Forever White Belt Zach Maslany - The No Gi King and Queen Maker
In this episode, I have the pleasure of chatting with 10th planet Eddie Bravo black belt, Zach Maslany. Zach is also a 2nd degree Tiger Shulman black belt, a former kickboxer, golden glove boxer, MMA competitor, co-founder of 10th Planet Bethlehem, 10th Planet Allentown, Finishers tournaments, podcaster, YouTuber, and coffee shop owner as well as so much more.
It’s no wonder Zach has so many exciting and successful endeavors going on, it’s infectious to stand in the whirlwind of his space, it makes you want to jump in and be part of whatever initiative he has dreamt up. There is a great deal of inspiration to take from Zach’s story. Zach lives in Pennsylvania, he felt much of the Jiu-Jitsu action was concentrated in other areas of the country and neglected in PA. So in typical Zach fashion, he creates two academies that produce two of the best no-gi Jiu-Jitsu competitors to date (and this is the reason I refer to him as the king and queen maker), Grace Gundrum and Jon Thor Blank, if that was not enough, he goes on to create a platform for the local practitioners to shine via his Finishers tournaments. This seems to be a trend in Zach’s life, if it’s not available, make it yourself, and be proud of your work, I greatly appreciate and relate to his DIY ethos.