Masters Alliance
9th Dan BlackBelt and Olympic Gold Medalist Herb Perez visit with the best and brightest to bring clarity to the future of Martial arts.
Masters Alliance
Chris Casamassa: From Martial Arts Mastery to Hollywood Success and Empowering Future Generations
Unlock the secrets of success with Chris Casamassa, a renowned 10th-degree black belt and a key player in the martial arts arena. From learning invaluable life lessons with his pioneering father to emerging as a successful entrepreneur and actor, Chris’s journey is nothing short of inspiring. He opens up about the profound impact of passion, commitment, and perseverance on his life, sharing personal anecdotes about the unique challenges and rewards of working with family. His story is a testament to how deeply ingrained principles can guide us through diverse career paths.
Ever wondered how martial arts can pave the way to Hollywood? Listen as Chris recounts his unexpected leap from martial arts to acting, where authenticity and genuine passion became his guiding lights. Discover his thrilling experience of auditioning for the role of Scorpion in "Mortal Kombat" and the exciting opportunity to double for George Clooney as Batman. Chris also talks about the business aspect of martial arts, sharing insights on expanding Red Dragon Studios and empowering children through his bully-proof program. The conversation highlights the synergy between passion and business acumen in achieving success.
Chris isn't just about martial arts and films; he's dedicated to making a positive impact beyond the dojo. Whether it's expanding Red Dragon Karate locations or public speaking, Chris is on a mission to inspire and empower. He delves into the resilience required in the entertainment industry, turning rejections into opportunities. With a commitment to helping children become bully-proof and a vision of a potential anti-bullying TV show partnership with Disney, Chris's endeavors are a powerful reminder of the influence of persistence and passion. Engage with Chris's story and find the motivation to fuel your own pursuits.
Welcome to the Masters Alliance podcast and I am Herb Perez. Today we are joined by Chris Casamassa, 10th degree black belt in the Red Dragon Schools, owner and operator of over 17 schools. More importantly, he has been everything from an actor, stunt person, successful business entrepreneur and now a leader amongst leaders, teaching children and best school owners how to be better. Strap in, this is going to be an amazing podcast. Welcome to the Masters Alliance podcast. Uncut and uncut is a great word because we talk about pretty much anything and everything and today I'm joined by a good friend, great friend, who taught me a lot about what was necessary, certainly in what I call Hollywood. He's been able to take that skill and use the same skills that he used to become an amazing martial artist and transcend not only that arena but acting and everything else, but more importantly now, as a speaker and a motivator of young children. Welcome, chris Casamassa.
Speaker 2:Thank you, sir, happy to be here.
Speaker 1:Or, as I like to call you, the red dragon, and certainly well-earned, the many things you've done. But I want to start with. I know you had a close relationship with your dad. What was it like to train with your father, a martial arts pioneer, from such a young age?
Speaker 2:Well, that's a fantastic first question, so let's dive in. First of all, just in the grand scheme of things, it was great. I had a front row seat to the early days of martial arts in America. I got to watch firsthand one of the guys who helped bring mixed martial arts into the forefront of today's culture. So that part of it was great.
Speaker 2:Now, as anybody who was in the martial arts knows, working with your family has its super high highs and its super low lows, because when you do shit wrong, it's never about what you did wrong, it's about what you did when you were six years old. So working with family it's a double-edged sword. And uh, but unfortunately for me, listen, I had way more great times than I had bad times. And uh, like I said I, I got to watch, in my opinion, one of the greats when it comes to martial arts in America. You know he's my dad, so I'm a little prejudiced, but literally I always looked at him like a modern day Michelangelo. He created something out of nothing and until he passed away he was creating until his very last day. So he was an innovator, he was a pioneer and I was happy to have that opportunity to basically have that front row seat.
Speaker 1:And and. Again I'm sorry for his passing. I know it's been a minute or two for that and sorry for your loss, but hopefully this is not too personal of a question. But you know what? What were one or two or just even one of the most important lessons that you learned from him?
Speaker 2:that you learned from him. The most important lesson was that passion trumps everything. If you have a passion for what you do, success generally will follow when it comes from from the heart. If you're in it just for the money, if you're in it just for the fame, you're in it for the wrong reasons, and the truth is people can smell bullshit a mile away. So that was probably one of the biggest things. The second biggest thing was don't go halfway Like fully commit to what it is that you're going to do and give it a thousand percent of what you've got, and if it works, cool. And if it doesn't, then pivot and do something else.
