Matt H. Erdems
Matt Hakan Erdems, Turkish athlete, actor, was born Umit Hakan Erdem on 4th December 1985, in Istanbul, Turkey and raised by his Turkish parents. He began martial arts at the age of eleven, enrolled by his friend in Imperial Sport Center in kick-boxing branch under the guidance of Orhan Ergen, who is a current promoter in Istanbul. Erdems' styles consist of kick-boxing, Muay Thai, Wushu and Shotokan Karate as he had practiced karate with Semsi Samiloglu. His record consists mostly of semi-contact and full contact matches as well as low-kick and K-1 styles and he was successful, getting several awards in Turkey and other countries. While studying French teaching in Dokuz Eylul University, Izmir, he kept training, fighting and working in tourism to earn his living by marketing and selling water sports activities, giving courses, driving boats and guiding tourists from travel agency job.He started lifting weights to improve his muscles, which eventually led him to have an overall physique without flat chest, spaghetti arms and weak legs any longer. He was not successful at his rock bar business attempt which he started in the very beginning of winter, in Bodrum, Mugla, 2008. He moved back to Istanbul upon completion of his university education, 2009 and worked at aviation sector, 2010, which he quit later on to save time to pursue a career in fighting, therefore to train intensively by focusing his strikes and to fight, he went to the Far East, Thailand, thousands of miles away from his hometown. In a short time he got used to Thai lifestyle which allowed him to familiarize himself with Thai culture and Muay Thai practices. According to Erdems, Muay Thai in Thailand is an art but it's also one of the most difficult sports.If you can survive a Muay Thai workout, you can survive a workout in any other sport. In 2010-2011 winter, he was soldier and completed his military service in Turkish Armed Forces in Mugla, Turkey. He has appeared in some Tv shows, films and Tv series as extras, guest roles and stuntman which he resumes for a good career in the near future. He is now in Los Angeles, CA, putting his teaching and tourism careers on hold to focus on his upcoming fights and acting career.
