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Skye’s limit is ‘no limits’

Soccer ace combines Ace Hardware, fitness blog, modeling and now video award-winner to resume

By Randy Lefko Sports Editor
Posted 6/19/19

GREEN COVE SPRINGS – Clay High School athlete Skye Paradise has found her way to a few region and state playoffs in her four years as a Blue Devil and her athletic accomplishments, like catching a …

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Skye’s limit is ‘no limits’

Soccer ace combines Ace Hardware, fitness blog, modeling and now video award-winner to resume


Posted

GREEN COVE SPRINGS – Clay High School athlete Skye Paradise has found her way to a few region and state playoffs in her four years as a Blue Devil and her athletic accomplishments, like catching a football or scoring a soccer goal, have put her face in plenty of newspapers and magazines.

Nowadays, Paradise can be found slinking sledge hammers at Ace Hardware, working out three hours at Retro Fitnees, selling boutique items at the Pink Seahorse and, most recently, adding a state award for producing a video on glassblowing. Paradise also finished second in a FitnessGurls modeling contest just a month ago.

“She only sleeps about two-three hours a night,” said Shannon Paradise, the mom. “She is always thinking of what to do next.”

Having just finished off a second Final Four trip with the Clay flag football team, Paradise adds one more state championship opportunity with a digital twist to it. Paradise recently produced an instructional video for the prestigious Jim Harbin Media Festival sponsored by the Clay County School District and the Florida Association of Media in Education. Paradise came home a winner at the county and region level and now awaits her fate on the state level.

State winners are judged online through July with state winners announced in November at the 45th Annual Jim Harbin Student Media Festival in Orlando.

The video is of her dad, Craig, and his ability to create glass masterpieces with his glassblowing business, EssanarGlass, in his garage.

“On the same night as the Clay County sports banquet at Fleming Island High School, I was in another room getting an award for my video that was submitted to the Harvin festival while my mom, Shannon, was in the sports banquet,” said Paradise, who plans to play soccer at Huntington College in Alabama. “I ran to the sports banquet to tell her I won the video contest.”

At Clay High School, the daily morning news broadcast done through instructor William Weeks, asked Paradise one day to be the face of the DTV news.

“Devil TV asked me to be the host last year,” said Paradise. “They never had one and I did it. I loved being in front of the camera and it worked. I had fun with and made the news fun. I was kind of the Ron Burgundy of Clay High School.”

Paradise later found out about the Jim Harbin Media Festival and, with Weeks’ encouragement, produced and submitted an instructional video. Paradise did do a comedy video, but Weeks suggested the instructional video with her dad, an accomplished glass blower.

“We did a couple of different films, but Mr. Weeks suggested doing the instructional on my dad because noone knew about him doing that,” said Paradise. “I recorded about two hours of films that got edited to about a seven minute film.”

The experience of producing the video lit a fire for Paradise.

“It was super hard,” said Paradise. “I think I was able to put clearly and concise on film the whole process. That’s when I thought I could do more with video.”

Paradise, who has used her speed on her feet to be a decisive breakaway threat in both flag football as part of two Final Four appearances and soccer for Clay where the Lady Blue Devils annually battled with powerhouse Ponte Vedra, chuckled that just two years ago, she was a slightly out of shape, not so fast sophomore athlete trying out for whatever sport she could muster enough energy to attempt.

“I was even told I would never play on one team because only play the best six and I wasn’t one of them,” said Paradise, who chose classroom over a stint on the track team as a sprinter for her senior year. “That comment hurt, but I eventually decided to change my image.”

Craig Paradise also fell into a time not spent staying fit part of life as he transitioned from a construction worker to a professional glass blower about two years ago to deciding that a P90X workout video may be able to turn the trick and put his fitness level back where he wanted it.

“Her freshman and sophomore year, she was slow and chunky,” said Shannon Paradise. “And, she had an attitude problem. She decided to change herself.”

With her dad, Paradise slimmed down, got stronger and got faster bringing success on the athletic field. That experience of changing her body and appearance has fueled an outreach of sorts that creates her own Youtube videos that talk about her transformation and offers encouragement.

“I found out I might want to be a personal trainer,” said Paradise. “June 1, 2017 was the first time I ever stepped into a gym and it changed me. I lost 30 pounds, got fit and people around me noticed. I’ve gotten so many private letters thanking me for my fitness advise. People sometimes hide their fear of going to the gym.”

Paradise, who works at Hagan Ace Hardware in Green Cove Springs and the Pink Seahorse boutique shot, also in Green Cove Springs, branched out and is now able to be seen on social medias with her Skye Paradise fitness videos.