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Crime Scene Cleanup Special FX

Jun 30, 2019
Crime Scene Cleanup Special FX — Covington, LA — Exit Biohazard & Crime Scene Cleanup

Crime Scene Cleanup Reality

How do you go from making animatronic creatures, monsters, props and fake crime scenes for films and TV shows to cleaning up after real crime scenes? It’s simple, you feel the need to do something more important. As much as I love working on films and television shows, there wasn’t anything that made me feel like I was actually helping anyone.

The entertainment industry is an amazing part of my life, I have spent over 20 years in it.

A Quick History on how I went from Movie Special FX to Cleaning up Real Crime Scenes

I started out being very creative when I was young but growing up in Philadelphia wasn’t the easiest place to show it off. I did well in school, had my long black trench coat, chains on my boots and 7 inch mohawk as I went through high school but I had no idea how I could do something artistic and make a living. It was very frustrating so as I went to the first year of college, I hated it all except a drawing class I took. It let me know that I could find a focus in art, but what to do?

As things in the united states turned towards an inevitable war coming with Iraq, I decided to join the marines to see what a more worldly view would do for me. As much as I enjoyed some of the craziness in the Marines I realized it wasn’t something I was in love with. Not to mention my worldly view consisted of staying in the states for the 35 minutes that war lasted. I spent more time in Oklahoma on an Army base than anywhere else, I think.

Valek X. Sykes Wearing Marine Uniform

So as I ended my active duty part of the Marines (was in the reserves after) I met my Wife to be and fell madly in love. She pushed me to go back to get a degree in art so I did, BFA from Temple university Tyler School of Art. I raped that school for information and skills. I changed curriculums to be more manly and pushed my will on anyone and everyone to learn what I could and utilize every minute there. I was paying for it so I wanted my monies worth.

I worked in Philadelphia for a couple years sculpting and designing toy prototypes to hone my skills for the film industry in Los Angeles which is where i saw myself. I married my love and bought a house and worked hard to impress the people around me. I knew I was ready to go when I purposely went to my boss and asked for the largest raise he ever agreed to. As he said yes after a few minutes of pointing out my level of skills, I smiled and told him that I had to quit. His mouth dropped but he smiled and was happy to see me move to what he knew I wanted to do. I just wanted to know if I was worth it and I was. So that was the sign to move on.

 It took a lot for us to move across country and get push to get my first job in the special effects industry but we did it. I started as a sculptor, model maker and quickly found that I could easily jump into animatronics which was something I had great interest and aptitude so as I moved form a no name to someone the major companies called in just a short time. We bought a house there, not an easy task with the prices 3 to 4 times the cost of my first house but we managed. As I worked for people like Stan Winston, Greg Cannom and Rick Baker the masters of the special effects industry and working on films everyone knows I wanted to start my own company so I did and didn’t look back.

Animatronics Artist
Valek X. Sykes With a Life Size Alien Prop

I’ve been lucky and have worked for people like Spielberg, partied with stars like Will Smith, got into it on set with Tom Cruise, had my kids carried around by people like Peter Faulk ( Columbo), sang and danced on set with Jamie Foxx, been in movies and tv shows myself as well as had my own show on the Discovery channel called Doing Da Vinci. I've worked for the F.B.I. / Department of Justice making disguises to help agents infiltrate terrorist suspects combating terrorism and even became a adjunct professor at the film dept for Tulane University in New Orleans.

FBI Recognition Certificate

That all being said, it has been a roller coaster but I felt something lacking. After Almost 20 years in the business and working on many films and tv shows which you can see on our Tech Works Studios site I wanted a change so we moved to what I call a normal place, the Northshore of the New Orleans area in Louisiana. A nice family place for the kids, and a much-needed laid back atmosphere. We have happy here in Mandeville / Covington for the last 7 years.

Tech Works Studios Inc.

As we had quite the location change, I also started thinking that the entertainment industry wasn’t filling something for me. I started thinking the way I did when I joined the Marines. Even though I loved the film industry, I needed to find a way to do something more important with my life. Something that I could do that would help people in a way that the film industry couldn’t. That came to me on a possible project where the production wanted some insight to crime scene cleanup companies.

