McKay Stewart: Flips, fights and facts One hour. One Nikon. One alley under Freddie Roach's gym.

I Choreographed an Alley Fight Under Wildcard Boxing

· McKay Stewart

May 25, 2018. Hollywood.

I posted my first headshot.

Not of me.

Of David Wachs.

I shot it at Wildcard Boxing Club right after a fight I had choreographed and filmed with Jasper Jeon.

Dramatic night portrait of actor David Wachs in a leather jacket, looking over his shoulder My first headshot: David Wachs, shot at Wildcard Boxing Club after the fight. Photo: McKay Stewart, shared on X.

Wildcard Gym

Wildcard is Freddie Roach’s gym on Vine Street in Hollywood.

I train Western boxing there. That detail sits on my IMDb bio with my other martial arts.

On June 1, 2018 I posted a simple line:

“Nothing like some boxing at Wildcard in Hollywood”

Hashtags: #funburn, #wildcardselfie, #freddyroachstyle.

No photo that day. Just the burn.

A few weeks later I was still playing with a new Nikon at home. I posted a bright “smelfie” and asked what people thought.

McKay Stewart bright high-key selfie experimenting with a new Nikon Experimenting with the new Nikon at home. Photo: McKay Stewart, June 29, 2018 on X.

That same camera habit showed up under the gym.

The alley under the gym

We shot the fight beneath Wildcard Boxing Gym.

Alley. Night. Concrete. Overhead lights.

David Wachs and Jasper Jeon (also tagged as Jasper Howard Jeon / @jasperheon) went head to head.

I did four jobs on it:

  • Fight choreography
  • Camera
  • Edit
  • Direction

They learned the choreography and we shot it in about one hour.

Marc Mellens did sound design and score. He also helped with color.

Christy-Anne Lopez appears in the piece too.

I shot it myself on a Nikon.

David Wachs in a leather jacket and white tank in a night alley, from the Alley Brawl short Night alley look from the finished short. Frame from David Wachs vs. Jasper Jeon — Alley Brawl.

It drops January 2019

January 12, 2019. I put the short on YouTube and blasted it on X.

Title: “David Wachs vs. Jasper Jeon - Alley Brawl.”

Runtime: 29 seconds.

I wrote that it was an intense back-alley brawl. Shot beneath Wildcard Gym in Hollywood. Choreographed, shot, and edited by me.

Watch it here:

“David Wachs vs. Jasper Jeon - Alley Brawl” on my YouTube channel. Uploaded January 12, 2019. Directed, shot, edited, and fight-choreographed by me.

Same day I also mentioned another brawl I had choreographed with James Kyson. Different piece. Same fight-nerd energy.

Same crew, later fight: Down Tempo

December 2020. I came back with the same two actors.

Piece title: “Down Tempo.”

Again starring Jasper Jeon and David Wachs.

This time I wrote it too.

Credits I listed:

  • Written by me
  • Directed by me
  • Fight choreographed by me
  • Shot by me
  • Edited by me
  • Sound design and scoring by Marc Mellens again

I posted the clip on X on December 16, 2020 and said we crushed it. They were easy to work with. The fight looked hard. The set felt simple and street.

David Wachs on a phone in a leather jacket while a woman in a red dress lights a cigarette in the background, from Down Tempo Mood before the swing. Still from Down Tempo. Frame from the clip I shared on X.

Jasper Jeon walking toward camera in a sleeveless hoodie under fluorescent alley lights, from Down Tempo Jasper Jeon enters the frame. Still from the same Down Tempo X post.

Down Tempo fight clip from my Dec 16, 2020 X post. Also on YouTube: Down Tempo feat. Jasper Jeon and David Wachs (uploaded Dec 15, 2020, 29 seconds).

Close-up of David Wachs looking up, woman in red dress in soft focus behind him, from Down Tempo Another Down Tempo still from that same X upload.

Why this stuck with me

I like fights that feel real.

Not big CG. Not a giant stage.

Just two actors who learn the beat, a Nikon, an alley under a boxing gym, and a clock that says one hour.

Wildcard taught me the boxing. The alley let me put that training into a camera.

David and Jasper made it look easy. Marc made it sound mean.

If you only watch one, start with the Alley Brawl. Then hit Down Tempo.

Sources

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