Holiday Action



2013 Hollywood Christmas Parade

Last night I went to the Hollywood Christmas Parade.  It was SO COOL!  Thanks to my friend Carlos Aguilar, my family and I had front row seat s for the parade.  It was so much fun!

Carlos was the producer on the Toys for Tots/Shriners Hospital commercial I filmed a couple of weeks ago.  He heard I wanted to be a director and even let me call “Action”!  It was awesome!  The commercial will air during the Hollywood Christmas Parade when it airs on tv (see schedule below).
 

Toys for Tots/Shriners Hospital commercial shoot

"And action!"

Me and my new friend Carlos Aguilar, Producer

Hollywood Blvd was covered with a giant red carpet for the parade and our seats were right on the carpet!  It was fun getting to see Carlos again too!

With my friend Carlos Aguilar

Me and my brothers William & Mel
on the red carpeted Hollywood Blvd



There was a concert before the parade and we heard some really great music!  Daughtry, the Goo Goo Dolls, Richie Sambora, Kenny Loggins, the McClain Sisters, Billy Ray Cyrus, and Stevie Wonder were just some of the artists.  

The McClain Sisters

Billy Ray Cyrus

Daughtry

Kenny Loggins



Richie Sambora

Some of the artists even came down for pictures and Billy Ray Cyrus even grabbed my family and pulled us backstage to listen to Stevie Wonder with him.  It was COOL!



Me, my brothers, and my dad with Richie Sambora

The Waidmann Guys with Billy Ray Cyrus

Hanging out backstage with Billy Ray
(Watching Stevie Wonder sing)



The parade was really great!  There were floats, balloons, bands, and lots of celebrities!

 

Great view of the parade!

Front Row Seats





Lorax Balloon

Cast of Melissa & Joey
 

Hollywood Blvd Parade Route

Smurf Balloon

It was a really fun way to kick off the Christmas season!



Happy Holidays!

I hope everyone had a Happy Thanksgiving and Happy Hanukkah!

 

You can see the Toys for Tots/Shriners Hospital commercial during the airing of the Hollywood Christmas Parade on the Hallmark Channel Dec 11^th 2 pm ET/PT, 1 pm CT, Dec 20^th 5 pm ET/PT, 4 pm CT, Dec 14^th 11 am ET/PT, 10 am CT, or on KTLA Channel 5 CW Dec 20^th 8 pm PT, Dec 22^nd 3 pm PT.

The Hollywood Christmas Parade

 

 

Let the Holiday Action begin!



Action on the Red Carpet

Red Carpet Action in Hollywood

Last month I went to a great red carpet event in Hollywood. It was the 1^st Exceptional Abilities Awards. The event was put on by Michael Cooney at the Joint, in Hollywood. It was an awesome night!

Me outside The Joint, Hollywood, CA

There were lots of awards given out to actors, musicians, artists, and organizers who either have different abilities or help promote inclusion for people with different abilities.

 I was interviewed on the red carpet which is something I love doing! I saw some of my good friends and met some great new ones.


Red Carpet Interviews are SO FUN!

Red Carpet Interview for ICN - China TV

  One new friend I made was an actor named David Lander. My mom introduced him to me as “Squiggy”. That’s a really cool name! Mr. Lander played a character named “ Squiggy” on a show called “Lavern & Shirley”. He’s really funny!



Me with my new friend David Lander "Squiggy"

I also met a great artist named Melissa Stewart. She had some great artwork on display and she autographed one of her prints for me.


Me with artist Melissa Stewart


It was fun and exciting to be at the event and to see all the great awards being given out. The best part of the night was getting to hear my friend Toby sing with his band Cityzen. They’re AWESOME! I can’t wait to hear them play again!




Me with my friend Toby Forrest, Lead Singer for Cityzen





Cityzen rocked the house!

There are lots of great things happening in Hollywood. I’m just glad to be part of the action!

 



Me and my friend David Zimmerman.
Congratulations on your award!



Hanging out with PUSH Girl Tiphay Adams

 



Ice Action

My favorite adaptive sport is sled hockey. I started playing a year ago and I liked it so much, my family helped me get it started near us. We now have the Riptide Sled Hockey Program in Oxnard.

This weekend we were invited by our friend Nick Jenkins from the Jr. Reign Sled Hockey team in Riverside to do an on ice demo for Hockey Fest with the LA Kings at the Staples Center.

 

Me and my brothers at the Staples Center

We love hockey!  Go Kings!