I jumped at the idea to see what I could find for them since that already seemed interesting and I was sure we would be doing some crazy effects for it. Making dead bodies and blood gags is always a favorite so I looked into it all. I found a Biohazard company not too far away and asked them some questions and got a great response. Everyone loves to be part of a film project it seems. I was even invited to come see a couple cleanups which was very interesting. The project fell through as they often do but it got me thinking a lot about the services that help people in their time of need. Victims’ families and the people surrounding a crime or trauma need help when they are at their weakest point. And since I am one of the rare people who can handle the visuals and other things needed to walk into a scene filled with real blood and bodily fluids from something that happened that can only be described as very sad. I realized I could do this. I already have an eye for detail and perfection so trauma or biohazard cleanup is a natural way to help people. I was hooked with this idea although my wife was very weirded out at the idea of this great change.

Professional Worker Wearing Gas Mask

I needed to know more and see if this was something I could learn properly and build into a business I could be proud of. I take everything I do seriously and want nothing but the best and to be the best at whatever I do. Must be the combination of being a Marine and the boss of a highly competitive artistic business for 20 years. I looked int this new idea for weeks until I came across a training facility that seemed to be as focused on proper training and procedures as I am. The company is called Amdecon and I cant say enough good things about them.

They pulled from their vast experience but it was also their professionalism that was what I really liked. After seeing what they teach at Amdecon,

I could see the lacking in the other companies I looked into originally. So no matter how long they have been around, experience isn’t everything. We often hear things in the FX biz like “this isn’t our first rodeo”, my reply is usually "ok, that might be true but could you have done better on those rodeos?" I usually just get a “not so happy” look back. My point is that experience can be a great example of some things but long experience with bad habits and sloppy work especially in this industry can be hazardous to the clients and technicians alike and I just won’t have that. So, some of these longstanding companies were disappointing examples of the industry, whereas Amdecon was a perfect fit for the best example in the industry and that’s who I want training me and my people. So I trained with them for some time and learned properly. We trained and are completely compliant with OSHA Standards for the industry and yearly tested.

Once I received all the proper training, we started Exit Biohazard and Crime Scene Cleanup which was not an easy of cheap task. We spent tens of thousands to start the business but have found that it does what was intended. It lets us help others in a time of great need. We focus on making sure the client’s are met with compassion and professionalism. We are safe and thorough and we may be a newer company in the crime scene cleanup industry compared to others out there but we have years of running another service based company dealing with the most critical clients on the planet form the movie industry. Professionalism and care are our key ideology and we are here to help and that’s what is important.

Valek X. Sykes in the Crime Scene
Exit Biohazard & Crime Scene Cleanup Services  Logo

Do we still have the special effects business? Yes, I still own it. I have some great people running it and I offer advice and guidance here and there and of course I still dabble in it when its something I really love but I run and focus on my passion which is Exit Cleanup. Sounds crazy I know, going from something that most think is a dream job working with movie stars making awesome things that you get to see on TV but I’m over that. I’ve had my name in credits for decades, made some of the coolest things, been in films and tv shows, worked with the biggest directors and movie stars but once the shine of the industry wears off and you’ve done all of that, you really do want something real for people. For me that’s helping people in their time of great need by cleaning up blood, death, suicide and murder scenes so that the people that are afflicted by these terrible situations don’t have to.

