THIS FILM WAS NEVER MEANT TO BE A TRADITIONAL FIGHT PROMOTION.

IT BEGAN AFTER MY SECOND AMATEUR MMA LOSS. UNLIKE MY FIRST DEFEAT, WHERE MY INSTINCT WAS TO IMMEDIATELY CHASE ANOTHER VICTORY,

THIS ONE FORCED ME INTO STILLNESS. I HAD RECENTLY MOVED FROM HOUSTON TO BUFFALO, LEAVING BEHIND

EVERYTHING THAT WAS FAMILIAR. FOR THE FIRST TIME IN YEARS, I QUESTIONED WHETHER MARTIAL ARTS WAS STILL PART OF MY FUTURE.

DURING THAT PERIOD I SPENT MORE TIME OBSERVING LIFE THAN TRYING TO CONTROL IT. LONG WALKS, QUIET MOMENTS, TRAINING WITHOUT EXPECTATIONS,

AND ASKING MYSELF A SIMPLE QUESTION: WHY AM I HERE TODAY?

NOT IN THE SENSE OF WHY I WAS STANDING SOMEWHERE, BUT WHY ANY OF US EXIST AT ALL.. THE IMPROBABILITY OF CONSCIOUSNESS,

THE MIRACLE OF EXPERIENCING REALITY, AND THE SEARCH FOR PURPOSE BECAME THE FOUNDATION OF THIS PROJECT.

EVENTUALLY THE ANSWER WASN'T SOMETHING I FOUND, IT WAS SOMETHING I BUILT.

THAT BECAME OBREGON.COLLECTIVE AS MY CREATIVE OUTLET,

AND MERAKI AS A WAY TO HELP OTHERS DISCOVER FULFILLMENT THROUGH MOVEMENT, CREATIVITY, AND AWARENESS.

ONCE ANOTHER FIGHT WAS SCHEDULED, I REALIZED I DIDN'T WANT TO CREATE ANOTHER HIGHLIGHT REEL.

I WANTED TO DOCUMENT THE TRANSITION OF MYSELF THAT LIVED ONLY FOR THE OUTCOME AND THE VERSION THAT UNDERSTOOD THE VALUE OF THE JOURNEY

ITSELF.

EVERY SCENE WAS DESIGNED AROUND THAT IDEA.

THE OPENING SEQUENCES SHOW REPETITION, JUMP ROPE, SPEED BAG, ROUTINE. THE MOMENTS WHERE I WATCH FOOTAGE FROM MY PREVIOUS FIGHT REPRESENT

REFLECTION RATHER THAN REGRET.

THE ABANDONED BUILDING BECAME A SYMBOLIC PLACE WHERE I CONFRONTED AN EARLIER VERSION OF MYSELF.

THE BUILDING ALSO VISUALLY ILLUSTRATES THE SIGNIFICANCE OF A STRUCTURE THAT STILL STANDS EVEN THOUGH THE ENVIRONMENT WITHEN HAD CHANGED.

USING VISUAL EFFECTS, I CREATED TWO VERSIONS OF

ANTHONY EXISTING IN THE SAME FRAME. ONE REPRESENTED WHO I WAS. THE OTHER REPRESENTED WHO I WAS BECOMING.

THE EXCHANGE OF WRAPS WASN'T SIMPLY PASSING EQUIPMENT. IT WAS THE TRANSFER OF IDENTITY. THE YOUNGER VERSION CARRIED

AMBITION. THE PRESENT VERSION CARRIED UNDERSTANDING.

ORIGINALLY THE FILM ENDED DIFFERENTLY. AS THE EDIT EVOLVED, I REALIZED THE STRONGEST ENDING WASN'T DRAMATIC, IT WAS QUIET.

THE FINAL SHOT LEAVES AN EMPTY SEAT AFTER THE HANDOFF, SYMBOLIZING THAT THE VERSION OF MYSELF DEFINED BY PAST

FAILURES NO LONGER OCCUPIES THAT SPACE.

TECHNICALLY, THE PROJECT BECAME ONE OF THE MOST DEMANDING EDITS I HAD CREATED, AS I ONLY HAD THE VISION SO I WOULD HAVE TO LEARN AS I GO.

CLONE MASKING, MOTION TRACKING, COLOR GRADING, SOUND DESIGN, AND WEEKS OF REVISIONS TRANSFORMED A SIMPLE FIGHT PROMO INTO A SHORT FILM.

MOST IMPORTANTLY, IT TRANSFORMED ME. THIS ARCHIVE ISN'T ABOUT WINNING OR LOSING A FIGHT.

ITS ABOUT RECOGNIZING THAT THE GREATEST OPPONENT WASN'T STANDING ACROSS THE CAGE.

IT WAS THE VERSION OF MYSELF I EVENTUALLY LEARNED TO LEAVE BEHIND.