The Harder you work the more Lucky you get.

Los Angeles is awesome. There are so many opportunities in this town and not just the acting kind. Recently I was invited to go train with a group of stuntmen at a training school as well as having a little fun at the Tempest Freerunning Academy.  I love doing stunts, I do them all the time for free just to entertain my friends while hopped up on Redbull, or for acting roles and to just plain test my skills. It seems to come natural because I'm part monkey. That being said I jumped on the opportunity to go train it with like mined individuals. I arrived at Bob Yerke's House around 10am. At first this place just looks like a junkyard with some busted looking Winnebagos parked everywhere. I made my way to the back yard and was surprised to see trampolines, ladders with high dive boards, and a group of people throwing themselves off of cargo containers on to crash pads. I was STOKED! We stared out stretching and limbering up then went right into some fight choreography. A few punches and then throwing your opponent over your shoulder was on the menu. Learning how to do these things in a way that keeps both stunt people safe while making it look real on camera was much different than I previously thought. Next up we put a trampoline next to a big pad and ordered us to all run, front flip off the tramp, land and roll out like we'd been shot. That led to launching off the tramp and onto the backs of two other stunt people then jumping through windows (no glass, haha) from all different angles. This was great. I was around people who loved to flip and jump off trampolines and fake fight scenes. Pretty much it was a group of adults doing what we all did as kids. After about 4hrs we were all done and I was dead tired...but still stoked to be there. I said my goodbyes/thanks and headed straight to the gym. Not to work out though, HA! I went to the gym to soak my sore body in the hot tub. I was gonna need it because in a few days I would be headed to the Tempest gym.

If you've never heard of Parkour or Free-Running you should definitely do a youtube search. 

Wednesday came around and I was ready to go check out this Free-running gym I had heard so much about. This place is pretty much like a skatepark but for parkour/free-running, Think Skatepark meets gymnastics gym. This place was located in Northridge CA. It's open gym from 7-10 and cost $10 to do whatever you want with your time. They have floors that are springy and somewhat soft so if you want to try a trick you're unsure of the risk is much lower since you can pretty much bust your ass and just land on a padded floor. Some parts of the gym have hard floors and are set up like a city street. There are foam pits that you can hurl yourself into from a 12 foot drop or just go straight from a trampoline into the pit if you really want to fly high and not worry about the impact. Needless to say I found myself running full speed off the edge of the 12ft drop and practicing flips of all sorts. This was the perfect place to raise your skill level by taking your tricks from foam pit - to padded floor -  to real floor. With the padded floors I was able to a pop vault to front flip. It's crazy because I did it 1st try but would not have known I could do it if I didn't have the safety of the pads. Just goes to show we are all capable of doing things we previously thought we didn't have the skills to do.

I packed up my things, said a few goodbyes, and left with some new skills and a few new buddies. 

This week has been really fun. I met some awesome people, learned new skills, and had a blast while doing it. I don't know where this road will take me but it's making me happy so it's gotta be good. A wise man once said, "There is no way to happiness, Happiness is the way." I love that. I also love my life and this place called EL-Aye.

Oh and Check out the Tempest Gym: www.tempestacademy.com and watch this video for a look at the gym.  

New potential..

Today starts off like any other day really. An alarm clock in the form of an iPhone slowly fades into Tom Petty's "Free Fallin'" and I sit up and rub my eyes. I tend to like the sound of Tom's voice over the classic Arrr Arrr Arrr when it comes to alarm clocks. Today is a little different though. I have to get up, clean my kitchen/Bathroom/Living room by 10am. A new potenial roommate is coming to see the apt and god knows my roommates won't lift a finger to clean up. I get all the cleaning done, meet the guy..and his mom, Shake hands, make the deal, and send them off until his return and move in a week from now.

 Wow, that was easy.

 Quick shower and then off to my 1st errand of the day, interview w/ a new potential commercial agent. This agent came highly recommended by a friend who works in a casting office. Although I only got the meeting because a friend who works at the agency put in a good word.

Ahh...friends helping friends. Gotta love it.

The meeting itself went great. The commercial agent and I got along really well, he has great connections, and we both agree on where I fit in commercial wise. (Athletic-style Commercials) He offered to sign me under one condition, get rid of my current commercial agent. This is always the hard/awkward part of the biz. Going to you're agent and saying "Sianara". Luckily I have a manager who does it for me. ;)

That being said it's still weird and the transition to a new agent is like any kind of new relationship, you're not sure if it's going to work out. But that's the business and if I want to be successful than I have to make the proper changes. Currently I go out for commercial that I somewhat fit. Broad age ranges and crazy accents. What I need is an agent who can get me into casting offices that cast projects more suited for my type. My type? Well, I'm still trying to narrow that down but I do know I'm very athletic (parkour/Inline skating(the cool kind, haha)and just plain athletics. Think, Nike/Reebok/Under Armor. My current agent thinks I'm great for beer commercials yet when I see the commercial air and the guy is a fat slob with a mop-top I realize something...I'm not a quirky fat slob who can sell you a bud-light. 
I made a quick stop by my friends house where my buddy Curtis Hembroff, an MMA fighter from AK, hooked me up with a grip of buffalo meat products called "TankaBars" http://www.tankabar.com/. Curtis is sponsored by them and not to give out free plugs but DAMN, they're delicious as hell and being that LA is an expensive town to live in free food is always appreciated.

All in all this acting business is a great time and when you have friends willing to hook you up with their hook-ups well, it's even "Mo' Betta" . Sure some days are "betta" than others but for the most part it's challenging and fun and getting called in, meeting new casting directors, and ending your day with good friends ain't so bad.

So here's to new agents, new castings, and new potentials of all kinds. Lets all get out there, go for what we want, possibly burn a few bridges, and have a great time doing it. "One Life to Live" right!? ...or is that a soap opera? Whatever, Onward and Upward people!