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How a Movie Stuntman Became a Real-Life Ninja On this episode of "Get a Real Job," former stuntman Kevin Cassidy discusses his second act as an owner of Ninja Nation.

By Dan Bova

Kevin Cassidy | Ninja Nation

Ever get your ass kicked by a superhero? Kevin Cassidy has — multiple times.

Cassidy is a legendary stuntman whose rough-and-tumble work can be seen in Black Panther, Spider-Man: Homecoming, Captain America: Civil War and many, many other flicks.

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After 18 years in the movie biz, Cassidy traded crashing through plate glass windows for another potentially bruising line of work: running his own business. Specifically, he owns and operates a Ninja Nation obstacle course arena for kids and adults in Huntersville, North Carolina. Listen in to hear his incredible career journey, the fulfillment he's found in running a business that gets kids' faces out of digital devices, and find out if it actually hurts to get hit by a speeding car in a movie. (Spoiler alert: it does.)

Sweet science

Laird: "The original product of Laird Superfood was based on a recipe that I was making — I call it a concoction. It was based around my love for coffee. And then, and me asking myself, How do I make coffee better? How do I make it perform better? You know, 20 years ago or more, I had a friend and we were putting ghee with espresso. And then there was yak butter tea that came around with Bulletproof...Do ee started playing with our own recipe and really it came from that. And the science of it is more around just using what nature creates, to try to be as close to what nature makes as possible. And then there's the experience. You taste it. It tastes good, it doesn't taste good. Will other people drink it? I think there's so much science and not enough experience in product creation."

Gabby: "We definitely put an emphasis

About Get a Real Job

Dan Bova, VP of Special Projects at Entrepreneur.com, has high-energy chats with entrepreneurs who are pursuing careers that their parents, teachers and any sane person in their life can't wait for them to quit and "get a real job." Everyone from comedians to treasure hunters to craft brewers will explain the ups and downs of doing something that is decidedly not normal, that doesn't have a guaranteed future, but damn is it fun in the meantime.

Theme music by Rich Bova

Dan Bova

Entrepreneur Staff

VP of Special Projects

Dan Bova is the VP of Special Projects at Entrepreneur.com. He previously worked at Jimmy Kimmel Live, Maxim, and Spy magazine. His latest books for kids include This Day in History, Car and Driver's Trivia ZoneRoad & Track Crew's Big & Fast Cars, The Big Little Book of Awesome Stuff, and Wendell the Werewolf

Read his humor column This Should Be Fun if you want to feel better about yourself.

Want to be an Entrepreneur Leadership Network contributor? Apply now to join.

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