Speaker 1:Well, you've achieved the I mean just an outstanding accomplishment in the martial arts you, you have reached a ninth level degree black belt. What, what motivated you to continue that journey, despite all these other successes you've had in life?
Speaker 2:Well, just to point of clarity, I'm actually 10th degree now, which, when my dad passed, that title went to me. So yeah, there's that. Um, what motivated me was and listen, as cliche as it's going to sound, it's true my dad was my hero and I always aspired to be not like him, but to follow in his footsteps, because I'm my own person. He always encouraged me to be my own person, but he was someone that I always looked up to, and I got started in the martial arts when I was four years old because I wanted to be around my dad, and we're going to kind of turn a little bit here.
Speaker 2:My dad was a great martial artist and loved the martial arts, but on the business side of things he didn't really know what he was doing. He was from the Marine Corps, he was a cop, and he decided I love martial arts more than anything and I want to make that my living. And so he learned all of his lessons the hard way. But one of the hard ways was my dad was never home. He was always at the studio and I learned at a very young age. You want to see, daddy, you got to go to karate, and so that got me involved with it. But once I got involved with it I kind of got hooked on it. And again, one of the important lessons he told me was he said listen, if you want to start you can, but you are not allowed to stop or quit until you make it to black belt. And of course you know you're four years old, you're like okay, dad, whatever, and whatever.
Speaker 2:And there was times during my training where I wanted to give up. I didn't make my black belt until I was 10, which at that time was unheard of having a 10-year-old kid black belt. But that was six years of training and when I was eight I wanted to quit. When I was nine I wanted to quit. He wouldn't let me and he taught me about that dedication and perseverance at a very young age. And he said now you're a black belt, you quit. Well, as anybody knows, you get to black belt Like I was hooked. That was a drug for me. I wasn't going anywhere, like I had that black belt and I felt like, you know, a superhero at that time. So that always motivated me and kept me interested.
Speaker 2:And the other thing that really kept me interested, as you know, being in the martial arts for a super long time. There's so much to learn Like I can't. I can't possibly know it all. There are so many styles, so many cultures, so many cool things to learn. I feel like Indiana Jones. Every day I get to uncover and discover new things. The martial arts is thousands of years old, so for one person to like know all of it it's not possible. So I was always excited about the learning about where this came from, where that came from, how this got started. How did this guy do it? Why did this guy stand under a waterfall? Why did this guy create the Kodokan? I was always curious about those things and that curiosity really kept me going.
Speaker 1:How has your approach to the martial arts evolved over the years since you started at such a young age? There were all these great learning moments that you probably had. What is the biggest evolution you've seen in yourself or in your training?
Speaker 2:Change is constant. I think that's the biggest evolution and I think so many people nowadays in the martial arts get married to these traditions and this old way of doing things and these cultures that were devised 50, 100, 1,000 years ago, and they're paying homage, which is, I mean, it's okay on one part of it, but listen, the world changes, people change, and if you don't adapt to what's happening and what's going on, if you don't embrace new ideas and new concepts, then you're going to stagnate and die. And one of the things I say when I'm on stage all the time is change is is change is constant and it's important to adapt and evolve, because you know who else didn't evolve the dinosaurs and we all know what happened to them. So I don't. I never wanted to be a dinosaur in the industry. I always wanted to to respect tradition but to embrace innovation.
Speaker 1:You know, in your, in your content and your responses, you've you've knowingly or unknowingly quoted some very influential people and philosophers, including Deepak Chopra, which said, you know, he said do what you love and everything will follow. You don't have to chase money. And the last thing you said, which is actually Einstein, is about entropy, and and and Jeff Goldblum, actually in Jurassic Park. All right, that's some Hollywood writer, but what are their? And how many Red Dragon studios are you guys up to now?
Speaker 2:We are currently up to 17 locations here in Southern Cal.
Speaker 1:Yeah, my information was a little off. I had you at 14. So what's the biggest challenge of overseeing 17 locations?
Speaker 2:17 egos.
Speaker 1:Can they run a school without the egos, though?
