Matt Mullins

Matt Mullins
ResidenceToluca Lake, California, U.S.
Height6 ft 1 in (185 cm)
StyleOkinawan Shōrei-ryū Karate
Teacher(s)John Sharkey Jr.
Rank7th degree black belt in Shōrei-ryū Purple Belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
OccupationMartial artist, actor
Spouse
Alicia Vela-Bailey
(m. 2015)
Websitematthewmullins.com

Matt Mullins is an American actor and martial artist. At the age of 16, in 2000, he won his first World Kickboxing Association title in Dublin, Ireland. This would be his first of five championships in the next three years.[1]

Martial arts career

Mullins was featured in the Discovery Channel mini-series Extreme Martial Arts alongside Mike Chat. As of 2024, he held 7th degree Black belt in the style Shōrei-ryū and studied under martial arts instructor John Sharkey at Sharkey's Karate Studio in Naperville, Illinois.[2]

While an underbelt, he met Mike Chaturantabut and together they created a martial arts style which later became known as Extreme Martial Arts (XMA). Their style's growing popularity prompted the Discovery Channel to produce a documentary called XMA: Extreme Martial Arts. In this documentary, the producers covered the XMA style with modern technology such as motion-capture and 3D imaging to show how a martial artist can use their body. As a side story, they focused on Matt Mullins' attempt to return to the competition world of sport karate.[3]

Matt Mullins is the founder and creator of the Sideswipe Performance Team. He created this extreme martial arts group in 2002 after appearing on the show 30 seconds to Fame. From there he grew Sideswipe and began traveling around the world with everyone a part of the team to do these performances.[4][5]

Mullins holds seminars and martial arts camps. He has appeared on shows such as The Jerry Lewis Telethon, The Wayne Brady Show, America's Got Talent (Season 2) and The Ellen DeGeneres Show, as well as at sporting events, live action shows and karate tournaments.

Acting career

Mullins has appeared in national commercials for Motorola, America Online, Applebee's, Nike, Hanes and Pepsi as well as a lead actor in several films including Kung Fu Love Triangle, Bloodfist 2050, and Adventures of Johnny Tao: Rock Around the Dragon. He had a lead role portraying the character Len/Kamen Rider Wing Knight on the in-production TV show Kamen Rider: Dragon Knight. He also helped Mike Moh get the role of Hunt/Danny Cho/Kamen Rider Axe in the same show through their shared martial arts training.[citation needed]

Mullins was a reporter for LX TV 1st Look television program introducing DJ Hapa, as well as Shinkendo. He starred as Johnny Cage in the Kevin Tancharoen directed short film Mortal Kombat: Rebirth.[6]

Filmography

Films

Stunt work

Video games

Television

Director

  • The Johnnies – 5 episodes

Producer

  • Resident Evil: Vengeance (2013)
  • The Johnnies – 5 episodes

References

  1. ^ "Matt Mullins: The New KAMEN RIDER". Kung Fu Magazine. Retrieved February 6, 2010.
  2. ^ "Extreme Knight". Otaku USA. Retrieved March 5, 2010.
  3. ^ "Extreme martial arts on the verge of mainstream invasion". College News. Archived from the original on June 16, 2009. Retrieved February 6, 2010.
  4. ^ Budomate. "Extreme martial arts on the verge of mainstream invasion". Retrieved May 13, 2023.
  5. ^ Elyachar, Jacob (May 30, 2012). "Jacob Interviews...Sideswipe's Matt Mullins". Jake's Take. Retrieved May 13, 2023.
  6. ^ "New Mortal Kombat Promotional Featurette Delivers the Goods". DreadCentral.com. September 28, 2012. Retrieved September 6, 2015.