Kids take flight, hope takes hold
Newhall 6-year-old Damien Markham flew like Superman.
He got to do that thanks to veteran stunt coordinator and second unit director Jim Churchman and his Flying Hero Club, which brings a movie-quality flying rig to children who could use a boost — literally and figuratively.
According to a website his parents made called SaveDamian.com, Markham is fighting a rare terminal genetic disease called acid sphingomyelinase deficiency, also known as baby Alzheimer’s. For the longest time, he’s had a dream to fly like a superhero.
The Flying Hero Club brought him that opportunity last week in a special event at a private residence down the street from his home.
“We’ve flown over 700 kids,” Churchman said just before kids were about to take flight in the flying rig he created, manufactured and has used on countless blockbuster films. “Every family has a story about their struggle with the medical industry in America in one way or another. So, we’re trying to shine a light on that and hopefully let people know that people are struggling, and maybe it helps change things.”
The Flying Hero Club began as a way for Churchman to bring joy to those who needed it most. While filming an X-Men movie in Montreal, he gave some local kids a fun flight.
The kids, of course, were having a blast. But Churchman noticed their mom was in tears.
“I thought, ‘We’re having a good time here, what’s going on?’” he said in an interview during the event in Newhall. “And she’s like, ‘Oh no, our daughter, Sasha, is a two-time cancer survivor. We haven’t heard her laugh in a year.’
Churchman stopped his story short, saying he got goosebumps recalling the moment. Ultimately, he said it was then that he realized he could take his profession and do something good for people. Moved by the experience, he set out to create an organization that would help children with special needs or illnesses feel like real-life superheroes.
At last week’s event, several kids, along with their parents and a few others, had the chance to fly in Churchman’s rig. Some participants wore capes and masks to really get into the superhero spirit. A small crowd of friends, family and others cheered as each person strapped into the flying rig and took off. A banjolele player provided cheerful background music, and those soaring through the air wore smiles visible from both above and across the yard.
“It’s that type of feeling,” Churchman said with a smile of his own as he watched Markham return from his flight.
According to the Flying Hero Club website, Churchman’s mission is deeply personal. He lost his grandfather to cancer at a young age, and his mom died from leukemia when he was just 23 years old. He later witnessed his stepmom’s battle with cancer and saw close friends in the stunt industry face similar struggles.
These experiences fueled his commitment to bring joy to children facing tough challenges — one flight at a time.
Churchman has worked in the film industry for over 30 years. His credits include 2016’s “Doctor Strange,” 2015’s “Ant Man,” 2013’s “Iron Man 3,” and 2007’s “Live Free or Die Hard,” among so many others
The one-of-a-kind flying rig that he uses for his Flying Hero Club events is the same one he’s used on films, including 2014’s “X-Men: Days of Future Past” and 2013’s “Man of Steel.” Those who have flown on the rig include actors Benedict Cumberbatch, Hugh Jackman, Halle Berry, Tom Hardy and Henry Cavill.
In flying scenes, these actors and stunt performers are usually suspended in harnesses attached to wires from the rig. When filming on a green screen stage, the wires are removed digitally (or “keyed out”) and the background is replaced with visual effects. When filming on location, the wires are digitally erased during post-production.
“I want to go to children’s hospitals and other places,” Churchman said in a video on his website, “and I want to give them the sensation of flying like a superhero — to these kids who, probably right now, are scared and they need something to look forward to.”
Since its inception, the Flying Hero Club has hosted around a dozen public events, flying hundreds of children nationwide, in London and in Montreal. During last week’s event, documentarians were shooting a pilot for a docu-series funded by Churchman, which he hopes will highlight the power of hope, joy and community that the Flying Hero Club events inspire. Churchman plans to pitch the series to various streaming services once the pilot is finished.
Frank Addelia, the cinematographer on the project, said that the gathering wasn’t open to the public. The Flying Hero Club organized it to bring a little joy to a group of kids facing various medical challenges.
Markham was one of those kids. Then there was 15-year-old Evis Gonzalez Jr. and his 12-year-old brother, Samuel Gonzalez. All three kids live on Addelia’s street in Newhall. Addelia shared some of what he knew about them, and he also spoke about a couple of the families covered in the documentary series.
“One of the points of the Flying Hero Club docu-series is that parents — I get choked up, sorry,” Addelia said while trying to hold back his emotions. “They’re going broke to keep their kids alive. So, we’re trying to bring about some change.”
He said that one particular couple in the project has a son who outgrew his wheelchair. That on top of so many other similar dilemmas have them fighting “tooth and nail for everything.”
According to Sheena Duggal, a visual effects supervisor and Churchman’s girlfriend, she and other crew members at the event were volunteering their time. They’d worked together on many projects over the years.
“They’re familiar with all of this equipment because obviously they’re using it on the movies,” Duggal said. “But they’ve adapted it for this purpose. They’ve built little chairs and a flat thing the kids can lie on because of the disabilities they have.”
She added that the Flying Hero Club brings along capes and masks to help kids feel like superheroes.
Often, the little ones are initially terrified to take flight in the rig, she said. But once they do it, it’s hard for them to stop. She said the parents often have as much fun as their kids are having, watching them smile, laugh and feel like superheroes for what might very well be the first times in their lives.
Brock and Brittany Markham were a perfect example of that joy as they watched their son soar through the air in his wheelchair, which was securely attached to the flying rig. Grinning from ear to ear, they ran alongside and beneath him across the yard, both holding up their phones to record the moment.
According to Brock Markham, a professional stunt performer, his son has always gotten a kick out of being up high and looking down at the ground.
“Before he really started regressing, he did love being up in the air,” he said, adding that he used to hold his son high up above others or gently toss him upward and catch him on the way down. “He would always just have the biggest giggles and even belly laughs.”
Brittany Markham said their boy has also been fascinated with what his dad does — he’s watched him perform stunts in, for example, the “WaterWorld” live-action stunt show at Universal Studios.
Both parents said they were honored that Churchman brought his Flying Hero Club to them.
After each child took a turn flying in the rig, their parents followed suit. The crowd on the ground cheered and rooted for every flyer, with Churchman leading the encouragement.
“The best thing that we found,” he said to them before the fun got underway, “is, as the kids are flying, if you share love with them, if you scream for them, if you make noise, they feel it. It’s sensory stimulation.”
It seemed to work. Samuel Gonzalez took off, holding tightly to the flying rig as he flew to the far side of the yard. When he returned, the crowd cheered loudly. Feeling encouraged, he loosened his grip, spread his arms like wings, and landed gracefully. After being unstrapped, he jumped up and gave his mom, Clara Gonzalez, two high-fives. She gave him a big hug.
After witnessing the flight, the boy’s father, Evis Gonzalez Sr., said he was thrilled to see his son take on the challenge. He recalled something he’d once heard — that the world might try to place limits on people, but it’s up to each person to overcome them as his son was doing.
Samuel Gonzalez had seemed nervous before he took off, though he said afterward he wasn’t afraid at all. And while he admitted to having fun, he didn’t know if he wanted to do it again. He sure seemed proud about what he did.
“It (the flying rig) started slower,” he said, “then when it came back, it went fast.”
He and his dad watched his older brother, 15-year-old Evis Gonzalez Jr., take his turn flying. After that, the whole family got caught up in the magic, watching other flyers take to the skies. Samuel Gonzalez cheered for every single one, just as others had cheered for him. His joy radiated as he pantomimed what it truly felt like to fly.
For more information about the Flying Hero Club, go to FlyingHeroClub.com.