Speaker 2:Can they do yeah listen, you have, you have to have it because that, that ego is that, that self-confidence and self-assuredness and and really that was that was more of a joke the 17 men and women that I have that was more of a joke. The this, the 17 men and women that I have that are part of our company, are all awesome. We are a family. We're in this together and, just like any family, we have our dysfunctions right. There's ups, there's downs, so but we but we're together. And as they buy into the vision that we have for Red Dragon more and more, that togetherness creates a strong bond and that bond makes us even better.
Speaker 1:And that gets a little bit to the next question is the business side of the martial arts, and how do you balance the business side of martial arts with the passion for teaching and inspiring young people?
Speaker 2:It's actually easier than most people believe, because it goes back to what I said. When someone's on the floor with me and, by the way, I've seen you teach so when someone's on the floor with you, there is no doubt in both the student or the parent's mind that the person doing the teaching right now loves this more than anything on the planet. There is a passion that comes from the love that we have, from the art that we enjoy giving to the students that we teach and that can be felt. That's why I said earlier, people can tell bullshit a mile away. You know an instructor that's in it just for the money. They don't care, they're disconnected, they're you know just. They care more about themselves than they do about the student.
Speaker 2:When I watch you teach, when I see great instructors teach, I know that it's all about the person they're teaching at that moment. Whether it's one or a hundred on a floor is irrelevant. It's the, it's the passion that comes from it. So if you have that, you don't instantly make money. Let's, let's.
Speaker 2:Let me just clear that up right away. Just because you're passionate about, because I know a bunch of passionate martial artists that are dead ass broke because they don't know how to bridge that gap, and it comes to basic business things like knowing to pay your rent on time, paying your light bill, your phone, electric internet there's so many things that go along with running a business. And just because you're a black belt and you hang your shingle out the front door going, hey, I'm open and you think the world's going to flood to you, it doesn't work like that, front door going, hey, I'm open and you think the world's going to flood to you. It doesn't work like that In the late 70s, early 80s, maybe Not today.
Speaker 2:So it's important to anybody who is listening to this right now. If they're in business, understand and know about business. And if you don't, if you're not sure, if you're struggling, then get yourself a business mentor, get yourself a coach, or at least follow people who are successful so that you can see, okay, what made this person successful, how did they do it? Rather than pointing fingers and going, oh, that's a McDojo that person's selling out, maybe you should point a thumb and go maybe I need to figure some shit out so that I can be successful and make a living at my passion.
Speaker 1:And I think that's true and those words are well said and well heard by me. I think that I've seen so many of my mentors who take care of your family and the things that you need to do for your family first and then take care of the world, and I think that's a that's a great philosophy. I know that you've had a number of programs um and kids, kid and kick, the kid fitness program and the B90X. Can you tell me a little bit about those or the ones that you may be involved in now, and what are the core philosophies?
Speaker 2:Yeah, those are all part of the coaching and consulting that we do. It's B90Z, which is a birthday party program, and the kids fitness program, which is now morphed into the bully proof program. But the bully proof initiative quick sidebar here. You know, I'm on a mission right now. Part of my, my passion and purpose. Nowadays I'm trying to help a million kids become bully-proof by putting them through a certification course that we have, as of right now, this recording. I've taught just over 80,000 kids through this course and I do these clinics at martial arts studios. I do them at public schools, private schools, churches, rec centers, wherever I can get in. It was one of the reasons why I wrote the books. I wrote three books on bully prevention for kids to get the word out, and right now my agent and I are negotiating with Disney on potentially being able to do a weekly TV show featuring anti-bullying segments and if I do that, man, I'm gonna hit a million like overnight, but that's part of the goal. So all those programs that I've created that have helped over a thousand martial arts schools at this point are all now part of our concierge coaching and consulting program that we've. That we've put together. But it's really about.
Speaker 2:For me, the reason I started doing is I want to help other people in the industry, right, we, we talked about that. Listen, my dad was a fantastic martial artist, but he didn't know jack shit about business, right. And so, like I said, he learned all the lessons the hard way because I had the front row seat. I was taking notes, I was paying attention to make sure, okay, this worked, this didn't, this worked, this didn't. And now this is our next year, is our 60th year in business, like Red Dragon's been around for 60 years, six decades, and I wanted to go another six decades. So we've documented everything.
