The YESMAN Experience!
#1
The YESMAN Experience!
Let me first say thanks to the man that made this all possible. Mr. Chris "The Teacher" Mcneil. Thanks for being a little too short buddy! Ill get you back.
Going in I didnt really know what to expect. I mean its Hollywood. You hear all these stories of these stuntmen doing all sorts of crazy stunts and here I was just a guy whos got some skill from riding bikes in parking lots. Its was crazy. I never thought it would lead to this. So I get the call that they want me to come down and do some riding in front of them to see if it'll work out. I show up and they have (4) Ducati Hypermotards sitting there ready for me to thrash. They rent out this massive parking lot and give me the keys to the bikes and pretty much say lets see what you got. So I get on and start hammering. First time ever on a Ducati much less a 1100cc torque monster. I instantly fell in love. It was like riding a dirt bike on steroids. Couldnt ask for anything more. I got way sideways a few times and did what I could and it was a done deal.
The whole thing pretty much took 2 1/2 months to finish up. The first month they brought me in to set up the bikes and practice. It was pretty cool. I was getting flown in to session it up and getting paid for it. Not to mention by the time I was done with the parking lot they had rented it was completely thrashed with burnout marks. Those Ducatis are animals. By the second month things started getting intense. The stunt coordinator would go over my scenes with me so I understood what it was I needed to do. The crazy part is what they explained to me was nothing like the real thing lol. I had an idea of how it would be in my head but once the time came, my idea was way off!
Bright and early at 7am in downtown Los Angeles, I was suited up in my hospital gown butt *** naked, no gloves, no shoes, just socks, and prosthetic legs so I wouldnt get burned. This was the first time I got to see the location so I didnt really know what to expect. The first scene I do I come out of a parking garage that has the nastiest 1ft drop off as you come out of it onto a street that is slanted hardcore to the right. It was slanted so much that if you were going too slow you would fall over lol. The lane in the parking garage that I come out of was like 6feet wide with 2ft tall curbs on each side. It was no joke. Now once I come out of the garage I need to go head on with a car in the left lane then swurve over to the right lane to miss it and then maintain a wheelie in the window of a UPS truck that is in the right lane. All while looking like a guy that has never ridden a bike before. Then as if it was tough enough they tell me I have like 5 or 6 trys to get it right cause they have a tight day scheduled and their in a squeeze for time. Id be lying if I said I wasnt crapping all over the seat before they said action.
The first couple of takes seemed like an eternity. Once I got a few under my belt though it wasnt all that bad. The rest of the scenes went pretty smooth. The only other scene that gave me problems was the stoppie. The area where I needed to bring it up was on polished tile. We tried everything to get traction. Coke, spray glue, grip tape, torches on the tires heating them up. Finally I just threw all my weight over the bike and it started to hook a little. I was a shivering bitch boy. I really thought I wasnt going to be able to pull that one off.
Looking back now it was one hell of a ride! I could ramble on here forever with story after story but my fingers are getting tired lol. Yes the catering food is the best food on the planet and yes I did start the Ducati on fire doing the burnout scene haha. Good times all around.
All in all it was an awesome experience. One that Ill never forget. Ive put a lot of hard work and dedication into this sport and its good to see that its finally paying off. Stunt riding has opened up a lot of new doors for me and Im greatful for that. I pretty much gave up everything back in the day to pursue my love that is motorcycles. People called me crazy but who is the crazy one now!
Hopefully in the future more riders get opportunities like the one I was lucky to have. We all have the talent, its only right that they give us the opportunity to put it to good use.
E
Going in I didnt really know what to expect. I mean its Hollywood. You hear all these stories of these stuntmen doing all sorts of crazy stunts and here I was just a guy whos got some skill from riding bikes in parking lots. Its was crazy. I never thought it would lead to this. So I get the call that they want me to come down and do some riding in front of them to see if it'll work out. I show up and they have (4) Ducati Hypermotards sitting there ready for me to thrash. They rent out this massive parking lot and give me the keys to the bikes and pretty much say lets see what you got. So I get on and start hammering. First time ever on a Ducati much less a 1100cc torque monster. I instantly fell in love. It was like riding a dirt bike on steroids. Couldnt ask for anything more. I got way sideways a few times and did what I could and it was a done deal.
The whole thing pretty much took 2 1/2 months to finish up. The first month they brought me in to set up the bikes and practice. It was pretty cool. I was getting flown in to session it up and getting paid for it. Not to mention by the time I was done with the parking lot they had rented it was completely thrashed with burnout marks. Those Ducatis are animals. By the second month things started getting intense. The stunt coordinator would go over my scenes with me so I understood what it was I needed to do. The crazy part is what they explained to me was nothing like the real thing lol. I had an idea of how it would be in my head but once the time came, my idea was way off!
Bright and early at 7am in downtown Los Angeles, I was suited up in my hospital gown butt *** naked, no gloves, no shoes, just socks, and prosthetic legs so I wouldnt get burned. This was the first time I got to see the location so I didnt really know what to expect. The first scene I do I come out of a parking garage that has the nastiest 1ft drop off as you come out of it onto a street that is slanted hardcore to the right. It was slanted so much that if you were going too slow you would fall over lol. The lane in the parking garage that I come out of was like 6feet wide with 2ft tall curbs on each side. It was no joke. Now once I come out of the garage I need to go head on with a car in the left lane then swurve over to the right lane to miss it and then maintain a wheelie in the window of a UPS truck that is in the right lane. All while looking like a guy that has never ridden a bike before. Then as if it was tough enough they tell me I have like 5 or 6 trys to get it right cause they have a tight day scheduled and their in a squeeze for time. Id be lying if I said I wasnt crapping all over the seat before they said action.
The first couple of takes seemed like an eternity. Once I got a few under my belt though it wasnt all that bad. The rest of the scenes went pretty smooth. The only other scene that gave me problems was the stoppie. The area where I needed to bring it up was on polished tile. We tried everything to get traction. Coke, spray glue, grip tape, torches on the tires heating them up. Finally I just threw all my weight over the bike and it started to hook a little. I was a shivering bitch boy. I really thought I wasnt going to be able to pull that one off.
Looking back now it was one hell of a ride! I could ramble on here forever with story after story but my fingers are getting tired lol. Yes the catering food is the best food on the planet and yes I did start the Ducati on fire doing the burnout scene haha. Good times all around.
All in all it was an awesome experience. One that Ill never forget. Ive put a lot of hard work and dedication into this sport and its good to see that its finally paying off. Stunt riding has opened up a lot of new doors for me and Im greatful for that. I pretty much gave up everything back in the day to pursue my love that is motorcycles. People called me crazy but who is the crazy one now!
Hopefully in the future more riders get opportunities like the one I was lucky to have. We all have the talent, its only right that they give us the opportunity to put it to good use.
E
Last edited by E-DUB OM; 12-23-2008 at 03:25 AM.
#10
Re: The YESMAN Experience!
******' awesome.
I'm jealous.
I'm jealous.
#12
Re: The YESMAN Experience!
Good work dude, now that you have your foot in the door in the movie industry no doubt you will get plenty more call ups! and wait until you start to get your residual checks in the mail every 4 months! there awesome!
I did all the bike stunt work in Mission Impossible 2 and im still getting checks in the mail every 4 months now!
Check out the latest stunt work on a film i just did where i got to act as myself for the first time instead of a stunt double here www.Stuntzinc.com
I did all the bike stunt work in Mission Impossible 2 and im still getting checks in the mail every 4 months now!
Check out the latest stunt work on a film i just did where i got to act as myself for the first time instead of a stunt double here www.Stuntzinc.com