Horror Society has always been a supporter of indie horror, whether it was film, television, music, or even home décor! Horror actors and actresses come in all sorts of shapes and sizes, whether it be slim and seductive like Tiffany Shepis; small but feisty like Danielle Harris; huge and powerful like Kane Hodder; or tanned and very muscular. No, I’m not talking about the cast of “The Jersey Shore.” I’m talking about the men of Muscle Wolf Productions. Oh, you haven’t heard of them yet? Don’t worry, they are making quite a splash with the 10 star rated horror anthology Psycho Street.
Muscle Wolf Productions was founded in 2010 by body builder Marv Blauvelt and actor Jared Degado. Together the two men have created a group of about 10 men (and now two women) who are coworkers, but are most of all family. Outside of Psycho Street, the Wolf Pack members have appeared in films such as Mother’s Blood, Inhumane, Sculpture, and many more. A large audience has found itself enamored by the Muscle Wolf Men and this howling beckons them to multiple horror film conventions a year, but we will get to that later.
As a proud supporter of Muscle Wolf Productions, Horror Society has published tons of articles about Muscle related stories. This one is no different and it comes in the form of an interview with founders Marv Blauvelt and Jared Degado. I was able to meet Mr. Blauvelt during April’s Blood On The Beach Convention, but was a little too nervous to approach Mr. Degado myself. It was nice to speak with them both now, so let’s start at the beginning! How was this whole thing put together?
“It started at a convention, actually. I was at a convention promoting the movie Sculpture with Brooke Lewis. She kind of knew we had a large women and gay following who tended to like our stuff. She started calling us The Chippendale’s of Horror. I was starting to get a little tired of working for other people and not getting paid. I act and I write,” says Blauvelt, who started acting in 2007’s Beef: You Are What You Eat. “I wrote about 75% of Sculpture, but I still really wanted to do my own thing. Basically that’s how it started. I formed it initially with Jason Hignite, who stills helps us out.”
“Jared [Degado] came along when a mutual fan of my horror stuff and Jared’s adult films introduced us. I wanted to do a werewolf film and I thought he’d be perfect so I contacted him about possibly working with us. It turns out he was from the same area as I was and he eventually came home for a weekend to visit family. We got together and the rest is history. From there I decided to build this company and bring on more body builder-actors. I was basically looking for guys who could act and had a lot of chemistry with us. That’s kind of how it all was formed.” Marv concludes before passing the puck to Muscle Wolf co-founder Jared Degado.
“My first convention was a year ago last November; my first Horror Hound that I went to. In such a short amount of time I’m amazed at seeing how much we’ve grown, the permanent actors have as a part of our group. The first time at a convention it was myself, Marv, Austin [Dossey] and Marko [Adams]. Now we have about ten actors and actresses, men and women now. We’re not a group of people who just work together – we’re a family. We all are very involved in each others lives, the ups and downs and being there for each other. We’re more like brothers and sisters than we are coworkers,” says Jared reflecting on his life so far with Muscle Wolf. Indeed it seems the company has achieved a lot in less than two years, both in media and personally with each other.
Are there any interested parties reading this that are interested in becoming a future Wolf? Fear not, the door is always open, but the most defining factor towards becoming part of The Pack lies with chemistry. Jared explains, “As far as clicking, that’s definitely a very vital part. It’s not like we’ve started scouring the nation or posting casting calls. It’s just been a matter of fate, meeting people who happen to be what we’re looking for. For instance, Joey [Kovar] is great friends with Heather Dorff. She knew he would be a great fit and was a great guy so she put us in contact with him. We met him and we all became friends the first minute we met.” Heather, another figure in the horror community currently hosts her own web show, Filming ‘Round Midtown.
“Also, there’s the bodybuilder look and the women are fit and impressive. Someone in real life who is very arrogant would not work. Another huge part is that everyone [at Muscle Wolf] is a team player and we look for that energy in people. I look for someone who is perfectly reliable, trustworthy; someone I can hand $500 and know I’ll get $501 back. We’ve had a few trial bases in the group and they went absolutely horribly. Didn’t mesh well and made it about them, and we didn’t want that.” Other Muscle Wolf members aside from Marv and Jared include Jameson and Paul Barbosa, She-Wolf Erica Sot0, and more!
This will conclude part one of my interview with Marv and Jared. Next time we will discuss the film Psycho Street, a potential reality series, and generally what’s next for the guys at Muscle Wolf Productions. To be continued…
