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Specialized, via its charitible arm the Specialized Foundation – has produced a stunning new video on how riding bikes can alleviate the symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD for short.
The two-minute film was shot by Tonic Films and directed by British commercials director Johnny Green. It was produced by San Francisco agency Goodby Silverstein & Partners – the company’s Rich Silverstein suffers from ADHD as does Green. And the film’s actors also suffer from suffer from ADHD in real life.
The Specialized Foundation is working with Stanford University to further research on the impact that cycling has on ADHD symptoms for a study that will be released in August. A 2013 study, conducted by the Specialized Foundation and RTSG Neuroscience Consultants, shows that a single cycling session significantly improved measures of executive attention in ADHD students.
Specialized founder and CEO Mike Sinyard said: “At Specialized we have always believed that cycling has the power to change lives. Through our partnership with Stanford, we are furthering our research into the fact that when it comes to ADHD, a bike ride a day can have an incredibly positive impact on kids’ lives.”
Sinyard also suffers from ADHD – the inability to stay focused and being easily distracted was something he had grown to just accept as “normal.” Yet, he noticed that those symptoms seemed to dissipate after returning from a ride. Sinyard’s son also suffers from ADHD.
Green said: “I learned so much about my own ADHD through the process of crafting this film. During development and shooting, I felt the same freedom as the kids on bikes did."
The kids featured in the film are shown struggling to focus before they ride their bikes in the dark, at night. As they pedal more, they become more focused while animations of wild animals running free are projected alongside them.
Specialized Foundation’s program Ride for Focus promotes the use of cycling as a tool through which children can achieve academic and social success. The Foundation believes that there should be Four Rs, not Three – add riding to reading, writing, and arithmetic, it states.
