Dan Magnus

Daniel Magnus (born September 18, 1956) is an American martial artist, celebrity bodyguard, fugitive recovery specialist, businessman and heart transplant survivor. He is a two-time world kickboxing champion and is best known for being the only person to ever defend his championship title after open-heart surgery. He is an 8th-degree Black Belt and has owned and operated five Martial Arts schools.

Early life Dan Magnus was born in New York, New York, the son of Everett and Elizabeth Magnus.

He is the oldest of 3 children: Daniel, Connie and Lee. He attended George Washington High School in New York, New York and graduated from the Class of 1974.

As a teenager, Magnus was a competitive roller skater from 1973 to 1976. He won third-place for Junior Men Figures at the 1974 National Roller Skating Championships.

Early career After finishing his studies at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in Police Science, Magnus became a New York City police officer. It was during this time that Magnus started training full-contact fighting with future world karate champion Jeff Smith. This training helped him as he moved onto being a contract fugitive recovery specialist.

Kickboxing And Coming Back From Heart Surgery Magnus began his martial arts training in 1969, learning from big names in the martial arts field such as Peter Urban, Jeff Smith, Rodney Batiste and Bill "Superfoot" Wallace. He won 35 of his 45 full-contact fights and became the United States light-middleweight full-contact karate champion in 1982 and the #3 contender in the world.

Shortly after winning the championship title in 1982, Magnus was chasing a fugitive and was hit by a car which sent him tumbling over a 4-foot retaining wall. In April 1983, Magnus was preparing for a world title bout in Denver against Tom Dalton when doctors detected a heart murmur an hour before the match. The doctors did not allow him to fight, even after he protested and choked the doctor. Despite threatening everyone, there was no title bout and the world championship title was given to someone else.

The doctors discovered that he was bleeding internally. The accident from the previous year had broken his ribs which punctured his heart and tore his aortic valve. After undergoing surgery, about a quarter of his heart was now made of metal. In 1984, the Professional Karate Association vacated his US championship title because of a policy where if a fighter is injured and cannot defend their title within that year, they are stripped of their title.

In 1997, Magnus, along with G. Q. Money, co-founded Central Wrestling Organization (CWO) in Colorado. To coincide, Magnus opened Slam City Wrestling School, the first pro-wrestling training school in Colorado. Magnus wasn't looking for professional wrestlers for the wrestling school. He just wanted people who wanted to "try out their dreams." Beyond expectation, Slam City's popularity exploded. He also wrote a book in 2014 on self defense, The M.A.G.N.U.S. Method: R.E.A.C.T. B 4 U A.C.T. He also contributed to a book for students heading off to college with a bonus chapter: "How to Keep Your Teen Safe on Campus."

In 2018, Magnus underwent another heart surgery but, like the previous two times, bounced back after doctors had given him dim diagnoses. He also acted in the role of "Referee" in the show. In 2020, he was nominated for a Broadway World Los Angeles Award in the Best Choreographer of the Decade category. The show ended up winning two awards: Best Ensemble of the Decade and Director of a Musical of the Decade.

At the end of 2020, at 64, Magnus found himself awaiting a heart transplant. Though outwardly asymptomatic, he was admitted into ICU in wait for a heart. Though two hearts were offered, they were not strong enough to match with his active lifestyle. In March 2021, a matching heart was found and Magnus successfully received a heart transplant after having been in the hospital for nearly 6 months. He returned home 2 weeks after surgery. Sifu Chee (martial artist) John Fabbricatore Jason David Frank (White Dragon, Green Power Ranger) Steve Magill (martial artist)

Personal life After two marriages and divorces, Magnus has partnered with Tracee Meltzer since 2013.