Musical artist also an acrobat
Ethan Potter flips through the air with seeming ease against a striking sky. • Photos Submitted
By Tom Victoria
Ethan Potter soars with the stars via music and literally twirling his body through the air.
He plays music on the computer as well as piano and guitar. Ethan, 21, of Bozeman, Montana, also is a tricker, flipping forward, backward and sideways with dismounts that would make an Olympic gymnast green with envy.
“Flipping is fun and it’s sick!” he said. “I mean who doesn’t think doing crazy flips isn’t a little bit cool? That’s why I started doing it, because it seemed like a good challenge for myself. I was very inspired and impressed seeing other people do it, so I wanted to try as well. However, now that I’ve been doing it for three years, my motivation to trick has changed. Tricking is really all about the freedom of movement. It’s a lot like dance in a way. People are inventing new tricks and new ways to move the body all the time. Tricking is all about innovation and personal growth. Very few trickers do it to be better than anyone else. We do it to become a better version of ourselves. And I think that’s why the tricking community is so positive and uplifting. We’re all here to do better as well as help each other on our journeys.”
Ethan plays guitar, showing traditional musical ability to complement his contemporary music producing via electronics. He also plays piano.
Tricking is an offshoot of parkour incorporating martial arts. Different trickers base their move set on a variety of sources. Ethan’s basis for his style is the antithesis of concrete.
“I’ve snowboarded for like seven years of my life and because of that, I have a certain schema when it comes to tricks,” he said. “There are some tricks that are very uncommon in tricking that are common in skiing and snowboarding, including sideflips, rodeos, flatspins and various grabs. So, what I try and do is blending two different styles pretty much. Also, my body likes to move in more of a snowboarder fashion instead of the normal martial arts tricking fashion.”
Ethan specializes in one particular move.
“For some reason, I do the sideflip well,” he said.
Well is a bit of an understatement. Ethan’s videos show him hitting nine consecutive sideflips in a feat of athleticism that actor Lee Majors’ Bionic Man couldn’t do on the old television show “The Six Million Dollar Man” (Majors’ cyborg character popularized the name Steve Austin long before a pro wrestler gained fame under the moniker.)
Ethan explained some moves are easier to do than expected while others are harder. The full 360 backflip gave him a tough time.
“I tried landing it for six months,” Ethan said. “When I landed it, it felt amazing.”
He said the basic backflip is easy to accomplish from a physical standpoint; it’s a matter of getting accustomed to not seeing where one is going.
“It’s very disorienting at times,” Ethan said. “You’re just on a weird axis.”
He said the key to executing tricking moves is repetition.
“It takes a lot of practice,” Ethan said.
Even then, accidents may occur.
“I sprained my ankle once,” Ethan said.
In addition to snowboarding, playing soccer as a youth contributed to Ethan’s athleticism.
Although he prefers to flip in the gym, he will do it on grass. When passersby come across the flipping man, they react.
“Whenever I train in public and people see me, I usually get the same response - a lot of support,” Ethan said. “I’ll get an occasional ‘Woo!’ or ‘Nice!’ I like it, but it can be a little troubling at times, especially when I am trying to focus and need that extra mental energy to land a difficult trick. I am pretty introverted at times, so I try to find somewhere secluded to trick.”
Ethan flies via another route — snowboarding.
Tricking was the culmination of Ethan starting to jump on a friend’s trampoline at 12.
“Parkour was a big influence for tricking,” Ethan said. “I just didn’t have the resource being in rural Montana to really try it.”
He estimated spending about five hours a week tricking.
“Three days is a big gap,” Ethan said about how long he goes without defying gravity.
But tricking isn’t Ethan’s only passion. He is a musical artist known by the name Stardreams.
“I chose the name Stardreams because it’s a combination of two words that really represent me,” Ethan said. “Ever since I was a kid, I have always had an affinity for space and astronomy. On the other end, I have a lot of aspirations, so I consider myself a dreamer. So, when I put the two together, I got Stardreams.”
He writes music in a variety of genres, but most of his releases have been Future Bass, Electro House or Hyperpop. His musical inspirations are Porter Robinson, Knapsack, Linkin Park, Grape Milk, Tyler, the Creator and EDEN.
“Pretty much all I want is to be a better person — healthier, smarter, wiser, kinder. And that’s all I’m really here to do, just to grow and shine bright for others.”
“I owe a lot of my success as Stardreams to an online community of artists called artbyFORM,” Ethan said. “The whole music/art scene there has been a major influence to me. I have made many friends from there as well as been in many of their events, including Telephone, Storybook and Form Fair. It can be really hard being any kind of artist with a small following. You put out something you value so much and there can be times when you’ll get little to no support and it can be really hard to not take personally. Being an artist or anyone trying to build a following can be one of the most taxing endeavors on your mental health, so it is imperative to keep your head screwed on straight.”
He said the impact of his music is what’s important.
“Some people have told me stories about how my music has affected them and helped them get through hard times and that’s really the end goal for me. I’m just a guy who makes music sometimes and, sometimes, it helps people. It’s really heartwarming to hear that. It keeps me going when it gets hard.”
Ethan started messing with a keyboard after watching a YouTube video while his mother was dozing. By the time she awoke, he was playing music. Ethan also knows how to make traditional music.
“I’m just now getting into guitar,” he said.
Ethan dispensed advice to those wanting to make their own tunes.
“Learn as much as you can about the music you want to make,” he said. “Learn to play the piano because it will make writing so much easier. Try to reproduce the music you want to make as it will show you how certain songs are made and it will make great practice. Learn some music theory and just produce. With art, there really isn’t a certain way you’re supposed to make it, you just do. So really, the only way to get better is to keep doing it. And sooner or later, you’ll start to develop your own style and have a vision for yourself as an artist.”
Ethan also had words of wisdom for those wanting to be a tricker.
“Start off with the basics,” he said. “Learn all the basic setups, kicks and flips, and really focus on your technique as it will help you tons in the later years. Also, make sure to stretch. That is just as important if not more.”
Ethan does his Superman impression.
Ethan briefly simulates freefall amid a flip.
“There’s this website: https://www.kojostricklab.com and you can learn just about any trick from pro trickers around the world. I’ve used this every now and then and it has been a major help. You just have to practice often and you’ll start to develop your own style of movement. Tricking is one of the more artistic forms of movement, so anything goes. Do whatever feels right.”
Ethan encouraged others to persevere no matter what they pursue.
“There’s always a light at the end of the tunnel if you want there to be one,” he said.
And Ethan is glad to provide some of that light.
“I don’t really know what I’m doing to be honest,” he said. “Pretty much all I want is to be a better person - healthier, smarter, wiser, kinder. And that’s all I’m really here to do, just to grow and shine bright for others.”
The link to Ethan’s Instagram account is:https://www.instagram.com/not_ep/
The link to Ethan’s music is: https://soundcloud.com/stardreaming