Today we’d like to introduce you to Hakan Yildiz.
Hi Hakan, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
I am Hakan Yildiz. I was born and raised in Turkey, in the city of Mersin which is located south of the Mediterranean Sea. and my first training session was at the age of 6 with both boxing and gymnastics.
My uncle (Hasan Yildiz), was my inspiration and biggest supporter when I first started my training. He (uncle) is currently the president of Turkey’s Muay Thai Federation.
I was a very lively boy, I wanted to do EVERYTHING, and at the time that included being as cool as Bruce Lee and Jean Claude Van Damme! I watched “Kickboxing” and “BloodSport” so many times that my parents started looking for a way to channel my energy in a constructive way. At that time, my uncle was the European Champion and was kind enough to take me under his wing as his first student.
From there, it was pretty straightforward. Some would say I was born for it, my body reacted to training as if I had been doing it for a while and it soon became my passion! I participated in my first tournament when I was 10 and became Turkey’s National Champion. Today, I have over 250 fights and lost 4 of those fights landing me bronze medals instead of gold.
I went on to fight in Thailand, Chez Republic, England, Germany, Russia, Poland, Lithuania… the list goes on, hopefully, I will get to add the USA to my list!
In 2013 I took the decision to step away from the ring and soft-retired from fighting (I am always ready to make a comeback and win in the USA as well.) This came as a surprise for many but my passion had taken a turn.
I was no longer chasing fame and glory, I wanted to help people in need, I wanted to be an inspiration and a tool for those who were not as fortunate as I had been.
I created “Güç koşullardaki bireyler federasyonu which translates to: Federation of the İndividuals in Difficult Condition. I wanted to help the youth in my country, I wanted them to be proud of who they are regardless of where they came from, I remember when I first started training and how much it helped me to become a better person, I wanted, and still do, to give all youth in my country the opportunity to create a path for themselves and hopefully stir away from the fate many of them would’ve had to face.
To date, the federation we started is still going strong, helping thousands of young adults many of them went on to become national and world champions themselves.
In 2017 I met my beautiful wife, Tara. Shortly after we decided to get married, and after a year we decided to come to the states. This was a big change for both of us, I was still not comfortable with my English and I didn’t know how I would be perceived in another country, but this is the land of opportunity and I wanted to take them all! I started working right away as a Coach and became more familiarized with the way of living here in the USA.
After Covid hit we were faced with lots of challenges. Tara and I started thinking about the options we had and went over the possibility of making our own gym, waging the costs involved and whether or not it would be successful.
We met in the middle. I opened my own Personal Training Studio from our garage starting a whole new business model. Right now, we have one studio here in Oceanside but are planning to open more, in Escondido, Vista, and San Marcos to start with.
We are friendly and welcome anyone who would like to experience the thrill of a fight while getting into their best shape.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
I would say it is never a smooth road, and this is not only for me. Being an athlete is a big responsibility, it’s not like you can clock in and out, this is a way of living, all day, every day.
as long as you have discipline and sustainability there is no reason why you would not be successful. Many times, I thought about quitting but quitting is not an option when you are doing what you love so I had to do what needed to be done to become the best fighter I could be. This meant not being able to go to parties and doing all the things normal people would do, instead, I trained here we are today.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
Hakan Yildiz Personal Training Studio focuses on the development of professional athletes. We take any level of training and are proud to teach traditional Boxing, Kickboxing, Muay Thai, and Functional Training.
We want people to take control of their bodies and minds, I personally know about the benefits of training and structure and I want others to take advantage of them.
We are a One-on-one type of studio so you as a student have the best experience possible, as a teacher want my students to learn proper techniques rather than getting in a bigger number of students.
We’d be interested to hear your thoughts on luck and what role, if any, you feel it’s played for you?
I was lucky enough to have a family that supported my career and dreams, a wife that is understanding and hardworking, and friends that thrive off of seeing me succeed.
I worked hard to get where I am right now and though I consider myself lucky I still worked every day.
Contact Info:
- Email: info@hakanyildizpt.com
- Website: hakanyildizpt.com
- Instagram: @hakanyildizpt
- Facebook: @hakanyildizpt
- Other: https://goo.gl/maps/FBgPRmvVDSJ1sP8y7
Image Credits
Hakan Yildiz PT
