Austin Action fest & market - Stunt Intensive
- Lexter Santana
- Aug 14
- 5 min read
Updated: Aug 17
This past Sunday August 10th 2025, Austin was the place to be! History was made as the first ever 'Austin Action Fest & Market - Stunt Intensive' came to life. The event happened at none other than The Jungle Movement Academy and featured names such as: Keith Vitali and Keith Stranberg, Mark Cabrera, Matt Poitras, Grand Master Samuel Harris, myself (Lexter Santana), and a few other local instructors/experts.
People were doing stunts?
Stunts and More! To tell you the truth, a lot of things were happening at once. The Austin Action Fest & Market actually began on Friday the 8th and was scheduled to end Sunday the 10th with a Stunt Intensive as the final attraction of the event. Everything happened as planned... Well, ALMOST! Needless to say this event was a great undertaking. Not only for the Austin Film Community, but for the individuals and companies that came together to make it happen. Due to the scope of the event and this being a first time it would take place, of course some adjusting was to be expected. In case you did not get the chance to attend the stunt seminar, allow me to paint a picture.
The event schedule featured a total of 16 coaches and stunt coordinators as well as "a full day of Kickin, Stabbin, Chasin, Shootin and Jabbin" according to the creators of the event. There were even casting directors and producers to mingle with! Some actively casting for upcoming projects. Walking into the Jungle was like walking into the most jaw dropping blockbuster movie happening live!
who was all there?
Keith Vitali: How The Action Industry works & Hit Reactions.
Keith William Strandberg: How To Break Into Action Films.
Grandmaster Samuel Harris: Wing Chun As An Indoor Student of Moy Yat of the Ip Man lineage.
Lexter Santana: Wire Work Coordinator - Back flips & front flips.
Anthony Paul: Wire Work Coordinator - Deadman Pulls.
Jeffrey Colangelo: Knight Choreography and Fight Choreography.
Sifu Steven & Sifu Aly Nativi: Wing Chun Kung Fu
Cody Freelen: Light Saber Combat and Fencing.
Hector Gonzales: Kali and Takedowns for Film.
Cotie Domm & Corbin Emanuel: Room Clearing and Troop Movement.
Mark Cabrera: Kickboxing and Muay Thai for Film.
(Our hosts at the The Jungle Movement Academy)
Josh Grant: Tricking and Parkour.
Matt Johnson: Trampoline and Parkour.
Was it good or bad?
With a great turn out, one could easily say this event was a success! Honestly, the best part (aside from no one being hurt) was seeing everyone's happy expressions. Folks from all over Texas came together to not only learn from each other, but also share with and support a growing community of talented filmmakers. Talks are already being had about what next year's stunt intensive will look like!
My two cents...
Being one of the stunt coordinators for the event and someone in the entertainment industry, I'd say this was a wonderful stunt intensive! I'm blown away by the level of support and talent the Austin community brought. As with any other production, there are definitely opportunities for growth within the structural dynamic of the event. I was not there for the earlier half of the day so I can only speak on my experience upon arrival and while getting ready prior to the event date.
I first heard about the event in early July when I was invited to be the stunt coordinator who'd teach flips on wire during the stunt intensive. The information relayed to me was that there would be other instructors, coaches and coordinators teaching simultaneously to accommodate for the substantial number of possible sign ups the event coordinatos were expecting. Of course, the equipment at Jungle Movement Academy would be made avaible to me for setting up should I need it, but I was also encouraged to bring my own equipment. Some personal - promotional content, was also requested in order to help promote the event and the instructors. We were given two days to come to the Jungle to capture promotional footage along with anyone who was avaible but I managed to squeeze in an extra half day thanks to Anthony Paul; one of the coaches at Jungle. Paul acted as one of the pillars that made this event possible.
After playing around at Jungle for a bit, I realized we were underprepared. The only unisex harness we had was my swivel harness, no spreader bar, zero tech line and not enough shackles. What we had in enthusiasm, we lacked in proactive communication, planning, and time to advertise. This event had a VERY QUICK turn around for everything we wanted to achieve. The goal was to give people real stunt training experience, from real working coordinators and coaches. It's a great concept, but not enough people knew how intense this stunt intensive would be if you catch my drift. Not even us, understandably. With this being the first time we held the intensive, it would be foolish to expect everything to run smoothly. More time in the pre-production stage might make for a better overall experience for everyone involved next time.
Since I've never been afraid of a little challenge, here's what I did:
I bought a new adjustable corset harness from climbing sutra so no matter what, anyone would be able to harness up; Designed a simple yet sturdy spreader bar and made 3 of them (Left one at Jungle just in case); Ordered 100 feet of Tech Line from Action Factory to properly attach our performers; additional shackles; extra prusik cords; daisy chains; and carabiners. This was just the equipment needed to make the wires portion feasible. I also noticed very little mention of capturing BTS or footage for promoting future intensives, so I called my go-to photographer to take pictures of the action. (Thank you for your dedication, Christopher!) If that wasn’t enough, I went ahead and gave all my performers a Santana Stunts "Wire Work Notes" notepad 🗒️ so that they could write down any special tips or tricks they learned at the intensive. Along with the notepad, came one of my Born Fighting keychains, so they would know what I’m about and who to reach out to should they need some more training.
All in all, it was a good event. Now that I've experienced it for the first time, I have ideas for adding value. I'd love to have a bit more time to prepare prior to the event. Having premade set ups definitely helped when our timing fell out of tune, though the folks attending didn't seem to mind. Infact, they were very understanding and eager to help where they could. I'm definetly excited about the amount of raw talent I came across at the intensive. I can say with enthusiasm, that I am thrilled to keep collaborating with the film folks right here in Austin, Texas. Stay tuned for more to come! LARS out!
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