Welcome to MARKGROVE.COM, home of Rocky Mountain Stunts, Warrior Quest, and Fusion Factory Films.
Some may think it strange to have a website combining information on three unique companies, but at their core they are all inter-connected with their founder, Mark Steven Grove. Classical martial arts is where Mr. Grove began and he's been training in the same system for nearly 50 years. With that discipline as his foundation he was able to transition into the film industry as a stunt performer and fight choreographer in his early 20's. He wrote and sold his first screenplay in 1994 and was given the amazing opportunity to direct his first feature film in 1999. This led to more writing, producing, and directing as the years moved ahead. His final evolution was becoming a sales agent at international film markets. With over a decade working with distributors he has helped many filmmakers release their films in countries around the world.
This site represents Mr. Grove's long journey towards building a lifestyle of art in motion, creative expression, and fostering the concept of unlimited imagination.
The Boy behind the Man
WHY COLORADO?
Many people ask me why I have chosen to make Colorado the base of operations for my film career. Well, that wasn't the original plan. I had been working solid for almost a decade and just as I was about to make the move to California my youngest son Hunter was born with complex medical conditions involving brain abnormalities, cerebral palsy, and a variety of related issues. Life changed that day. Over the next year, as Hunters medical issues worsened, we were told he would require a lot more personal care. Leaving the support of family was not an option.
There was no way I was going to allow Hunter or I to be limited to a predetermined path in life. If I couldn’t go to California I decided I would do everything in my power to expand my filmmaking career while remaining in Denver. A year later I was given the opportunity to direct a film with a 900k budget. It is that point that I truly realized that the best way to predict your future, is to create it yourself.
A CHILDS EYES
This is one of my favorite photos from November 9th 2003. I was on-set doing prosthetic makeup effects and Hunter watched me applying powder...next thing I knew he was mimicking me with a brush on his sister Tia's face. It's bizarre looking at Hunter from back then. Such a glimmer in his eye and I was always hopeful his medical issues would level out and he would have a normal life. Unfortunately as the years passed his health continued to diminish.
More surgeries, rage attacks, sadness, and despair as we tried to get a solid diagnosis. Eventually that came in the form of a rare condition known as ZTTK, a severe multisystem developmental disorder characterized by delayed psychomotor development and intellectual disability. Affected individuals have characteristic dysmorphic facial features, hypotonia, poor feeding, poor overall growth, and eye or visual abnormalities. There are presently 30 cases of ZTTK syndrome reported worldwide.
A TRUE HERO
The future looks even more difficult as his daily care requires someone be with him at all times. He is 5’6’’ and only 75lbs. His stamina is challenged constantly and my heart breaks a little more each time I see him walk up the stairs and at the top he has to stop to regain his breath. He has no real friends and he has issues out in public, so he usually remains in his room playing games that allow him to go on adventures with imaginary people he honestly considers to be his friends. A life of involuntary solitude.
My career has spanned over three decades now and with Hunter as a huge inspiration, I have written, directed, produced, coordinated, and performed in many projects. But I have not done it alone. Looking in his eyes reminds me that we all need someone to take care of us, to look out for us, and to love us regardless of the obstacles we face in life.
For Hunter to endure these hardships he has proven he is a warrior, a survivor, and in my eyes, a true hero... I have no excuse but to strive to do the same. We have a saying we use to remind us both to remain strong as we search for the secrets to a healthy and prosperous life...
"ALWAYS THE QUEST "
LATEST NEWS
Check out our latest adventures on set, videos of training, project trailers, and media coverage.