Gary Shurley – casting / trainer / wardrobe

Gary Shurley is a man of many belts.  Founder, CEO, boxing and MMA guru, sales director, promoter and, yes, he is even a film lover and supporter!  Originally from the Bay Area, Gary’s background is Nicaraguan, Irish and Cherokee Native American.  He started in the fight game when he was 16 years old.

 

“I love anything to do with fighting including a good old brawl,” says Gary.

 

Gary has been coaching for 30 years and has acquired many nicknames, such as Coach, Doc and Ball Peen Gary.  He’s been running a boxing crew at Roseville PAL since 1995 while still maintaining his coaching obligations.  He elaborates on his thoughts on MMA and fighters,

 

“I love the MMA.  These guys are the best of the best.  I feel very connected to the fighters because we are a breed apart from the norm.  My dad once told me there are two kinds of people.  There are herd bound, which are the followers and the talkers, and then there’s the mustangs like us.  They don’t like rules and they take chances.  They’re not afraid to fight or bleed.”

 

Gary is not one to sit and relax.  He’s out hitting the streets and looking for action.  Here are a few words he has on this,

 

“I run a tough crew.  I love enjoying life with family and friends and meeting new people and I’m always willing to try something new.  I was also taught to never think you are better than anyone.  I don’t have much but I have my word and my integrity.”

 

The one studios crew has had the pleasure of experiencing Gary’s words to be truth.  He is an intense guy, sure.  And we like it!  But from his intensity things get done and so comes honesty and action.  He is a selfless type of person who is out to help others and asks little, if anything, in return.

Gary has given countless hours towards the Fight 4 Your Life cause to provide boxing training, props, costuming gear, actors and locations.  It is through Gary we were able to meet Tony “The Tiger” Lopez, who ended up being cast as Tony “The Tiger” Mercado, which is a key role in our humble project.  We can’t thank Gary, as well as his lovely wife Lorraine, enough for being committed to F4YL.  Without him on our team this project would have some troubled waters indeed!

As busy of a guy as he is, Gary has lots of avenues for contact.  But a few good one are…

BadgeVsBadge.com

His Facebook

MMA Video Productions’ Facebook

And be sure to look out for a special appearance by Gary in Fight 4 Your Life when you see the film!  Oh, wherever is he???

 

– The one studios crew

 

 

TJ Kuahine – background music / soundtrack artist

Music producer, artist, Team Alpha Male fighter from Waianae, HI, now living in Sacramento, CA, T.J. Kuahine is a man who doesn’t no the meaning of the word cliche.  So often people get grouped into certain categories by those they choose to associate themselves with.

It would be easy to call T.J. an athlete or jock, because he is, with him being a dedicated mixed martial arts fighter having wrestled through high school and then moving to Sacramento to live and train with UFC superstar Urijah Faber and his Team Alpha Male.  It would also be easy to call him a musician, because he is, with him having produced countless beats for tons of singers, rappers and musicians alike.  The bottom line is T.J. is the perfect example of what it is to go against stereotypes and the norm.

T.J. is many things, as we all are.  And he is not afraid to demonstrate through how he lives what it is to be true to yourself.  A longtime friend of Fight 4 Your Life director Bryan Bachar, T.J. has been part of one studios projects for years, providing music and more.  We are happy to have this talented artist on our team yet again as he aids in the music for F4YL.  We thank you for everything you do $upaFlyTeddy$upaFly!  Keep those beats blastin’ and livin’ the dream.

Check out T.J., his beats, his fights and more on his personal site, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and SoundCloud!

 

– The one studios crew

 

Eric Lawson

Eric “Lawless” Lawson is no stranger to fighting.  Having wrestled in high school, Eric was introduced to mixed martial arts by friend, UFC legend and Fight 4 Your Life supporter Urijah Faber, who he had met while attending UC Davis.  He quickly took to the sport.

Due to his successful career as a mixed martial artist, Eric knows what it’s like to step into the ring, or, in the MMA world, the cage.  His time as a professional fighter for MMA promotions Strikeforce and Gladiator Challenge taught him the keys to being a victor, not only in sport, but in life, carrying over to his career as a mortgage consultant, which he has also experienced great success in.

Another fun fact about Eric is in his youth he was a bit of a wild child.  His endless energy carried over well into extreme sports.  At one point he was a full time BMX competitor.  Many races did he win on the tracks.  Long story short, through his “live life to the fullest” mentality Mr. Lawson has found the equation for being a champion.  Success is in his DNA….a prime trait he shares with Fight 4 Your Life character and villain Hanson Hansome Kelly.

Having had a couple small roles in fighting based feature films TKO and Never Surrender, Eric caught the acting bug during his time as a professional mixed martial artist.  In fact, he claims:

 

“I actually had always wanted to act since I was a kid.  It was just one of those things that I never got a real chance to try.”

 

When the phone rang with the offer to go out for a lead role in F4YL, Eric was quite surprised.  His excitement was only challenged by his work and life responsibilities.  But in the end, after being offered the role, he knew playing Hanson Kelly was just too good of an opportunity to pass up.  No matter his schedule, he was determined to make it work.

 

“I just decided you only get opportunities so many times in life….I knew I would regret it later if I passed this movie (Fight 4 Your Life) up.  It was too awesome!”  – Eric Lawson

 

Eric played perfectly as Fleet Blackwood’s rival.  Truly, we couldn’t have asked for a better man for the job.  Thank you for all your hard work!  Look out for Eric’s future projects.  You never know where this social chameleon will turn up!

And if you’re ever in need of a mortgage revamp, please be sure to contact Eric at Pacific Funding Group in Concord, CA, where he is a Senior Mortgage Consultant.  His direct number is 925.771.4211

 
 
– The one studios crew