Speaker 2:We've got systems and processes, and my catchy little saying is We've got systems and processes and my catchy little saying is our systems have systems. There's nothing that happens in our company by accident. It is all by design, it is all on purpose and it is all planned for a reason. And, by the way, this goes without saying, the quality on the floor. We're assuming that Because we're like, oh, I've got to make money First, you've got to teach great classes, you've got to develop great students, because that's the product. The product that we sell is how did I change that kid's life? How did I take that kid from zero to hero, from a kid who was shy and introverted getting his ass kicked, to one who's self-confident, self-assured, now doing way better in school? If you're not doing that with your students, that's the first thing you have to fix. Quality trumps everything right, it's quality first quality first.
Speaker 1:That was the question I had. That you've answered, which was one of the things that you're teaching your other business owners. But I'm going to move on. I want to talk a little bit about and I was there to witness some of it, but how did you transition from martial arts to acting?
Speaker 2:Great question. So when I was young, bruce Lee was the guy right and me and everybody in the martial arts. That's how like I want to be Bruce Lee. So I wanted to be my dad. But I also love Bruce Lee and I would watch Bruce Lee on in movies, tv stuff and I'd be like man. I want to do that, I want to have the ability to do that would be cool, to do martial arts on screen, to make it, you know, get a bigger audience and to do that. And so I started taking steps in that direction and I did little little. You know I'm in California so it's kind of easier access to. You know, go do this movie or go do that movie.
Speaker 2:But I started out as as background player, I started out as an extra which, like you, just basically are you're part of a crowd in the scene and uh, and so I kind of, I kind of worked my way up and then, fortunately, because I developed a skill good enough, that skill opened some doors and caught some eyes and caught some attention. But listen, again, it's back to my dad. So when I was first doing movies and tv, my dad said listen, when you get on these sets here's the important thing. When people tell you what to do, you look them in the eyes and you say yes, sir, and you continue to say yes, sir, and you do what they tell you to do. He goes. When you have a million dollars in the bank, you look at them and you say yes, sir, but do you think we could try this? And that was great advice, because I was, because the goal is to be to be humble, right, the worst thing that you could do is go into a movie set where you know nothing about that world and it just looks like like you're, you're god's gift to that world. And so it was the. The secret there, my dad taught me, was be humble. Be humble but be curious and learn while you're going. And so I did.
Speaker 2:I did a little stuff here and there, but, as, as you know, because you were getting ready and doing the olympics, I was on the pro tour, uh, for nasca, the north north america sport karate, because you won gold medal in 92. Yes, sir, yeah. So I started on the pro tour in 84, 85 and got my rear end kicked for the first three, four years and it wasn't until 89, from 89 to 92, that for 89 99 that four-year grade is when I finally became the number one competitor in the world. Right, I was number one. So you and I were number ones almost at the same time, which is great. You were. You were doing the thing with the olympics, which is awesome and I'm so that that's. That would be a life goal for me. I mean, the thing that you did is freaking great. But I was on the pro tour doing that and I got scouted when I was at the battle of Atlanta.
Speaker 2:Uh, joe Corley and Pat Johnson, who you know. Pat had a project and Joe Corley actually recommended me, for it was a movie called shoot fighter and when I was competing I had this persona, this bigger than life thing. And listen, I was young and dumb and cocky as all hell, but it worked for competition. I had to have that. When I got up on that stage, like I am God's gift to the competition world, it had to come across to the audience, to the judges, the whole thing.
Speaker 2:Pat didn't like me, he didn't want me, but Joe knew me from the circuit. He knew I wasn't actually a nice guy. That was talented. Pat goes listen, this guy's good, but he's an asshole. And he wasn't wrong. But he, you know you don't want a person like that on your sets, on your movie sets.
Speaker 2:And Pat was doing, you know he'd done Ninja Turtles, the original Karate Kid, and so Joe said, listen, just take a chance on him. And he did, and that was the shoot fighter movie that Mike Bernardo starred in and Billy Zapka and Marty Cove, and that was really kind of my first foray into it. And then the thing that kicks in in the movie world is it's not who you know, it's who knows you. And now Pat knew me. He knew that he could trust me. He knew I was actually a good guy that was talented, and so, as he would do different projects, my phone would ring hey, do you want to come do this? Hey, do you want to come do that? So it opened. It opened a lot of doors that would have normally been closed to me do that.