By Valek Sykes 15 Nov, 2023
This is a subtitle for your new post
By info 17 Oct, 2023
If you have a case of CDIFF and need help call EXIT BIOHAZARD CLEANUP and have us come and disinfect your home. What is CDIFF? C.diff stands for Clostridium difficile (klos-TRID-e-oi-deez dif-uh-SEEL), which is a germ or bacterium that causes a symptomatic infection due to the spore-forming bacterium, Clostridium difficile. It causes many Symptoms which include watery diarrhea, fever, nausea, and abdominal pain. It makes up about 20% of cases of antibiotic-associated diarrhea. It most commonly affects older adults in hospitals or in long-term care facilities. Complications may include pseudomembranous colitis, toxic megacolon, perforation of the colon, and sepsis which can be life threatening. One in 11 people over age 65 diagnosed with a healthcare-associated C. diff infection die within one month. In general it causes severe diarrhea and colitis (an inflammation of the colon). It’s estimated to cause almost half a million infections in the United States each year. C. diff can affect anyone. Most cases of C. diff occur when you’ve been taking antibiotics or not long after you’ve finished taking antibiotics. There are other risk factors such as being 65 or older, a recent stay at a hospital or nursing home, a weakened immune system, such as people with HIV/AIDS, cancer, or organ transplant patients taking immunosuppressive drugs, or previous infection with C. diff or known exposure to the germs. Because 1 in 6 patients who get C. diff will get it again in the subsequent 2-8 weeks . If you have been taking antibiotics recently and have symptoms of C. diff, you should see a healthcare professional as soon as possible. Getting diarrhea is fairly common while on, or after taking, antibiotics, but in only a few cases will that diarrhea be caused by C. diff . So if your diarrhea is severe you need to talk to your doctor and do not delay getting medical care. Your doctor will review your symptoms and order a lab test of a stool (poop) sample. If the test is positive, you’ll take a specific antibiotic (e.g. vancomycin or fidaxomicin) for at least 10 days. If you were already taking an antibiotic for another infection, your healthcare professional might ask you to stop taking it if they think it’s safe to do so. Your doctor may decide to admit you to the hospital, in which case they will use certain precautions, such as wearing gowns and gloves, to prevent the spread of C. diff to themselves and to other patients because it can be very contagious . its important to use a separate bathroom if you have diarrhea, thoroughly wash hands with soap and water every time you use the bathroom and always before you eat, and take showers washing well with soap. Cleanliness is key to beating this and stopping it from spreading to others or back to you. Because C.DIFF bacteria can last for months. When the bacteria are outside the human body they can be virtually anywhere in the environment. They are in a dormant state and essentially shutdown waiting for a new host. This enables them to survive for a long time from weeks to months in any number of places and that's why its very difficult to destroy and it is also why people often have the infection reoccur. The ability of it to be dormant and survive outside the body enables the generally easy transmission of the bacterium. It can last a long time sitting on surfaces, in soil or feces, in water areas, or even in food. Once the bacteria finds their way into a person's digestive system, they "wake up" and can begin to produce infection again. That being said, its not the easiest bacteria to kill. its not like covid which is pretty weak in the environment and generally dies quickly. this has some staying power and requires special cleaning and disinfection procedures. We often kill corona virus and other germs during our disinfection fogging services to help stop the spread of covid 19 and we kill 99.99% of germs and viruses in general for most of our services including our biohazard cleaning services, but CDIFF is something special and its much harder to kill so we have to bring out the big guns to do it. We mean specialty chemicals and procedures to kill what is there and what is hiding dormant. At Exit Cleanup we just think of this as another service we provide but as you can see its not your typical disinfection. If you have Cdiff or someone in your family does and you want us there to kill it, please just call and we will prepare for germ warfare for you. We will fight this for you.
By info 17 Oct, 2023
This is to describe the 4 levels of biohazards and the 6 types of biohazards. Biohazard cleanup is important because we could encounter a biohazard anytime anywhere. Learn more here. A biohazard could be anything from animal feces or rancid meat to blood from a crime scene or materials from a laboratory.
By Valek Sykes 14 Mar, 2023
Support after a Tragedy is Essential
By Valek Sykes 17 Oct, 2023
The Aftermath of a crime or Death can be Overwhelming and Traumatic
17 Oct, 2023
A suicide in New Orleans. Exit cleanup doesn't always get the job but we do all we can to help in any situation. Most of the time, your home owners insurance pays the biohazard cleanup but if the deceased lived in an apartment, it may be something that the property owner may want to pay for. Its sometimes complicated but Exit will help. This situation was difficult because the resident committed suicide and the property owner wasn't available. Long story short , we helped out the sister of the deceased a bit so she could get things sorted and did what we could.
17 Oct, 2023
RYOBI Fogger review is to talk about the good and bad of the Ryobi 18v fogger. We here at Exit Cleanup use fogging for our disinfection services that we provide in the Louisiana area. We disinfect and decontaminate for viruses such as the Covid Virus, Mrsa, HIV, CDIFF, Hepatitis and more. We use fogging as one of our tools to kill the germs. you can also see our review of the Ryobi 18v electrostatic sprayer.
17 Oct, 2023
Exit Cleanup are Louisiana's blood and biohazard experts and we can help. We are here to deal with all biohazard cleaning siuations from blood spills to virus protection. We clean up death and crime scenes as well as the aftermath of suicides and any situation involving blood and bodily fluids. We also help cleanup hoarding properties and work with hoarders to get things back to a working normal in their homes. We get asked a lot about Blood cleanup so this article gives a bit o what to do in that situation.
By Valek Sykes 16 Mar, 2023
Types of Biohazards we may have to deal with
By Valek Sykes 14 Mar, 2023
CRIME AND VOODOO
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