Tell about yourself and story!
I am a lifelong New Yorker and martial artist with black belts in Tae Kwon Do, Judo and a Master of Sport of Russia in Combat Sambo.
I competed a fair amount of combat sports in my younger days with some success and officially began coaching in 2003 when I started my own gym, New York Combat Sambo.
Aside from my own team, which has had a wide range of success in Sambo, MMA, Jiu Jitsu and other combat sports, I have also coached Sambo and Combat Wrestling national & world teams, with multiple individual and team championships.
I have been truly fortunate to have been able to train, teach or coach around the world in such places as Russia, Ukraine, Japan, Bulgaria, Hungary, Serbia, and many others.
I am also an Association of Boxing Commissions approved MMA referee and judge with many years involved in MMA coaching, officiating and safety & regulatory development.
I am very proud to have been able to give back to my community and have counted among my students many military and law enforcement professionals including UN and DOS Diplomatic Security Officers, NYPD, FBI, DEA and NY State Court Officers. I have been a guest combatives instructor at West Point Military Academy and Ft. Campbell.
5 years ago I became a SAG-AFTRA stunt performer. Since childhood I dreamed of working in the film and television industry; and even attended film-making camp during several summers of my youth.
This is where I first started learning how to shoot a film from script to screen. As I got older I continued to experiment with film-making. I started with an old super-8 camera of my dad’s, then with video tape, and later with modern digital technology.
Funny thing is I always wanted to be behind the camera and was most interested in SFX. I knew this thing called a “stuntman” existed, but I never made the connection or even considered it when I was young.
After high school I attended the School of Visual Arts in New York City on a full scholarship and earned my BFA. I later earned my Master's degree in Art Therapy from Hofstra University and worked in pediatric oncology for almost a decade before making the leap to run my martial arts gym full time.
What inspired you to become a stunt person?
Honestly, I have martial arts and YouTube to thank. I started my YouTube channel in 2006 when it was a brand-new thing, putting up martial arts instructional videos.
That got me back into thinking about shooting and creating content. I produced a few DVDs and continued to put up content on YouTube. The channel became popular and put me on the radar of a few people who reached out for my services as a martial arts technical adviser for television including HUMAN WEAPON in History Channel in 2007 (my first real TV gig) and DHANI TACKLES THE GLOBE on Travel Channel in 2009 (where I also appeared as myself).
After that I started thinking about the industry more seriously and produced several short films and documentaries. I also continued to get gigs appearing on myself or in different production roles for combat sports television like Spike TV and Bellator MMA.
One of my first interactions with the stunt community was in 2014 when Chad Stahelski and the 87 Eleven team came by my gym while casting the first JOHN WICK film – they found me on YouTube!
I am grateful to have worked with them a bit on the subsequent installments since then. Later that same year I produced a short film (a proof of concept for a television series) which received some publicity and got me in the room with a noted director who was considering it as a potential show to pick up.
The show went nowhere, but as a result of those meetings I did meet a veteran stunt coordinator here in NY named Doug Crosby. He liked the fight scene I had choreographed for the short and suggested I consider stunts, that I might have a future in that industry.
That is when a bell went of in my head, and since then I have been all in regarding becoming a stunt performer. One of my best friends, students and partners at my gym, Paul Varacchi, had similar goals and off we went on this journey together.
Honestly, I have not looked back or regretted the decision once. I feel like everything I have done in my life, no matter how winding the road may have seemed, had led to that moment.
What is your greatest skill as a stunt performer, is there a story behind it?
I got in as a fight guy for obvious reasons. But, as you well know, after you get in is really when the serious work begins.
You must prove yourself, earn trust, watch, train your butt off, network, and keep learning. Wash, rinse and repeat.
It was several years before a coordinator trusted me to be more deeply involved in any kind of fight development - other than hitting the ground LOL. Doc Duhame took a chance on me by casting me as Eddie Marsan’s double in season 6 of RAY DONOVAN, a role which involved primarily fighting.