Speaker 1:So it opened. It opened a lot of doors that would have normally been closed to me. That's a I have a funny pet story. But uh, you know he, uh, we share the commonality for whatever reason. He didn't like me when he first met me and took me into the office to tell me that he just had a feeling about me and I had not said anything, done anything and I think it had a lot to do with the Olympic thing and he just assumed I was a certain way. But it was an interesting time, but that's a story for another day. What was it like to be part of the iconic movies I mean you were in. You know Karate Kid, mortal Kombat, you know Batman. Can you tell us a little bit about what it was like to be part of all that?
Speaker 2:Surreal a little bit about what it was like to be part of all that. Surreal is the best word I can I can use when I'm when I'm talking about those. You know, the mortal kombat was the, the thing that really put me over and really made it, where I was able to get some bigger and better projects. And I got the mortal kombat role almost by accident. And you know, I think they were looking for martial artists to do background in in the movie and it was a big budget hollywood movie and I'd never been in when I'd done, you know, shoot fighter, revenge of the ninja, like basically b movie stuff. Um, but this was gonna be the first a type of movie that I have an opportunity to get in and I went to the audition. They were looking for background fighters. There's like a hundred guys at this audition. It was crazy, but they had it set up like a tournament. They had three people in chairs. I had no idea who they were and they had like this square performance area and they said just come up and do your best stuff. Well, this played right into my wheelhouse. I'm like this is a tournament and I got a chance to go like near the end. So I was watching everybody. I'm like, ah, that guy sucks, that guy's good, that guy's good, that guy's really good, like. And so now I'm thinking what can I do to set myself apart? Cause there were some guys that were there that at that time were probably a little better than me and I was like, okay, I got an idea, so they call me up and I go, I go start doing my form and as they're sitting in the chair, I realized I can jump over these guys. So I have a part in my thing where I do a flying sidekick in the beginning of my kata. I just took three extra steps and I did it over them sitting in the chairs and to this day I remember them Slow motion. It's a podcast, but I watched their heads look like this Just watch me jump over. I did some moves behind them and then I dove, I did a diving roll back over them and I finished and I was like, okay, well, hopefully that was enough and I go home.
Speaker 2:This was way before cell phones and I go home, my phone rings. I'm like, hey, we want you to come back tomorrow. I'm like all right, cool, so I come back the next day. And now there's maybe 25 guys and they go. We want you to do some more stuff, no-transcript guys. We want real martial artists to do the background, some of the background fighting great. So now my, my third callback, and I'm like man, it's hard to be an extra in an a-list movie.
Speaker 2:I go back the third time and there are three guys, me and two other guys. They have a big 35 millimeter movie camera. There's a bunch of people around it I know none of these people are and a guy walks over to me and we're just standing there. They don't ask us to do any more shows. Guy walks over to me, looks at me and goes, it looks all three of us and says would you guys mind taking off your shirts? And I looked at him and I'm kind of a smart ass and I was nervous as hell. So I looked at him. I go listen. If it'll help me get in this movie, I'll go back to your trailer. Okay, right, and so you're laughing and no one can see this. But you were. You were laughing and that's the reaction I was hoping for. But that didn't happen. The dude looked at me, stone-faced, and said nothing and I was like okay, whatever this is, I just lost it. I'm not getting it. So I was in great shape. I still try and keep myself in great shape.
Speaker 2:We take off our shirts. We're standing there and I'm trying to look like I'm not flexing, but I'm flexing. I look over to my left and the guy on my left he's kind of heavyset. Guy on my right is like a Furby. He's like all furry and stuff a lot of body hair and so they take the camera filming us. It was the weirdest thing to take the camera. They're filming us and then they go into, like this football, huddle behind the camera and what seemed like 10 minutes it was probably 30 seconds, and the guy who came over to take their shirts off, he come, walks up to me and he shakes my hand. He goes welcome to world of combat. You're going to be scorpion.
