Dan Magnus
Dan Magnus (born September 18, 1956) is an American martial artist, bodyguard, fugitive recovery specialist, businessman and heart transplant survivor. He is a two-time world kickboxing champion and the only person to defend a championship after open-heart surgery. He holds an 8th-degree black belt and has owned five martial arts schools.
He was born in New York City, the oldest of three children to Everett and Elizabeth Magnus. He attended George Washington High School (class of 1974) and was a competitive roller skater from 1973 to 1976, finishing third in the 1974 National Roller Skating Championships. After studying police science at John Jay College, he became a New York City police officer and began full-contact fighting training with Jeff Smith. He later worked as a contract fugitive recovery specialist and trained police officers while running his own martial arts schools.
In 1983, while chasing a fugitive, Magnus was hit by a car, fell over a four-foot wall, sustained broken ribs that pierced his heart and tore his aortic valve. Doctors detected a heart murmur before a world title bout, and he underwent surgery that left part of his heart replaced with metal. In 1984, after recovering, he defeated Tom Dalton to reclaim the US championship in Atlantic City, showing his remarkable return to competition.
In 1994, his heart valve ripped again and was replaced with a mechanical valve. Despite a 50/50 chance of survival, he recovered and left the hospital four days later. In 1997, he co-founded the Central Wrestling Organization (CWO) in Colorado and opened Slam City Wrestling School, Colorado’s first pro-wrestling training school.
Magnus later offered self-defense trainings nationwide under programs that evolved from R.E.A.C.T. Before You A.C.T. to Victim No More. He published The M.A.G.N.U.S. Method: R.E.A.C.T. B 4 U A.C.T. in 2014 and contributed to a college safety guide. He underwent another heart surgery in 2018 but again recovered.
In 2019, Magnus was nominated for a Broadway World Award for Best Choreography for Afterglow: 80s Musical Experience, in which he also acted as a Referee. In 2020, he received another Broadway World nomination for Best Choreographer of the Decade, and the show won two awards.
By late 2020, Magnus was awaiting a heart transplant. In March 2021, he received a heart transplant after nearly six months in the hospital and returned home two weeks later. He has trained many martial artists over the years and, since 2013, has been partnered with Tracee Meltzer, with whom he has one child.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 08:26 (CET).