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What has been the biggest highlight of your career?
It's hard to say what the "biggest highlight" of my career would be, everything links together in life that brings us to where we are.
All the coaches, teachers, books we read, friends we made along the way that helped prepare us for those big moments, those big moments would never had happen if not for all the small moments.
That being said, the GREATEST highlight would be that I get to work with my daughter.
What is the greatest lesson you have learned over the years as a stunt coordinator?
I was a commercial diver for 15 years as well as a stuntman and coordinator,
the greatest lesson or quality I would say is staying calm. When I teach SCUBA
I will tell them to, "breathe, relax" when you get into a situation underwater (and it's not a matter of if as it is when) you aren't going to make a good decision in a panic.
When you are calm, you keep people around you calm. When they are calm they trust you.
When they trust you there is a better chance of them listening to you.
When they listen to you there is a much better chance of people not getting hurt.
What are the greatest qualities you seek out in a stunt performer?
I like to find someone who has been EXCELLENT at something, this tells me they have been coached and most likely coached along the way.
It also tells me they know how to listen and they have communication skills as well as discipline.
What advice would you give up and coming stunt performers?
Find that thing you are great at and keep getting better.
All too often we have people who only learn a skill well enough to have a picture made of them doing it and hope to get work off it.
There are generally two types of people:
People who know how to do 1,000 different things ONE WAY.
People who know how to do one thing 1,000 different ways.
I like the latter...
What do you love most about the stunt community?
First let me thank Wally Crowder for building us into a community, before the Stunt Players Directory we were just a bunch of small groups or individuals scattered all over the country. Props to Wally.
As for what I love most is the quiet behind the scenes loving, giving and caring that goes on that no one knows about.
