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jacob kasper - wrestling/mma/wweOne the the most highly toted WWE recruits out of college, Jacob Kasper is a man on a mission. After a high school wrestling career being a two time Ohio State Place Winner, Jacob committed to Duke University where he flourished by earning prestigious All American honors at the NCAA DIV I Wrestling Championships. Jacob now trains at American Kickboxing Academy with UFC Lightweight Champion, Daniel Cormier, and is using his size, strength, and athleticism to pave the road of opportunity whether it be wrestling, MMA, or flying high in the WWE.
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Kasper StackJacob Kasper isn't known to be a born Blue Chipper, rather a dark horse that has built his way up from the bottom. His hard work and commitment to excellence on and off the mat is what makes Jacob special. The "Kasper Stack" is for the grinders, movers, and the hardest working athletes and workout enthusiasts. It's simple, yet delivers everything you need to train, perform, and recover to be the champion you are.
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technique of the weekCheck out this weeks Kasper Breakdown as former collegiate wrestling standout, MMA fighter, and future heavyweight champion, Jacob Kasper shows off his favorite takedowns, counters, and defensive wrestling positions.
To watch more demonstration videos head to our technique page! |
kick it with kasper
Tell us a bit about yourself... where you’re from, life growing up, etc…
I am the middle of 3 boys. We were raised to be tough, to be blue collar, and to always be honest and do the right thing. I still take a lot of pride in that. My dad was in the military, then a police officer, graduated college, before finally finding a spot at UPS. My mom stayed with us for the first part of our lives before going back to work as a special education teacher. I learned so many lessons from my parents and feel so fortunate to always have them for guidance. My brothers and I were constantly on the go: playing sports, exploring outdoors, and researching anything we could get our hands on, we competed in every single thing we did. We were the neighborhood gathering house and we had different people over nearly every day, looking back I’m convinced its because nobody could keep up with us day in and day out. Our home was never the cleanest but had to be the most entertaining and most filled with love.
What and or who got you into wrestling?
With my name and its biblical ties to Jacob wrestling the angel I guess it was just destined to be. I started competing when I was like 4 years old because my dad was a junior high coach at our local school but it really started when I was sleeping on the mats as early as 6 weeks old. To be honest, I really did not like wrestling growing up. I cried before every match, after every loss, and even during some matches I won. I took 2nd place seventeen times before finally winning a tournament because I would get so nervous for the finals.
At the time, I only continued to wrestle because my parents wanted me to and I loved how proud it made them of me. This was important to me because I know how hard they’ve worked to afford my brothers and me the opportunities we’ve had. As I got older and everybody got busier with school, work, friends, etc. it was the one thing we did together. My mom drove hours with us in the car to practices and my dad went with us to compete. Additionally, we were a pretty athletic and gritty family. We exceled early at most things we did growing up but wrestling was the exception for me. I’ve always loved the challenge and doing things people said I could not.
You went from 184lbs to heavyweight in college, tell us about that transition...
I wrestled my freshman year of high school at 119 and finished at 182. Gaining the right type of weight and growing was nothing new and instead more of the norm. I continued to grow after getting into college and really really struggled to make it down to 184 after my first year. I did so anyway because I gave my word to the coaches and team but after NCAA’s my sophomore year I knew I never wanted to cut weight again. I dedicated myself to lifting and eating big in addition to hardcore wrestling training. I would eat 8x a day, lift 2x, wrestle 2x, and work moving jobs in the in-between to pay for food and rent. It was not easy but nothing great ever is achieved with ease.
I definitely was not towards the upper limit of 285 but if size mattered, elephants would be king of the jungle. Luckily for me I have a lion’s heart. My game plan did not change regardless of whom I wrestled. I look to go out and win every position, score, be exciting, and most importantly have fun.
I perform best with the pressure on because that is how I prepare. I visualize myself wrestling against these guys thousands of times before I actually do so I have beaten them thousands of times without ever losing to them and that gives me confidence. I am obsessed with this. When I start to get tired in a match, not just breathing hard but vision blurry, heart pounding, lungs screaming, feeling like I am going to die, I smile because I know if I am tired so is he. When I get to that point I smell blood and push harder, I know nobody is tougher than me or willing to go longer and harder. For me losing hurts worse than form of exhaustion ever could.
Where does your motivation come from?
