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| Coachella w/ Gyroe and Ferny |
So how in the world am I so pale this year?!
My tan has maintained a tame hue while the pounds have dripped away via hiking the hills of San Francisco, go karting rallies with Princess Peach in Las Vegas, and a three-day cardio workout by way of rocking out in the Coachella desert. These weekend outdoor adventures aside, most of my summer has been spent secluded indoors, tending to one of the things I love the most: my action-packed career lifestyle!
The season kicked off at the Taurus World Stunt Awards Show, held at Paramount Studios. There wasn't a lot of falling down, but we ReelKick stunties definitely got down! We had plenty of reason to dance, too, as we proudly celebrated one of our very own, Sam Hargrave, who brought home two awards that night!
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| Taurus' Hardest Hit Champ |
Next, I reconnected with a bunch of my friends from previous projects on a ninja movie. Playing the chief of a rogue tribe meant enduring the one of the toughest challenges in acting: sitting still while the makeup department paints your face! Through their patience and diligence, I survived, and the on-camera result is pretty killer. I'll elaborate on "Ninja" in a future post, as the experience was chock more full of goodies than a Halloween piñata.
A lazy weekend (well, at least lazy to me) brought my buddy Matt Berberi and I to our roots, as the Los Angeles International Wushu Invitational was being held in our Santa Monica backyard. Reunited through the chants of "jiayou," we watched a new generation of young Wushu athletes fly across the air, landing solidly on the evergreen carpet. The highlight of the tournament for us though was spending time with two legendary actors from Chinese martial arts cinema: Hu Jian Qiang and Ji Chun Hua aka "Bald Eagle" (The ShaoLin Temple).
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| Martial arts cinema legends! |
Topping off the top of summer were two projects helmed by my great fight choreographing friend, Vlad Rimburg. His once underground work has risen to the surface in recent months, as his original shooting style paired with classic Hong Kong action choreography refreshes the palate of martial arts film enthusiasts the world over. When the phone rang, Vlad asked me if I'd be interested in sharing the camera frame with two super awesome individuals, Dennis Ruel and Ken Quitagua, in their soon to be released feature "Unlucky Stars." I didn't blink before I responded with a resounding, "HECK YEAH, BUDDY!"
A couple weeks later, he popped up on my caller ID again as he requested my participation in a viral online series for Youtube's Flow Channel, called "The Hunt." In it, I challenge an incredibly talented up and coming stuntman, Gui Da Silva, to a battle involving lots of kicks and magical mysticism. Imagine David Copperfield with Van Damme's big legs and Karate. When you're done imagining that unicorn of an image, check out the final product:
That's my summer so far. I haven't been sunburnt so much as of yet, but the heavens have certainly spotlighted me with the experiences of thrilling work and memorable stories with my good friends and family. These past months have been illuminated by blessings that have kept me smiling upward...and I didn't even need to wear sunblock!
