Rich Manley

Rich Manley was born June 16th, 1986 in Concord Massachusetts and was raised in Stow, MA. As a youth, Rich was quiet and artistic, and loved to write. However, he also had quite the dramatic and adventurous side, always dressing up and "creating" characters and situations, along with headaches, around the house. At the age of thirteen, Rich started training in Kenpo Karate and received his Black Belt in four years, along with teaching status, at his local school. After his initial exposure to martial arts through action flicks, he developed a strong drive to entertain and perform his skills for the public. Rich traveled to New York City to train in the styles of Wing Chun Kung Fu, Shaolin Kung Fu, and a variety of weapons work under the tutelage of the Shaolin Monks. Rich was hungry to be the best he could be and test the spirit and limits of his own body, a philosophy he has adopted from his studies of Buddhist, Eastern, and Western Philosophy. He received a black belt in both styles of kung fu and took a trip out to Los Angeles to compete, attaining the title from a reality called K-Star as "one of the top sixty best young martial arts performers in North America" at nineteen. Also, as a ten year old youth, Rich learned magic from his grandfather, a surgeon and sleight of hand practitioner. Rich spent his teen years performing at events, bars, TV programs, and for family. His love for magic and the unknown was as strong as his passion for the martial arts and he continued to create new effects and hone his own sleight of hand ability. Rich went to College at Radford University in Virginia for Acting/media studies and sports studies focusing on martial arts. There he learned the art of making films and honed his acting chops. Although, he wasn't satisfied with his abilities and was frustrated with his studies. He wanted to be out in the world creating and acting in films. Rich left college, and traveled to Los Angeles as part of a film crew for a reality show pilot called "Stars Stunts Action". It was through this experience that Rich met and trained with esteemed professional stuntmen, fight choreographers, and coaches. At this time he also engaged his magic abilities and performed for esteemed individuals in the industry, awarding him the honor of performing at the prestigious Magic Castle in Hollywood. Rich continues to practice and hone new illusions and magic effects. Rich is an avid rock climber, scuba diver, sky diver, traveler and adventurer. He has studied anthropology, archaeology, and cultural studies extensively. He enjoys writing, martial arts, creating music, and practicing and performing magic.