SPRING IN MOTION: An Interview With KID HARU

Over the latter half my weekend, I got the opportunity to talk to 22-year old native Los Angelean, Devin White. On YouTube, viewers and fans know him as KidHaru – vlogger, tricker, gymnast, freerunner and indie filmmaker. You might be wondering what a name like “Kid Haru” means anyway. Well, I got that covered:

KH: Kid is part of a long running gaming handle. My usernames were always Kid___. Haru is Japanese for spring. When I first created it, I thought it meant fire. I liked the element fire. So yeah. Now its funny since spring has nothing to do with me considering I was born in the winter.

Aside from doing his own stuff, he also collaborates with other filmmakers and teams. His latest creation features martial arts actor and filmmaker Brendon Huor in the new shortfilm, “YouTube Self Defense“. In it, Huor stars as a parody of himself giving a lesson in self-defense via screnfighting, where the students get more than what they bargained for.

I found it pretty hilarious and I was glad it got my attention. But, more on that later.

Meantime, I got to chat with Devin for a bit over the latter half of my weekend, and here is some of the stuff we discussed, starting with an inquiry about his interest in martial arts and sports:

Screenshot from The Danger Element: Battle Jitni

FCSyndicate: So how long have you been involved in martial arts and sports?

KH: I’ve always been in love with martial arts and used to try and learn it as a kid through those big picture books that break down each technique in four pictures. I was too young to really understand it though so I just did whatever. I didn’t get to officially start taking proper instruction until 2007 when I got to study Tae Kwon Do under Coach2Win of the EMC Monkeys. Sports wise, I’ve always been involved in some sport. Baseball, track and field, gymnastics, bmx, skateboarding, inline skating. I may not have been good at all of them but I’ve always done something.

FCSyndicate: When did you start getting into films and acting?

KH: Sophomore year of high school. I was going to be an animator at the time, but realized I hated drawing for other people and on a deadline, haha. I passively have always wanted to make films, but didn’t decide ’til around ’07 to actually start when a friend on The Stunt People forums told me all you needed was something to shoot on. Nothing fancy. Acting wise, I don’t really know. I grew up going to performing arts magnets until high school so it’s always just followed me. I’ve never really considered myself much of an actor though. I suck, haha.

Harry Shum Jr. (Step Up 2 and 3, The LXD) with Devin on the set of “Already Gone” directed by Ross Ching

FCSyndicate: So what made you want to feature action on film?

KH: Growing up in the golden age of Jackie.

FCSyndicate: Jackie Chan I presume? Lol

KH: Correct haha. Police Story, Operation Condor, Rumble in the Bronx. I watched his films like crazy growing up. I didn’t get to know about Yuen Biao and Sammo until high school. But yeah, I grew up with a strong love and respect for martial arts, and loved watching movies.

FCSyndicate: What are some of your favorite films to date?

KH: In general, LuckyNumberSlevin, City of Violence, the newer Oceans franchise as I haven’t seen the classic one yet, Operation Condor, Who am I, The last dragon (haha), Dragon Tiger Gate, Drunken Master 2, and Jeux D’enfants. There are more but I’ll just stop it there, haha.

Brendon Huor is an award-winning martial artist who has trained all his life. Having worked with several martial arts and film professionals over the course of his career, including Team Sideswipe, Thousand Pounds Action Conpany, and LBP Stunts Chicago, it is without question that Brendon has proven himself to be a naturally talented and valuable asset to the martial arts screenfighting and stunt industry. This is when I asked Devin about how he met Brendon, where Devin also explains the creative methodology behind a lot of his films:

FCSyndicate: So how did you and Brendon Huor meet?

KH: A friend named Vlad Rimburg (check out his stuff, it’s amazing) was holding a shoot and so he called me out. I was one of 3 bad guys and Brendon Huor and Donald Mills were the other two. We didn’t really communicate much until my buddy Andy Le called him in on a shoot I was doing with Adande Thorne (swoozie06) on youtube.

FCSyndicate: What brought on the idea of Youtube self defense? Did you write it yourself?

KH: I don’t think I really write anything to be honest. I’m a horrible writer and a really big procrastinator.

FCSyndicate: So was it all improv?

KH: Every one of my video starts off as something completely different. In this case, I was going to be at a theater and then pull a “last action hero.” or viewtiful joe haha. Everyone I tried to call up bailed at the last second with the exception of Brendon so it became, you should kill all of my fellow next uppers. So it sorta just became that. The moment I thought of him killing everyone as a psuedo instructor. Everything fell into place. I like a lot of improv so I’d ask everyone how they wanted to die and from there we’d joke until I chose one. The goal of being there was collaboration which that video definitely is a labor of. It makes a shoot a lot more fun when people are vocal about what they’d find funny. So everyone got input on what they wanted. I just made the final decisions and gave it a body.

Currently a senior in college, Devin still has a lot of longevity in his life and a lot of time to map out his dreams. Recently he announced he is taking a temporary break from vlogging so ge can focus on other aspects of his channel and continuing to popularize his brand. So when he graduates, he isn’t going to hit the ground running. But as per his name and the beliefs he shares in doing what he loves, I’m sure will hit the ground “Sprining”. (I know, I’m corny. But I had to, lol)

Here is what he said when I inquired about his filmmaking goals:

KH: I want to put together a small production team and from there, and produce long form content and features over time. I’m not trying to make it in traditional media, but I would love to be one of the innovators pushing new media forward. I still have a long way to go but in time, I want to really step up the message of my videos and have them actually convey ideas and outlooks that can influence my young audience for the better and to be better people. I want to be Mr.Rogers with kicks.

I normally inquire about what sorts of films people are looking forward to in the near future. Here are some of his answers:

KH: College has me watch 3-4 films a week so I’m kind’ve burned out on movies at the moment ironically, but I’ll probably see Oblivion, After Earth, and whatever other trailers I see that peak my interest. It’ll take either a outing with friends or a really open day though for me to get to the theater.

Finally, I also asked Devin about who he attributes his inspiration to the most in becoming who he is today and what he hopes to be in the days and years ahead:

KH: I’ll have to go with my Mom, haha. She’s been tough on me to not ask for answers on a lot of stuff but rather go out and figure it out myself. I’m a bit of a wanderer and hate depending on others. So I’ve met a lot of people in my life that have influenced me one way or another into the person I am today but my mom was the one who started me on this path.

The one other film Devin did mention was the upcoming ensemble Hong Kong action comedy ohmage feature, Unlucky Stars, which also involves members of LBP Stunts Chicago and other teams. As a forenote for my readers, I hope to get to chat with one of the cast or crew of that film as the release approaches for later this year.

Meantime, I want to thank Devin for sharing his words with me, and I wish him best of luck throughout the year.

You can also find links to his Facebook and Twitter pages on his Youtube channel, where you can also subscribe!

Enjoy!