'Shazam' Hollywood Stuntman Opens 2 Businesses Serving Lakeland

POLK COUNTY, FL — A Hollywood stuntman who has performed in many movies — including "Avengers: End Game" and "Fear of Rain" — has opened two businesses serving Polk County residents.

Keil Zepernick, 44, who is currently in Atlanta working on stunts for "Shazam! 2", had a hard time finding work during the pandemic in 2020.

"I was working in New York at the time when the pandemic hit, and last minute we just had somebody call me at 11 o'clock at night," he told Patch. "They said, 'We're shutting down, you need to get out of here as soon as possible.' I just jumped on the first plane I could at four in the morning, and got out of town."

Zepernick, a New York native who has a family, naturally worried how he was going to provide for them as the film studios shut down. A week after he left New York, his fear increased when he was told he had been in contact with someone on set who tested positive for coronavirus.

"Thankfully, I didn't get it. Everything was fine, and I didn't bring it home," Zepernick said. "But after everything stopped, my wife and four kids were looking at me when I came home like, 'Whatcha gonna do now?'"

As he pondered his movie future after already providing stunts in more than 50 films and TV shows, he thought of services he could provide to others outside the film industry to bring in income. He considered working with Amazon, but that didn't work out. What did work for him is opening two businesses, Renew Crew, and the soon to open, Prolift Garage Doors.

"I lived in Lakeland for seven years in the early 2000s. I was actually working at a church, and I helped coach the Lakeland High School basketball team," Zepernick said. "It was a lot of fun living in Lakeland. I liked it a lot. What took me away from the area is when I got a job at Walt Disney World, and moved over to the Orlando area. I have a huge passion for Lakeland just living there for a long time, being involved in the community. Since opening my businesses in the Clermont area, I've been able to reconnect with some of my friends from there."

He and his family also have a home in the Clermont area.

Renew Crew opened a little over a month ago, and it provides window and pavement cleaning, pressure washing and it has a machine that takes the hard minerals out that are in Florida water.

Prolift Garage Doors, a franchise under Premium Service Brands, offers garage door installation and maintenance services.

To learn more about Renew Crew, visit its website. To stay up-to-date on the opening of Prolift Garage Doors, look at its website.

For more information about Zepernick's Hollywood movies and stunts, here's his IMDb profile.