Wayne Caparas

Wayne Caparas
Cover photo from the CD "Gospel Project"
Background information
Birth name	Wayne Keith Caparas
Born	(1963-02-08) February 8, 1963 Boston, Massachusetts, US
Origin	Charleston, South Carolina, US
Occupation(s)	Writer, entrepreneur, actor, songwriter, creative director

Wayne Caparas (born February 8, 1963) is an American writer, award-winning entrepreneur,^[1] and actor. Caparas has also been involved in the creation and launch of several non-profit organizations^[2] and Christian ministries. He has been a member of the Screen Actors Guild since 1995.

Early years

Wayne Keith Caparas was born to Rolando Sorné Caparas and Patricia Doucett in Boston, Massachusetts. His father is a Filipino-born career sailor in the United States Navy who became a naturalized citizen, and his mother a second-generation Bostonian of French-Canadian and Irish descent who worked primarily as a civilian employee for the US Navy.^[3]

Business career

Caparas established himself as a fitness industry pioneer during the 1990s, and at the turn of the century entered the field of digital media production, internet concept innovation, and journalism^[4] at the head of Caparas Media. His business career began in the wake of Hurricane Hugo in 1989, when Caparas led two different partnership teams to develop seven Charleston, SC area health clubs under two different brands,^[5][6] the latter of which was LifeQuest Fitness, a brand that would gain international acclaim as the most innovative health clubs in America.^[7] In addition to the health clubs Caparas led a team of young entrepreneurs to expand and license the brand while developing a newsstand magazine (Vie magazine)^[8] and a women's fitness competition (LifeQuest Triple Crown) that aired worldwide on ESPN.^[9][10] Wayne received global recognition in numerous business publications including featured/cover stories in Entrepreneur Magazine,^[8] Japan's Pocket Company magazine, Nation's Business magazine, Club Industry magazine,^[11] and Fitness Management magazine.^[7] Caparas also served on several national faculties including the American Council on Exercise and IHRSA as he lectured across the US for these organizations.^[12] Caparas also licensed the LifeQuest brand to media giant Guthy-Renker and Olympic Gold Medal winner Caitlyn Jenner (then Bruce)^{[lower-alpha 1]} for use in a series of infomercials that aired nationwide.^[14] In the late '90s Caparas sold his interests in LifeQuest^[1][15] to allow more time for family, writing, and spiritual pursuits^[16] while also recovering from a thyroid condition.^[3] Within ten years of his departure, LifeQuest collapsed under mismanagement,^[17] and today the brand exists as a single small health club in Myrtle Beach, SC.

Journalism

Caparas has gained wide publication as a health & nutrition journalist and also as a business journalist with several dozen published works to his credit.^[18][19][20] By the late 90s he was a Co-Publisher and Contributing editor to the newsstand magazine Vie (a women's fitness magazine), which led to an instrumental role in the development of Oxygen Magazine as a Contributing editor, featured writer, and photojournalist during its first three years on the newsstand. Among Caparas's works in the genre of fitness journalism were research pieces on Human Growth Hormone (hGH)^[18] and the Soybean^[19] and fitness pioneering articles on Sprint Training and the future of professional fitness sports. From 1998 to 2000 Caparas was also a major contributor to the Charleston Regional Business Journal, where he landed the lead cover story on numerous issues.^[20] During this time Caparas also founded the non-profit Carolina Film Alliance^[21] and served as its first Executive Director while exposing mismanagement in South Carolina government film agencies; sparking a media firestorm^[22][23] that eventually led to changes in state film policies and tax incentive laws pertaining to the film industry.^[24] During the 2000s Caparas shifted to web-based photo/video journalism, digital media production,^[25] and broadcast journalism. In the wake of 9/11 Wayne leveraged his experience in journalism to manage and negotiate his brother Rally Caparas's transition from Federal Air Traffic Controller to full-time CNN Correspondent and co-anchor as their Air Traffic Expert. Author Stephen King applauded Rally's work in his "My Morning People" article published in Entertainment Weekly Magazine.^[26]

Film and Music

Caparas entered the film industry as a secondary interest in 1988 by working on the motion picture "Quiet Victory, The Charlie Wedemeyer Story" as the technical advisor in the football related film, and eventually gained minor directorial and script change responsibilities.^[27] Caparas later landed roles in several films including "Other Voices Other Rooms," which earned him membership into the Screen Actors Guild in 1994. Over the next six years Caparas worked as an actor in a dozen motion pictures (see Caparas's detailed filmography and other Film/TV credits at the Internet Movie Database). Also during the mid-'90s, Caparas began writing, directing, and performing in regional Passion Plays, Musicals, and other stage shorts for large church audiences in Charleston, SC.^[28] Caparas released "Gospel Project," an indie CD of all original material in 2008 to favorable reviews.^[29][30][31] Caparas also managed the launch of the solo career of Johnny Keyser, whose debut acoustic album "From Where I Stand" peaked at #4 on the iTunes R&B Charts and #44 on the Billboard Magazine "Heatseekers" chart.^[32][33] The album was co-written by Wayne's daughter Amber. In 2010 Caparas worked with Hootie & the Blowfish co-founder Mark Bryan to manage Amber Caparas through the launch of her debut EP "Better This Way.",^[34] which was also met with very positive reviews.

Awards

• 1997 U.S. Chamber of Commerce Blue Chip Enterprise Award^[1][7]
• 1996 Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year finalist for South Carolina
• 1996 South Carolina Governor's Medallion for notable service to the Governor and the State
• 1995 Charleston Metro Chamber of Commerce Small Business Man of the Year^[1]
• 1995 Fitness Management Magazine Nova7 Award for the Most Innovative Health Clubs in America^[7]
• 1995 Inc. Magazine Entrepreneur of the Year finalist for South Carolina
• 1994 Fitness Management Magazine Nova7 Award for the Most Innovative Health Clubs in America^[7]
• 1994 Trident Chamber of Commerce Trident Outstanding Performer Award
• 1993 Fitness Management Magazine Nova7 Award for the Most Innovative Health Clubs in America^[7]
• 1986 College of Charleston Cum Laude Medal and Distinguished Dean's List honoree^[3]
• 1982 Furman Scholar Athlete; Furman University Football^[3]
• 1981 Furman Scholar; Furman University^[3]

Notes

References

External links

• Caparas Media website and archives of published works
• "Gospel Project" online album, lyrics, reviews, & liner notes
• Wayne Caparas Filmography at the Internet Movie Database