I am grateful to Doc as that show was where I really started to cut my teeth in the business and really learn the process of fight creation (for television at least). He also involved me in planning other gags I was not involved in, and just generally showing me the ropes.
I learned a ton from him and all the stunt team that worked that season. It was a pivotal moment for me in the profession.
Having said that, I aspire to be much more than a fight guy who can hit the ground well for coordinators. I have dedicated myself to becoming a good all-around performer.
I want to be much more than a specialist and continue to actively train driving, tactical, fire, acting, rigging, and importantly shooting and editing action. I am not an expert in any of those yet, but I am a closer to being the dependable utility performer I want to be.
My prior experience in production, with filmmaking, and organizational skill has definitely been an asset as well.
But, to bring it back to your original question, I feel my strongest skill is my work ethic and desire to grow & improve my game.
That is absolutely what one will get if they hire me – a guy with no ego who embraces the grind.
What is the best part about being a stunt performer?
Without a doubt it is the collaboration and community.
There is nothing better than the feeling at the end of a great day when everyone on set – not just the stunt department – feels like they created something special together.
That does not always happen, but when it does you just cannot beat that feeling. Along these lines, I just love learning.
Even on the “easiest” days on set, I get so engrossed with what is going on around me. I love being part of this larger organism.
It is literally a living thing and a privilege to be a part of.
Tell your All-Time Favorite Stunt Story!
It is hard to single out one favorite stunt story.
I have genuinely enjoyed this entire ride so far! Having said that, one of the things I love most is seeing the folks I started in this industry with progress and move up the ranks.
I love seeing people’s success. It is so gratifying to watch.
To know how much people want success, to see and be a part of how hard they work at it, and then see them achieve it? It is just awesome.
There is nothing better than seeing your friends enjoy the fruits of all their hard work and dedication.
This is truly a team effort. Their success is mine, and mine is theirs.
What advice would you give other stunt people?
I guess the most important advice I could give, especially to those newer to the industry (but really for everyone), is to never stop training and always embrace learning.
We never know everything, and the industry is always evolving. Never hesitate to ask a question and always be honest about your skill level.
Think of yourself like a special ops operator who must be ready for when that call comes. It is your job to be ready, and if you are not ready, do not take the job. When not working, you should be training.
Part of our training, in my opinion, must include learning the history of our profession. I think knowing where we came from and on whose shoulders we stand is critical.
Not just to honor those who came before us (which is important obviously), but also so we can evolve, learn past techniques that may have been forgotten, see where current techniques came from, or avoid making mistakes of the past.
There is a lot of information out there – books to read, movies to watch and veterans to talk to. Every performer should feel it is incumbent on them to spend time in the history books, not just in the training hall.
One of the biggest surprises I encountered after getting in the union was the sheer volume of in-person and self-tape auditions I would need to do. I got myself an acting coach as a result and it was well worth it. That is absolutely a required skill to develop.
Lastly, I think it is important to not become too embedded and obsessive about our respective factions. Healthy competition is great. It can inspire creativity and the pushing of imaginative boundaries.
But, I think we have all witnessed when this can become toxic for our community. I think forming clans is a natural aspect of human interaction. After all, we all need our crew to depend on, train with, sweat with and feel safe with.
But, in excess or fueled by ego, it can do more harm than good for our community. I have experienced some of the most wonderful, supportive and loving people in this stunt family of ours.
But, like all families, ours has some disfunction to be mindful of.
Anything else you would like to tell the community about?
Paul Varacchi and I started a stunt training group called Breakfall Studios that operates out of my gym.
We host regular workshops, and are available for rent as a location, for rehearsals, training, previz shoots, auditions, etc.
Of course, anyone interested in martial arts can certainly consider training at my gym as well.
Links!
On Instagram, Twitter and YouTube: @sambosteve
Our stunt training group, Breakfall Studios, on Instagram: @BreakfallStunts
NY Combat Sambo: www.ussambo.com
Breakfall Studios: www.breakfallstudios.com
Vimeo Channel (with reels, etc.): www.vimeo.com/stephenkoepfer