Rich Minga - Stuntman to the stars

“I make a living dying – I get shot, burned, blown up, drowned and smashed by dinosaurs,” said 45-year-old Rich Minga of Fallbrook, who works as a Hollywood stuntman. His love for cars and racing is what eventually led him to this exhilarating career.

Minga’s gift for automobile-related ventures surfaced at an early age. At 14 he bought a Volkswagen minus the motor and transmission. His father then decided that he needed the book “The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Building Volkswagens.” With help from the book, Minga built a “Baja Bug,” then began to drive it off-road in Mexico.

In 1980, at age 19...