Biography
Sean C. Ching is a fourth-generation Asian American raised in Los Angeles who spent every summer sleeping on his beloved grandparents' floor in Hawaii. His mother, La Verne Ching, was a world-traveling stewardess in the Clipper Club for the premier airline Pan Am before giving up her career to become a full-time mother to Sean and his two siblings. His father, Dr. Clayton Ching, was a neurosurgeon and orthopedic surgeon specializing in sports medicine. In his youth, he was a quarterback at the University of Hawaii and sang professionally on the side. He played saxophone, piano, ukulele, and performed the Samoan slap dance, with jazz as his favorite inspiration. Multi-talented and diverse, Sean's father had a profound influence on him, encouraging Sean to pursue his passion for acting.
Sean began learning golf, tennis, and martial arts at age seven. In high school, he ran hurdles, served as quarterback and captain of the football team, won the CIF-SS championship for hurdles, and still holds the record for the standing long jump. During his free time, he worked in his father's office assisting with physical therapy treatments and interned with world-renowned sports medicine specialist Dr. Robert Kerr.
After high school, Sean taught golf, tennis, and martial arts while completing a degree in speech communications at CSLA. His fascination with martial arts led him to train extensively in boxing, karate, Shaolin boxing, hapkido, aikido, Muay Thai, jiu-jitsu, and Yuen Kay San Wing Chun. Having practiced and taught martial arts for over 21 years, combined with experience gained from working with his father and Dr. Kerr, Sean developed "Maximum Efficiency Training," a technique designed to deliver maximum results with minimal training time. He applies this method both personally and with his clients.
Standing six feet tall after college, Sean traveled the world extensively as a model, working in runway, editorial, catalog, and commercial projects. As the first Asian featured in the U.S. edition of Men's Fitness Magazine, he earned the nickname "The Body," modeling for brands including Puma underwear, Speedo, Adidas, and Reebok. His career highlights include covers and features in Men's Health, OK! magazine, Men's Harper's Bazaar, Lexean magazine, the ESPN2 fitness show Kiana's Flex Appeal, and the original Tony Horton fitness program P90X. His modeling adventures took him climbing the mountains of Hubei, exploring Koh Phi Phi, horseback riding on San Diego beaches, playing Taiko drums in a blizzard, and working with a crocodile, black panther, and wolves.
Sean studied improv at the renowned Groundlings studio and trained in Shakespeare under mentor William Morgan Sheppard. He also trained with Warner Loughlin and Vincent Chase and was fortunate to receive voice-over coaching from the late Mary Kay Bergman and Kit Paraventi. Additionally, he studied martial arts, fight choreography, and stunt coordination with internationally acclaimed experts John Kreng and Melissa Tracy. His recent film credits include stunt coordination and co-starring in Call of the Wolf; co-starring and fight choreography for the award-winning Stringendo; starring and performing all stunts in the award-winning Kazakh short 5 GUNS; and playing Agent Zebra in the award-winning independent feature film Shadow of the Monarch. He has collaborated on several short films featured at the Las Vegas Action on Film Festival (AOF), including writing, fight choreographing, and co-starring in Badass Bloggers, which received nominations for Best Comedy Short and Best Action Sequence Martial Arts in a Short.
Along the way, Sean has embraced hobbies such as cooking, carpentry, koi pond maintenance, and home improvement projects. A true life hacker and DIY enthusiast, he particularly enjoys learning about and enhancing upcycling techniques. His favorite topics include greywater recycling, solar energy, and aquaponics. Sean volunteered extensively in Thailand after learning about the large number of orphans with HIV there. He is also deeply involved in supporting efforts to find cures for Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's, dementia, and Lewy body disease.
