Jeremy Parisi: What It Takes To Be A Black Belt

We're all about fuelling every lifestyle, whether you're a BMX rider, Crossfit fanatic, surf lover or busy banker. This week, we spoke to Actor and friend of Neat, Jeremy Parisi, to hear about what it takes to be a top judo competitor... 

"I grew up in Paris and began my Martial Arts training when I was just 6 years old. Since then I have become a professional judo fighter and earned my black belt; it took me 10 years to become a black belt. My best result in the artistic sport of Judo was winning the Italian Cup. I had to do a tournament one week before in Roma to qualify for the final. I had six fights that day and won all of them.

My uncle competed in the Olympic Games in 1972 for Great Britain, earning himself a bronze medal. This pushed me to carry on the sport, it was a tradition in the family and was carried down to me. All my life I had done a lot of training, tournaments, and fighting you have to learn to accept losing sometimes even if it’s hard, I hated losing when I was younger! A key factor to becoming a good Judo fighter is to stay humble when you win, as your own ego can be your downfall! In the many years I have been doing Judo, I have had to manage various different injuries, I've broken bones all over my body but I think the worst to recover from was damaging my sciatica nerve. It has been a very hard journey for me but my love for Judo has always remained and been the thing that kept me going.  

To anyone interested in taking up Judo here are some tips from me to you: be ready mentally, getting hit dragged and grappled isn't fun and can spark anger but keeping calm in all situations is key. Also, always have a good sleep before and after training and fighting - it's the best way to recover and prepare. It’s a lot about the discipline too and finding the good routine and balance between work and rest to be ready the day of your fight.  

I'm no longer fighting anymore so I use my former judo fitness routine just to stay fit. I actually try to do the same training I was doing when I was preparing for my tournaments back in the day, which is a lot of cardio and gym about 3/4 times a week, training with weights. 

Of course, I'm also very disciplined with food and diet. I use Neat's Whey Protein after all my training sessions to refuel. I try to keep a good, strict diet with low sugar and fat. I focus on eating a lot of vegetables and I have given up alcohol for a few years now."