I had the pleasure to sit down with fitness guru Stephen Maxwell and interview him during his visit to Serbia. He is also the first American to be certified by the Gracies to teach BJJ in United States.

This is a long interview but the topics we covered are very interesting and if you are a martial artist, fan or a coach you shouldn’t miss it. I divided it into 7 parts for easier reference and you can find the description of the topics covered before every video. Enjoy!

Topics covered in part 1:

  • S. Maxwell’s biography
  • Rorion Gracie’s involvement in Lethal Weapon movies
  • S. Maxwell’s beginnings in the fitness industry
  • Coaching baseball players

Topics covered in part 2:

  • Most common fallacies in the fitness industry
  • Crossfit
  • Dangers of using olympic lifts

Topics covered in part 3:

  • Body types and martial arts
  • Overtraining
  • Injuries
  • Life force

Topics covered in part 4:

  • Intermittent fasting
  • Undereating VS frequent eating
  • Fasting while being sick
  • Fasting as a potential cure for cancer
  • Supplementation
  • Warrior diet
  • Insulin spikes
  • Joint mobility

Topics covered in part 5:

  • Ethics of MMA business
  • Early UFC
  • Being an early UFC investor
  • Adverse effects of MMA
  • Small show promoters
  • Reasons for young men fighting in MMA

Topics covered in part 6:

  •  BJJ
  • Steroid abuse in BJJ
  • Non-Brazillian BJJ black belt world champions
  • Judo
  • Eastern block fighters

Topics covered in part 7:

  •  UFC/US Army collaboration
  • “War Heros” in MMA
  • Joe Rogan