1) Who is Marcus Kowal? (where are you from, what do you do, a bit about yourself (hobbies, etc)
I'm from Sweden originally but lived in England for a very long time. I moved around a lot and lived in Germany, France, Mexico and now, Los Angeles, California. I've always loved sport and always been very competitive. Once I found martial arts, I knew that was it. I'm a 2nd degree black belt in Krav Maga, black belt in kickboxing and professional kickboxer and MMA fighter. I'm also a CrossFit instructor, breathing meditation coach and a former special forces (Army Ranger) with the Swedish military.
2) How many years have you been training?
Martial arts? 25 years.
3) Whats been the most challenging/hardest part of your journey so far? and how have you overcome them (set backs, rejections, injuries, basically anything difficult that you have had to overcome)
One thing and one thing only: Losing my 15-month son to the hands of a drunk driver. Nothing compares to it. It's a pain I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy.
4) What does your typical workout/diet routine look like
Depends on if I have a fight coming up or not, ha! Since I do have a fight coming up, I'm currently eating about 1,500 calories and a ton of fat, protein and vegetables. I still eat some carbohydrates (mainly from fruit and oat meal), since I need carbs to perform. Last week before the fight, I cut out the carbs too.
5) What new knowledge have you learned over this past year regarding training, lifestyle and nutrition?
Past couple of years, I've really been focusing on sport specific training. For fighting, I'm really intrigued in how the foot works, when it comes movement (foot work). However, the topic that I'm obsessed with (and I've learnt more about that I ever wish I had) is drive. Grit. Motivation. From meeting fathers that have lost children, I've realized that many of them didn't handle it well and are still angry and bitter, many years down the line. Why is it I could go through it and chose to fight? That grit/drive shows itself in fighting too. That will to survive. That will to win.
6) Whats your favourite cheat/Treat meal?
Licorice! Real licorice of course. You Americans call it "Black licorice" but there is only one kind of licorice and it is what you call black licorice. It's made out of licorice root. Twizzlers and redvines are NOT licorice! I'm trying to educate Americans, lol.
7) one supplement that you could not live without?
Glutamine really seems to work wonders for me but I love MM Sport's coconut bars (Swedish brand - unfortunately not available in the US yet!). They taste like candy!
8) If you had to start out from scratch with your physique what would you do differently and why?
When I started, there was no YouTube and internet (damn, I'm old!). If I knew then what I know now, everything would have been different, when it comes to diet and sport specific training! Shit, the sport that I'm in didn't even exist! (MMA)
9) Who do you look up to in the fitness industry and why?
I'm amazed by so many athletes and how they are able to do what they do what they do but to me, a true athlete is more than just their sport. They are ambassadors in life and to me, there's no one greater than Muhammad Ali but just from an athletic standpoint, there's no one great than Vasyl Lomachenko. He has a lot left to prove but he's already arguably one of the best ever and I love both his athleticism and mental strength.
10) If you had to give one bit of advice to people starting out what would that be?
Just start. Stop thinking about it. However, once you DO start, start thinking about it. Be cerebral about what you do. Why are you doing certain things and how can you do it better? Always look to improve but in the end of the day, nothing beats just doing it. You need your 10,000 hours to master anything. Nike has it down pretty well: "Just Do It".
11) What new goals are on the horizon?
My last fight is June 9th in Sweden. My next goal is outside of the ring/cage: To lower the legal blood alcohol content (BAC) to 0.04. Not sports related but I do teach Krav Maga, which is self defense and what better self defense than being part of ending drunk driving, once and for all, since it takes more youths lives than even gun violence. Someone is killed in this country every 53 minutes because of drunk driving. That's the equivalent of a jumbo jet crashing every single week - it's insanity! I'm also working hard on our documentary coming out "Letters To Liam" (trailer: https://vimeo.com/243058046) and my book that is coming out on Wednesday "Life Is A Moment". Lastly, I'm looking forward to taking a coaching role with our amazing team of fighters at my gyms Systems Training Center and continue growing our gyms. We have something amazing going on and I'm excited to share it with the world. I'm also very excited about our self defense program, which you can find at www.YourKravMaga.com. Since not everyone have Krav Maga available where they live, or able to afford it, I wanted to create something that anyone and everyone can be part of!
12) Where can people find you? (website, social media accounts)
IG: @mackowal
Twitter: @MarcusKowal
Facebook: www.Facebook.com/MarcusKowal
Website: www.MarcusKowal.com
The book: www.LifeIsAMoment.com
Non profit: www.LiamsLife.org
Gym: Systems Training Center
IG: @SystemsTrainingCenter
Website: www.SystemsTrainingCenter
Twitter: @SystemsTC
