Ryan Symancek is a professional filmmaker and editor specializing in motorsport and car culture. Most famously known for his YouTube series My Life as a Rallyist on the /DRIVE network, Ryan has since continued to work as a camera operator, editor, director, and host.
With a long time passion for rally racing, Ryan spends most of his free time gearing up for the next rally adventure. Whether it’s filming a special car for a video or prepping one of his own vehicles for a rallycross, the planning and logistics of finding funding and getting a car to an event is the ultimate pay off. It doesn’t stop at rally though. Ryan prides himself as a jack-of-all-trades in the automotive film community, with experience in almost every aspect of the production. Working alongside big automotive brands, Ryan has worked extensively with large crews, but is no stranger to a one-man show. Most of his passion projects are done solely, or with a small team. The goal is to make automotive film feel as honest as possible and relatable to a wide variety of audiences.
Growing up, Ryan admired the unique storytelling of Warren Miller and his ski films. Warren’s natural gift for delivering entertainment through observation heavily influenced Ryan's narrative in his own work for YouTube. Much like the skiers in those films, Ryan has been lucky enough to travel the world searching for the next rallying story. My Life as a Rallyist has been filmed on four continents, featuring amazing rallying in places like Ecuador, New Zealand, Isle of Man, and Wales.
The start of 2017 saw the release of Born A Car, a YouTube show for The/DRIVE Network and TIME Inc. which Ryan wrote, produced, directed, assisted in filming, edited, and hosted. Born A Car is a story of a neglected BMW 325is (E30), that gets a new life. The car was purchased and converted to a rally and track-ready race car in two months with friends Alex Jagger and Justin Hinman. Born A Car received positive reviews on YouTube, with the series accumulating over two million views.
In 2020, during the Covid pandemic, Hagerty was looking to fill a slot of four episodes for their YouTube channel. The famous Porsche enthusiast Magnus Walker signed an agreement to do six episodes of his show, The Next Big Thing. Hagerty needed to fill the ten episode slot, so they turned to Ryan to finish the series. The show was required to parallel Magnus’ focus on ‘80s and ‘90s cars, but with its own identity and style. Ryan’s show RadVentures was born. The four episode mini-series focused on cool cars from the ‘Rad’ era. Each episode featured one model of car, with the stock version opening the show and leading Ryan to drive a modern performance version of the same chassis. RadVentures was shot over two months, with Ryan and his DP Chris Szczypala. It released to Hagerty’s YouTube in the spring of 2021 with half a million views.
When Ryan is not dabbling in the automotive world, he likes to spend free time on skis, bikes, or boards. In his home of Portland, Maine, Ryan will most likely be found mountain biking, surfing, or skiing. If the video or storytelling career doesn't pan out, Ryan likes to think he will find happiness flying an old Cessna somewhere in the northern wilderness, or driving a Toyota pickup down a coastal road... chasing other dreams.