Me and my friend Nick Jenkins

It was my first time at the Staples Center. The ice was so smooth! It was like glass!


The Waidmann boys ready to get on the ice!

We played a scrimmage game with players from the Riverside, Bakersfield, and Oxnard sled teams. Then, two of the LA Kings players got out on the ice, in sleds, with us! It was so cool showing these professional Hockey players how to use the sleds.

LA Kings player Ben Scrivens dropping the puck for the scrimmage game

Me (blue jersey) and Nick (white jersey) playing with LA Kings player Ben Scrivens

My brothers, Mel & William racing LA Kings player Daniel Carcillo

There are so many great adaptive sports!  One of the reasons I like sled hockey is because everyone can play!  No matter what your abilities are, there are adaptations available for everyone.  My brothers and I can even play all together.

If you haven't tried sled hockey, you should!  There are teams in almost every state.  Visit USA Hockey www.usahockey.com/SLED_Hockey or send us a message on our team website www.riptidesledhockey.comto look for one in your area and check out some on ice action yourself!


Surf Action

Life Rolls On
They Will Surf Again 2013
Huntington Beach, CA

This weekend I experienced a new action!  I surfed for my first time ever!  It was SO AWESOME!  I LOVE the water.  My mom says she thinks I'm part fish.  The beach, the pool, a lake...it doesn't matter.  I love them all!

When we go to the beach, I usually just like to hang out in the water.  I tried Boogie Boarding last week and it was ok, but surfing....surfing is AMAZING!

Thanks to the Life Rolls On Foundation and an amazing group of volunteer surfers,  on Saturday, I got my chance to hang ten.  I caught 7 waves!  I felt like I was riding a rocket!  I just wanted to keep going again, and again!

It was just awesome!  My birthday is coming up in October.  I told my dad I think I know what I want for my birthday - an adaptive longboard and a wetsuit!  I can't wait to get out there and surf again!

Life Rolls On is an awesome organization found by this guy...

Jesse Billauer
(picture courtesy of liferollson.org)

In 1996, Jesse was injured in a surfing accident at Zuma Beach.  His spinal cord injury resulted in quadriplegia.  He'd lost the ability to walk and had limited mobility in his arms & hands, but that didn't stop him!  He took his love for the action of surfing and founded Life Rolls On.  On the LRO website, Jesse explains "LRO is an avenue to hope, independence, freedom, happiness, inspiration, and teamwork.  It is about bringing people together and changing lives one day, one program, and one person at a time."

To find out more great action events sponsored by Life Rolls on, visit their website www.liferollson.org.

You can see more about Jesse Billauer and his inspiring story in the feature film "Jesse's Story".

And don't forget to check out the rest of the pictures and video from my amazing surf action!

Future in Action

In case you missed it the first time... I love acting! I love everything about the process of TV, films, & theater. It's so awesome! In the future I hope to be a great director, but for now, I get to do some pretty cool stuff!

Last week I got a message from a producer.  He is working on a documentary about bullying and overcoming diversity called "Broken Bones-Shattered Dreams, A Story of Hope".  After a nice talk with him he asked me to also come onboard as an Associate Producer! I'm so excited!

I can't believe at 15 I will be adding Associate Film Producer to my credits!  This is such a really great project too!

We've already had a lot of emails and texts, and a couple of conference calls.  It's so fun!  I even have some of my friends who have come on board to join me in working with this project. It's going to be so great working with everyone and making new friends!

So many great things are happening!  To keep up to date on the project, follow us on Facebook by liking our page https://www.facebook.com/BrokenBonesShatteredDreams

I have some other cool things happening this weekend too.  I'll share more about those next week so keep watching for more action!

And ACTION!

Yep, that's me, Brock Waidmann, and yes, I use a wheelchair.  Big deal.  That doesn't stop me.  I love the action in life.

I'm 15 years old and I'm an actor, athlete, brother, and friend.  Acting is my life!  I love every part of it.  From the auditions, filming, and being involved in production, to watching movies and tv shows.  Some day I'm going to be a director and direct some really great tv shows.

This last year I've been playing sports....a lot!  I've gone two years in a row to UCSB for a week long wheelchair sports camp where I've learned to play so many sports.  Basketball, rugby, rock climbing, and sled hockey are some of my favorites.  This last month I even tried adaptive skateboarding.  It was awesome! I did a skate clinic with John Stark, and I even got to see Aaron "Wheelz" Fotheringham do a backflip and Christiaan "Otter" Bailey do the "Otter Pop".  It was so cool!

I'd say my life is full of action, pretty cool!