Speaker 2:And until that moment I had no idea and I don't know to this day. And I've asked larry casanoff, the producer, many times like did you really have somebody or was it an open call audition? We just weren't telling people? He still hasn't told me what was going to happen, but I didn't know. And looking back on it, like if they had said, hey, these roles are open, I probably would have been nervous. I may have not done what I did in the grand scheme of things. And the funny end to that story is I got home and I called my mom. I go, mom, mom, mom, I got in this movie. I'm going to be scorpion. She goes that's great honey, what's a scorpion. So that's how I got that. And then and then, once I got that it was, it was a little easier to get to. Uh, I got to do Batman right after that and then blade right after that.
Speaker 1:Well, that's going to lead into my next question. What was it like to double for? I mean, listen, I think you look like them, but what was it like to double for george clooney and batman and robin?
Speaker 2:that was, I mean again, a super surreal experience, and you know, I'm probably one of only 25 people on the planet that's ever actually worn the real bat suit from the movie. And so so Pat Johnson, who, who did the fight choreography for that he did Mortal Kombat he invited me to come over to Batman. He goes I think you can double George Clooney and I go, okay, cool. And I went in and got to meet the director, joel Schumacher, and, uh, I didn't have to do any martial arts just because Pat pulled me in and I went and met Joel and Joel Joel was a floyantly flamboyant, to put it mildly, and I walked in and met him hey, how you doing. And he walked up to me. He grabs me by the chin. He goes oh my God, you are perfect. Your chin is exactly like George Clooney's, which it is Actually. We have the exact same chin and because, you know, with the mascot, all you're seeing is the chin. He goes. You are perfect, same height, same chin. I love it. Thanks, pat Boom. We walked out. That was my audition for Batman, and so we got that.
Speaker 2:But the coolest thing about that one of the coolest things was the movie previous to Batman and Robin was Batman Forever with Val Kilmer. So what they do is they repurpose the suits. So the next movie, the suits from that previous movie become the stunt suits that you rehearse in. So when they outfitted me and they put me in the bat suit, I looked in the front of the chess piece and it said Kilmer on it. So I had Val Kilmer's bat suit that I got to take pictures in and practice and do all the stuff in for the movie. And then they had the beauty, a thing called the beauty suits, and they have a trailer that is called the bat trailer and the only thing in there are the batman suits and they've got like 50 of them because you know, something happens to one, they get a pretty face with the other. So that experience of going into and it would take 25 to 30 minutes to put the suit on, like in the movie you see him, he gets in that thing in like five seconds don't happen. That thing takes forever for it. But listen, it was really cool. I got to meet Arnold Schwarzenegger, uma Thurman, chris O'Donnell, alicia Silverstone. So to get to hang out and meet with those people on set was it was just surreal.
Speaker 2:We did more fight scenes in that Batsuit than they'd ever done in any Batman movie. And we did some great stuff and Clay Barber, who was Robin's double, him and I together, I mean we did some great stuff that is somewhere on the cutting room floor that they just didn't put in the movie Because what I think happened was at that time George Clooney wasn't George Clooney, he had just come off of ER. He did another movie with Nicole Kidman that did OK, and then they put him in Batman, but they didn't trust that he was going to be able to carry the movie. So if you go back and watch Batman and Robin which I don't recommend if you go back and watch it, it's more about Mr Freeze and poison Ivy, which are Arnold Schwarzenegger and Uma Thurman, who at that time were huge stars. It's more about them and Batgirl than it actually is about Batman.
Speaker 2:So they cut out a lot of our fight scenes. That that was at the premiere. I was really bummed out about it because we would do the. We do the fight scenes on set, the crew would do standing, give us standing ovations, like the stuff they're like. We've never seen stuff like that because you know how talented clay is right. So I'm trying to keep up with him.
Speaker 1:That dude can kick like nobody's business, but we we came up with some really, really creative fight scenes that unfortunately didn't make the final cut of the movie well, you know that the uh, I don't know, and you may not know this, but the casting director for that uh, finn, she was a friend of dan hups from wmac masters, and so I got a phone call from macho. They were looking for the next robin, and so, um, they asked me if I had anybody Right and I gave them two of my students one kid just amazing looking Puerto Rican Swedish kid, angelo Perez Amazing, and then another kid from from Norway, and both of these kids were really good martial artists, they had trained me for quite some time and they went through about four or five callbacks with molly. Molly finn is her name yes he passed away um her.
