Inside the Kendall gym that trains you to do stunts like a Hollywood action star

By Matias Ocner and Vinod Sreeharsha

Updated April 15, 2026 5:48 AM

South Florida has no shortage of fitness centers — but how many teach you to get kicked in the gut and then properly fall? Or tumble onto the ground from a high-wire? What about getting pushed around on a crash mat?

Miami Action Design, co-founded by a Miami native, is carving out a unique niche as the region’s first stunt studio. And it’s open to the public, even those without experience.

Classes offered include fight choreography, martial arts, parkour, acrobatics, high falls, wrecks, wirework, rigging workshops, weapons and acting classes.

So if you’re looking to find a role in the movies or television as a stunt actor, considering making a career change, or just want to blow off some steam in today’s rage-filled world, you may want to visit the Kendall-based studio.

Miami Action Design, which opened in late 2024, was the brainchild of Yessenia Cossio, an alum of G. Holmes Braddock Sr. High School who became a professional actress and stuntwoman.

Cossio, who has received two SAG-AFTRA Award nominations for “Dune” and “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” and has doubled for Eva Longoria and Sandra Bullock, thought the region needed a place for aspiring stuntmen and stuntwomen. She teamed up with co-founder Christopher Bogdanski Shore, a professional stuntman and also her husband. Born and raised in Huntsville, Alabama, he’s lived in Miami for over 12 years.

Cossio told the Miami Herald that she hopes Miami Action Design also helps participants learn to take risks, and not just physical, but with their careers and lives. Those who join gain assistance in networking too, including introductions to Hollywood heavyweights.

Some students have already landed roles: one in an Under Armor commercial and another in a Telemundo soap opera, Cossio said. She declined to provide specifics without their approval.

The facility has 3,000 square feet and on first look, resembles a large gym. But upon entering, students are fighting with each other, learning how to get into wrecks, and generally falling on the ground a lot. The area has a spring floor, turf floor, crash mats, and vault boxes.

While Kendall may seem far from many especially with Miami traffic, Cossio says they are getting students from all over South Florida and the United States.