REALITY TV
Mat Made How a new Jiu-Jitsu-based reality TV show is turning Kenny Kim into a storytelling superhero By Mi chae l J . Pa l l e r i no
Kenny Kim
Kenny Kim, cast and crew on location filming Mat Made
Photos courtesy of Imani Givertz and Kenny Kim
opportunity to get an up close and personal look at disciplines of martial arts that changed people’s lives. Now it was time to honor the journey. With the book as the perfect introduction, Kim set out to tell their stories. For this part of the storytelling process, he would launch a reality TV show on YouTube. Mat Made —the TV show—follows Kim as he travels from city to city, finding and highlighting Jiu-Jitsu dis- ciples whose lives have been transformed by the practice. The show’s template is to document these redemption stories while visiting different cities, learning the city’s history, and indulging in some of the area’s best food. A native of Atlanta, the entrepreneur, athlete, author, and now reality TV show host has been involved in martial arts for more than 40 years. For the past 20 years, he has owned and operated Kenny Kim Brazilian Jiu Jitsu in Marietta, Georgia. “I always hear someone talk about how Jiu-Jitsu literally changed their lives,” Kim says. “My vision and hope for the show is to showcase the power of personal success through martial arts. The mats don’t lie. They teach us valuable life lessons.” The inaugural episode, filmed in Nashville, Tennes- see, features Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) vet- eran Dean Thomas. The duo visited Milton Bastos’ gym and highlighted one of his student’s stories. Kim calls the first episode surreal. From permitting, to learning the ins and
outs of the production, he was blown away by the experi- ence. “I’ve done some short video content before, but not to this magnitude. Walking into the gym where we were filming and meeting the crew members actually made me a little nervous, especially when you have four to five cameras in your face and a producer yelling, ‘Action.’” Kim says the early feedback from the show has been amazing, with gym owners from around the country psyched up about the premise. The long-term vision for Mat Made is to do multiple seasons and eventually film in other countries. As for the content, his favorite stories are always going to be students who use martial arts values to overcome hardships in life—whether that’s a self-defense situation, stepping out of their comfort zone, or finding the confidence to tackle the unimaginable. “The true power isn’t the physical techniques we learn,” Kim says. “Don’t get me wrong, those techniques are priceless. The true power is the mental superpower it gives us to be better versions of ourselves. There are millions of people who train and practice, and wherever there’s a mat, there will be a story to tell. I want to make sure we can capture that beauty.”
D uring the pandemic, Kenny Kim decided to write a book. The autobiographical story not only served as a way to help get him through the unprecedented times the world was facing, but also to pay tribute to the indelible impact the world of martial arts had made on his life. Mat Made was a personal success story—a story that Kim admits also includes the scores of people he met on his journey to becoming a 3rd-degree black belt in Jiu-Jitsu with more than 20-plus years of training under his belt. Traveling the world competing and conducting seminars, the past three decades had afforded him the “ There are millions of people who train and practice, and wherever there’s a mat, there will be a story to tell. ”
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