Chef, world traveler, and friend of Uproxx Anthony Bourdain has once again proved that age is just a number by crushing it at the IBJJF New York Spring International Open Championship over the weekend. It was the 59-year-old’s first tournament competition, and he managed to take home gold in the Masters 5 Middleweight Division.
Here are some pictures from the event:
https://www.instagram.com/p/BD_WnZioCCm/
https://www.instagram.com/p/BD_5l9RICNf/
Bourdain has been training Brazilian Jiu Jitsu since late 2013, getting into it through his wife Ottavia. Since then, he’s become completely obsessed, and earned his blue belt through Team Renzo Gracie.
“If I don’t train, I’m like going through drug withdrawal,” he told Bloody Elbow’s Stephie Daniels. “I feel miserable and worthless if I miss a single day. … Basically, for the last year, every day that I’m not shooting, I’m training. From the last day of the show, I’ve been training at Renzo’s every single day, sometimes two sessions a day. Sometimes in regular class with the general population, and then again in a private session to figure out what I f*cked up in class.”
It looks like all that hard work is paying off, and if anyone thought his belt was given to him because of his celebrity and not his skills…well, tournaments don’t lie. Well done on your first tournament, and your first gold medal, Anthony Bourdain!
