California film crew turning city's blight into art

Not everyone thinks Youngstown’s industrial blight is ugly.

A company that makes videos of extreme off-road racing and stunt riding thinks it makes for a beautiful location.

Mad Media of California has had a crew in the area for a week shooting at a former factory site along Albert Street on the East Side, and at other sites.

The production company is producing a video, several minutes long, that spotlights exactly what the Polaris RZR utility-terrain vehicle (UTV) can do. R.J. Anderson, a professional UTV racer from California, is doing the driving.

The video will be posted online at UTVunderground.com on Nov. 3.

Mad Media and its crew of about two dozen people – about half of which are local hires – has spent more than $100,000 on the project, said company CEO Matt Martelli.

Read more about the project in Saturday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.