating. And all they had to do was sit on the idea for 10 years to get there.

Like anything else that gets better with age, Shred America was worth the wait. And now that their journey settled and matured, it's ready for everyone to have a taste.