Speaker 1:Her son was a friend of dan's from the art world. Um, long story short, they ended up obviously casting um what was that kids, the guy, the? Uh, what was robin's the actor?
Speaker 1:chris o'donnell they cast chris o'donnell instead, but had they cast these two kids, you know, because she had found it from terminator um, then it would have been a different movie, maybe just for the martial arts at least, because these kids could actually do martial arts. But yeah, I mean, I remember all of that, but I've always been so happy and proud for you of all those opportunities you had. But how do you balance your busy career with your personal life without prying?
Speaker 2:Well, when I did Batman and Mortal Kombat, I wasn't married. I was young and single and still ready to mingle, so it was a lot easier at that time. Nowadays I'm married, I got two kids, so it becomes a little more challenging to do that. But the answer to your question is just scheduling and learning to say no, like there's stuff I have to turn down nowadays that I just I can't crowbar another thing into my schedule what are your interests outside of the martial arts in acting?
Speaker 2:snowboarding and mountain bike riding I did not know that oh, oh, I mean, I love snowboarding. It's really one of the things. And listen, as I get older, I've gotten into golf. Unfortunately, it's very stereotypical and cliche. Oh, an old guy golfing. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I can't.
Speaker 1:I can't golf but snowboarding. I'm a big fan of skiing because it's just a lot easier to get up and down. But a lot easier to get up and down. But uh, what advice would you give to young people who are?
Speaker 2:interested in pursuing martial arts or acting, I will give them the same advice that uh, our friend, pat johnson, gave me, uh, early on in my career. It's just on this set of shoot fighter, one of the first things I did with him, uh, he gave me some great advice because I had some speaking lines and stuff and I wasn't doing well. I wasn't an actor at that point because I hadn't taken any acting lessons, I was just a martial artist that thought he could act. There was a big difference between those two people. He came up to me one day on set and he goes Chris, I want to tell you something, chris, my son, as he would say to us all the time on WMAC, he said listen, they can take a great actor and make him look like a martial artist, but they cannot take a great martial artist and make him look like an actor. You need to take acting lessons. And I took that advice to heart and I did and I signed up, took acting lessons for six, seven years, uh, just going through, and I you know three different acting coaches because different styles. You got improv, you got drama, you got comedy. So that advice served me well because it helped me land some roles that I wouldn't have gotten had I not taken those lessons.
Speaker 2:The other thing I would say is learn to understand that no doesn't mean you're no good. I can't tell you, herb, the amount of times I heard no, and I'm sure you have too. No, you're not right for this. No, you're not right for that. It doesn't mean you're not good. It just means a casting director has a job. They've got to make that character be the person off the page on the screen. Sometimes you don't have the right look, sometimes you're not delivering your acting lines the right way or you're just not the right body type of what they're looking for.
Speaker 2:It's very specific on roles that they cast, but the thing for that to remember is this You're a no for that one, but, like Molly Finn, the casting director, okay, you're not right for that, but they cast other projects and if you're respectful and you're kind and you're humble and you do the right things, you do a good job, but you're just not right for that role, they go. Hey, I remember that Chris guy. Things you do a good job, but you're just not right for that role to go. Hey, I remember that Chris guy. He wasn't right for that that movie, but I think this one's going to be good for him. Let's give him a call. And so I would get calls like that on other castings that I went to that the answer was no, no, no, and I get pulled into other projects.
Speaker 1:And I have one. I have one last question, and it's are you involved or do you have any plans of becoming involved in, I mean, what's next for you? Do you have any more film or television projects? Or is it business, the mortal combat, the business combat thing that you're doing that? What is your, what's next for you?
Speaker 2:Uh, what's next for me? Uh, number one on the agenda is, uh, pushing forward on my bully proof program. Uh, hopefully getting that on Disney and doing that and that combines both my love of martial arts and my love of film and television, that would be great. So I'm pushing forward with that. We'll find out what happens first quarter of 2025. With that I've got another kid's book for bully-proof prevention that I'm going to launch. Our goal we're at 17 Red Dragon locations. My first goal's next stop is 25. I want to get us to 25. If we get 25 and I can stabilize, I'm going to shoot for 50. 25 and I can stabilize, I'm going to shoot for 50.
