In pursuit of creative endeavors
Marshal D. Carper poses with James White, general manager of Sirena's Tacos, and cardboard cutouts of characters in the video game, “Super Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Dojo Storm.”
From left, Nick Vaccaro, Marshal D. Carper and Anthony Vaccaro celebrate the release of their video game, “Super Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Dojo Storm.”
“Dojo Storm” depicts several Western Pennsylvania locales, including the “Fort Bit Tunnel.”
In “Dojo Storm,” the town of “Mudsville” represents Claysville.
Editor’s note: This story has been modified from the print version to correct a photo caption that incorrectly identified James White as Sonny Achille.
With crooked teeth, a bizarre haircut and slight build, Marshal D. Carper was an outsider and object of ridicule in his small, parochial school.
A move to public high school slightly improved his social status, but Carper preferred a world of fantasy, escaping in books and video games, losing himself in tales of fictional protagonists.
“Every little kid that gets bullied dreams of being a superhero,” said the 2005 McGuffey graduate. “Brazilian jiujitsu is the closest you can get to having a super power.”
The victim who couldn’t begin to defend himself is now a trained fighter.
Though equipped with physical prowess, Carper uses his knowledge and experience for more cerebral pursuits.
The Canonsburg resident recently released an updated version of his 2010 novel, “The Cauliflower Chronicles,” a reflection of his five-month residence in Hawaii, where he trained under mixed-martial arts star BJ Penn. He has also written and co-written eight other books, runs an independent publishing house, works as a marketing consultant and teaches the martial art.
“It gave me a level of confidence nothing else ever did,” Carper said of Brazilian jiujitsu, which focuses on grappling and ground fighting and allows a smaller person to defend against a larger adversary.
Carper’s passion is portrayed in “Super Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Dojo Storm: Championship Edition,” a retro video game reminiscent of 1990s RPGs, or role-playing games. Carper collaborated with Mon Valley natives and brothers Nick and Anthony Vaccaro to create the game, which references Western Pennsylvania locales as players travel from Mudsville (Claysville) to Bitsburgh (Pittsburgh) for a martial arts competition.
Carper has had his share of career defeats. But he credits a lot of hard work, a little luck and the support of other entrepreneurs for his many successes.
Before graduating from California University of Pennsylvania, Carper forged a relationship with now-retired professor, Alan Natali. During his junior year, Carper traveled to Hawaii for a year through a national exchange program, choosing the University of Hawaii at Hilo because of its proximity to the BJ Penn MMA Academy.
Natali advised his student to document his experiences, which Carper did enthusiastically.
In addition to grueling training sessions with revered mixed martial-arts fighters, Carper had a “major cultural experience exploring the real Hawaii.”
“The U.S. government … declared Hawaii a territory and later a state. The result was a massive destruction of Hawaiian culture on the scale of the American Indians,” Carper wrote. “Hawaiians today are still fighting to recover the heritage and property that they lost in the debacle.”
Naive to their struggles when he traveled to the island, Carper studied the beliefs of natives, who feel their land is sacred, yet can’t afford to keep it because of development and tourism.
“Being an outsider can make you a victim of violence. I didn’t know about this. I was absolutely petrified,” said Carper, who regularly walked the unlit half-mile from his dormitory to the gym. “But I never had any problems. They were some of the nicest people I’ve met.”
Though in Hawaii for just five months, Carper began to identify more with natives than his fellow students.
“I resolved to live as much like a local as possible. I wanted to blend in and become a part of the culture. If I blended in, I might not get the snot beat out of me,” Carper wrote. “I knew that I was changing, but I didn’t know if I was changing for the better.”
After months of training, writing for fighting publications, infrequent encounters with Penn and deciphering local dialect, Carper came back to Western Pennsylvania, working with Natali for two years to refine what would become “The Cauliflower Chronicles.”
“Alan taught me the business of writing,” Carper said. “He taught me how to take passion for writing and sell it.”
Natali, an author working on his third novel, described Carper as motivated, bright and disciplined.
Unlike most novice writers, Carper welcomed his mentor’s suggestions.
“Too many reject any criticism. They become defensive … not Marshal. He took in every point you made. He would redo and come back and ask questions. He would work for as long as it took,” Natali said. “I could not ask for a better student. I always say it was a privilege to teach. It was a particular privilege to teach Marshal.”
His novel complete, Carper struggled to find a publisher.
“You just keep shoveling,” he said. “I was trying everything I could. There are so many talented people who will never get a chance … because they aren’t connected. I was pretty fortunate. Getting published is very surreal. Suddenly, (the book) is on Amazon. The gravity of the situation is weirdly dispersed. It’s not tied to a specific moment.”
Though he has received positive accolades, having readers privy to his world was “awkwardly uncomfortable.”
“The process of writing a book is so private … and then everybody reads it,” Carper said. “I’m not so equipped to deal with it.”
Despite Carper’s unease with revealing himself in his book, Natali praised the accomplishment.
“Marshal understood all good stories are about changes within the main character. This character went on this journey and came to understand himself, local culture and the world,” Natali said. “It’s just fantastic.”
As the novel was debuting in 2010, Carper and his then-girlfriend, now-wife Caris were heading across the country to Las Vegas, Nev., where Carper had a contract with his publisher to write for five years.
Carper was right where he wanted to be: getting paid to write. But the bubble quickly burst.
Just four months later, Borders bookstores filed for bankruptcy, changing the publishing world. Contracts with writers were canceled. Carper was one of the casualties. He and Caris found themselves making the cross-country trip in reverse.
“We were counting change in the cup holder to get back to Pittsburgh, figuring out what to do next,” Carper said.
Carper went back to school, earning a master’s degree from West Virginia University, all the while writing and publishing. After another setback, in which a project to publish textbooks for California University of Pennsylvania fell through, Carper forged on, launching marketing and publishing businesses.
As a marketing consultant, he uses his field of knowledge to help others.
”I am always afraid of being bored,” Carper said of his many pursuits. “But the older I get, the more I realize I can’t be good at everything.”
That’s why Carper joined the Vaccaro business, Synersteel, creating games for organizations and individuals. Up next is a video game for “The Barn,” a horror film locally produced by Nevermore Productions.
Always working on a book, Carper plans to release more in the future. He speaks with students at McGuffey and Trinity Area school districts yearly to encourage careers in writing and creating.
“There is so much potential out there because of the Internet,” Carper said. “If someone wants to make a movie or a game, or publish a book, they can … if they have enough hustle.”