Cage Fighter

[schrackman]

I bet you folks didn't realize the talent we have here in this edge-of-the-desert town we call Banning, did ya? Heck, even Susan Olsen (Cindy Brady of the Brady Bunch) is from our area (though born in Santa Monica). Well, here's another one....

I got a chance today to scoot in on a documentary being filmed about Sean McCaffery (left), an up and coming cage fighter. The guy is amazingly strong for his size; he's only a little bit bigger and taller than me, but his arms are a lot huger than mine and he's got only about 1% body fat. He used to have a big drug problem and quite a few run-ins with the law, but he got religion, got clean, got married, and had kids. Now he's working his way up the ranks of cage fighting.

Sitting next to him is Bob Rochelle, an acquaintance of mine through the Chamber of Commerce. I didn't know it until today but I learned he's a former professional basketball player back from the early 60s and was once named Cosmopolitan's most eligible bachelor. He's now a real estate broker and land developer here in Banning. Bob is nearly 70 years old, and would you believe kept up with Sean the other day when he did his cardio workout!

And next to Bob is Sean's dad, a part-time musician and an avid Harley rider (see last pic).

Behind Sean is his brother (forgot his name), who is equally buffed and spars with his brother to help him train for fights. Despite their rough and tough looking exterior, these guys have a heart of gold.

I'm hoping this Thursday to actually shoot some portraits of Sean in his boxing gear.