Rigan Machado spent decades training some of Hollywood’s biggest names. In a recent appearance on a podcast, he spoke about those famous students in his own words.
It started with Chuck Norris, who played a direct role in the Machado brothers staying in America.
“I met Chuck Norris. I have a friend of mine named John Wheel from Australia, another guy named Richard Norton. Richard Norton was a very good friend of Chuck Norris. I remember one time we started talking about jiu-jitsu and stuff and he brought Chuck Norris to the garage. I used to have some matches in the garage and Chuck Norris came to train and we got along right away and he invited me to train at his house.”
That connection led to something much larger.
“Chuck Norris was the guy who really opened the opportunities for the Machado brothers to stay in America.”
When Machado opened his Beverly Hills academy, a familiar face was first through the door.
“My first student was Ashton Kutcher. And Ashton Kutcher started, little by little, to introduce people from the industry.”
On Kutcher‘s ability:
“When I met him, he was already very good at grappling and wrestling. He had a scholarship for wrestling. He grew up on a farm with his brother Wessel. He was already at a very high level in wrestling and was training some of the best guys in his area at that time and he’s really good. When he came to jiu-jitsu, it was easy because I just wanted to guide him to learn how to compete if he’s back on the floor, to learn how to use the guard and he picked up very fast. He loves jiu-jitsu. He trains all the chances he has.”
On Mel Gibson:
“Braveheart Mel Gibson came, my student, and became a personal friend for me.”
“I came very close friends with Jean-Claude Van Damme. We were always talking about the movies.”
On the film side, Steven Seagal was the first to call.
“I remember Steven Seagal called me. He asked us to work with him on a movie called Under Siege 2. He wanted to add some jiu-jitsu flavor and I remember talking to him, why don’t you compete my younger brother, he can make the match in jiu-jitsu even better.”
Then came John Wick.
“Another movie that blew me away to be a part of was John Wick. To have a chance to meet Keanu Reeves on the set is, for me, overwhelming.”
Machado put it simply:
“I love the industry of Hollywood because you grow up watching these guys. A lot of these guys came in some way as motivation for training, motivation to want to be like them.”