Speaker 2:Because, listen and you know this herb what we do changes lives and it saves lives. The amount of students and parents that I've talked to and run into over the years. It says my kid still remembers you and he remembers what you taught him. And blah, blah, blah. Because now it's generational for me.
Speaker 2:I've been teaching for almost 40 years, so I'm on my almost my third generation of people. I've been teaching for almost 40 years, so I'm on my almost my third generation of people. I've got kids, of kids who are bringing me their kids. So not only do I feel old, but I feel honored that, like you taught my dad and you taught my grandpa, I'm like I taught your grandpa Holy cow, that's crazy. So we're pushing forward that I do a ton of public speaking. So I'm like I, I'm listen, I'm not stopping, you know I'm I'm a rolling stone that's going to gather no moss. So I'm doing public speaking and writing books. I'm doing the boy for thing. I did a movie with master ken last year called cop versus killer, which is out on amazon um, whose real name is matt page, uh, so I'm still doing that. I'm working. We've got a couple film projects that I'm going to do next year as well.
Speaker 1:So I'm still doing all the things that I did because I enjoy it and I love it and I'm very blessed to be able to make a really good living at the things that I love well, I think that's, that's the, that's the cap to a great conversation today, because the one thing I've always respected and admired and I enjoyed working with you, the short period of time that I did get to on WMAC Masters and the cast and crew and characters that we, uh, uh, we we had the benefit of, of spending time with I mean, some of the best, in my opinion, some of the best martial artists um, uh, striking, but the? Um, with the exception of one or two, the but what an amazing time that was, was an amazing life. But the thing that has always impressed me about you, chris, is that you don't stop. Many people just stop. They either stopped doing martial arts or they stopped finding and doing what their passion was.
Speaker 1:And the thing that you said which I'm going to remember and I always like to have a takeaway for people, is we help people, and you have helped and continue to help many people. I've been a beneficiary of that during that time and over the years that we've stayed in touch. You know you've always been that positive influence and I love your story about your confidence and your what some might perceive to be something different than that, but you just used it in such an amazing way, and I wish you the best as you continue to help people. Do what we do, do it better, whatever it takes for them to understand that, because I know that your business seminars resonate with people and I know that they sign up there for a reason. If somebody wanted to get involved in your programs, where would be the best place for them to find you?
Speaker 2:Well, listen, I'm the easiest guy to find on social media. I'm on all the platforms Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, YouTube. I'm pretty easy to find. The challenge is spelling my last name. But you could go to our studio, which is RedDragonKarate. But you could go to, you know, our studio, which is red dragon karatecom. Or you can go to business combatcom, and that's combat with a K, a little tongue in cheek reference to mortal combat. Uh, for more information on that. But, Herb, listen, you're a humble guy too, so don't sell yourself short. We crushed on WMAC masters and the cat.
Speaker 2:The cast that they put together on that was made up of the best martial artists in the country at that time, so even if we don't say so ourselves even if we don't say so, I'm going to say it for you.
Speaker 2:Okay, you. And if you've never seen herb a kick, I've never seen someone kick that hard in my life. You actually scared me the first time I heard you kick a shield and so I was super impressed with you and I knew you'd won the olympics and stuff so I knew you were no joke, but we had a blast on that show and we got to do pull up and push up workouts on Pat Johnson. Grab bar.
Speaker 1:Grab bar and then we went. We spent as much time in the gym and I was jealous because I could never look. No matter what I did, I couldn't get a tricep like you guys had. What I did, I couldn't get a tricep like you guys had and nobody wanted to take their shirt off in front of Hakeem or Mike Bernardo. Those guys had it Well. Chris, thanks again for today. I know you have a busy schedule, but we'll have to do it again. I appreciate you.
Speaker 2:Thank you, Thanks for having me on the show man.
Speaker 1:Well, that was an amazing podcast and I even learned a few things about Chris Casamassa that I did not know before. Tenth Degree Black Belt still inspiring younger generations to succeed, but, more importantly, bringing others along that journey that can help others. His words about inspiring others and leaving a legacy will last with me for a long time, and I hope they do with you as well. Don't forget to check out our other podcast, and again, this has been a Masters Alliance podcast, uncut, and I'm Herb Perez. See you next time, thank you.