A NORTH EAST couch potato turned modern day warrior has been commissioned to film a documentary about his experience – with Hoults Yard Byker taking centre stage.
Local film maker Andy Smith will be the focus of the ‘Is it cos I’m fat’ documentary, which tracks a personal challenge set by weapons-fighting legend Lynn Thompson to live an adventure, rather than watch one, and will be shown as part of Northern Film & Media’s community documentary scheme, Capture.
Self confessed geek Andy was planning to stay firmly out of the action and behind the camera lens when he first met the life-long practitioner of martial arts, but after agreeing to the challenge, news at creative hub Hoults Yard spread and now he not only has the support of HYBY-based Northern Film & Media, but also of production company Vita Nova films, also at Hoults.
Sunderland University educated Andy, who has a fear of violence after being attacked and bullied in the past, is spending many a waking hour training with kettlebells, weaponry and boxing at Hoults Yard – not only the location of aptly named training space ‘The Fridge’, but also home of his day job at digital media company Mere Mortals, where he uses every lunch break and evening to hone his skills.
Hoults Yard managing director Charlie Hoult said: “Who’d have thought we’d have our own tomahawk-throwing range in Byker? Pure genius.
“This project is one of those fantastic leftfield opportunities that come to Hoults Yard on a regular basis, like Streetwise Opera in the cafe for LateShows, or BritArtist Gillian Wearing using our dungeon or the Uraguayan artist wanting to recreate a French Revolution guillotine scene.
“We want to support this kind of project because it will put the North East on the map as a place of real creativity.
“It’s all part of the buzz at the yard and the reason we’re cementing our reputation as the region’s creative hub. We love a whacky project because it gives us something to discuss in the café.”
The heavy training all leads to Andy’s participation in the Cold Steel Challenge, California, in September – an internationally renowned weapons tournament for the best of the best, where he will be fighting with sticks, swords and knives.
Andy, who has added axe-throwing and stick fighting to the training mix, said: “I really didn’t expect my adventure to get so much attention. What started out as a personal challenge to overcome my fears of violence has become a real community focus. The reactions I’ve had from people have been so encouraging. The training’s tough, but I hope the film will be something that resonates with a lot of people.
“It’s not going to be a film about violence. It’s a film about confidence, and I hope that comes across. I am 32, heavily overweight, insecure and something of a geek, and I’d never dreamed of picking up a sword before. But I was fascinated by the warrior lifestyle people like Lynn lead and after he challenged me to stop hiding behind my own stereotype, I really wanted to see what I was made of.”
“I can’t praise the guys at Hoults Yard enough. When I first approached them for a training space, I was hoping for an office at the most. But what they gave me was awesome – it’s more like a batcave.
“I’ve got plenty of space to train with my tyre stack and punch bag; I have a place to throw my axes and it’s perfect because it’s 24 hour access.”