Honestly I’m driven by more than just materialistic accolades. I want to motivate, inspire, and entertain. I want some kid that has a losing record right now to read my story and believe he can because I was in the same situation. I want a kid to hear about how I was not the best student and didn’t make varsity my first year of high school but found a way to achieve what I set out to do. I hope somebody hears what I have done and pushes through Crohn’s and becomes and Olympian and everything I have failed at because they believed in themselves because of me. Also, I want to bring more fans to our program and the sport of wrestling through my personality and exciting style. I want more people to support Duke wrestling and wrestling as a whole as I build my own personal brand and legacy. And most importantly, I want those same kids to know that I did it the right way. By eating right, sleeping right, studying right, never cutting corners, never smoking, never drinking alcohol, all while being a good person.
You have battled Crohn’s disease throughout your career, touch on what that has been like as well as your mindset to not let it become your identity..
Chron’s disease is tough; it challenges you 24 hours a day and 7 days a week. But my parents raised me to man up, saddle up, buckle down, and get the job done without complaining. Chron’s disease is not a crutch that is going to hold me back. Instead its just another detail in the story to inspire others.
What’s next for Jacob Kasper? UFC? Wrestling? WWE?
Stay tuned!
Why did you decide to team up with Fueled Supplements?
I’m a blue collar, hard working, honest, loyal, family man that under promises and always over delivers. These are the same values represented by this brand. I would not put my name to anything less than the best!
I am the middle of 3 boys. We were raised to be tough, to be blue collar, and to always be honest and do the right thing. I still take a lot of pride in that. My dad was in the military, then a police officer, graduated college, before finally finding a spot at UPS. My mom stayed with us for the first part of our lives before going back to work as a special education teacher. I learned so many lessons from my parents and feel so fortunate to always have them for guidance. My brothers and I were constantly on the go: playing sports, exploring outdoors, and researching anything we could get our hands on, we competed in every single thing we did. We were the neighborhood gathering house and we had different people over nearly every day, looking back I’m convinced its because nobody could keep up with us day in and day out. Our home was never the cleanest but had to be the most entertaining and most filled with love.
What and or who got you into wrestling?
With my name and its biblical ties to Jacob wrestling the angel I guess it was just destined to be. I started competing when I was like 4 years old because my dad was a junior high coach at our local school but it really started when I was sleeping on the mats as early as 6 weeks old. To be honest, I really did not like wrestling growing up. I cried before every match, after every loss, and even during some matches I won. I took 2nd place seventeen times before finally winning a tournament because I would get so nervous for the finals.
At the time, I only continued to wrestle because my parents wanted me to and I loved how proud it made them of me. This was important to me because I know how hard they’ve worked to afford my brothers and me the opportunities we’ve had. As I got older and everybody got busier with school, work, friends, etc. it was the one thing we did together. My mom drove hours with us in the car to practices and my dad went with us to compete. Additionally, we were a pretty athletic and gritty family. We exceled early at most things we did growing up but wrestling was the exception for me. I’ve always loved the challenge and doing things people said I could not.
You went from 184lbs to heavyweight in college, tell us about that transition...
I wrestled my freshman year of high school at 119 and finished at 182. Gaining the right type of weight and growing was nothing new and instead more of the norm. I continued to grow after getting into college and really really struggled to make it down to 184 after my first year. I did so anyway because I gave my word to the coaches and team but after NCAA’s my sophomore year I knew I never wanted to cut weight again. I dedicated myself to lifting and eating big in addition to hardcore wrestling training. I would eat 8x a day, lift 2x, wrestle 2x, and work moving jobs in the in-between to pay for food and rent. It was not easy but nothing great ever is achieved with ease.
I definitely was not towards the upper limit of 285 but if size mattered, elephants would be king of the jungle. Luckily for me I have a lion’s heart. My game plan did not change regardless of whom I wrestled. I look to go out and win every position, score, be exciting, and most importantly have fun.
I perform best with the pressure on because that is how I prepare. I visualize myself wrestling against these guys thousands of times before I actually do so I have beaten them thousands of times without ever losing to them and that gives me confidence. I am obsessed with this. When I start to get tired in a match, not just breathing hard but vision blurry, heart pounding, lungs screaming, feeling like I am going to die, I smile because I know if I am tired so is he. When I get to that point I smell blood and push harder, I know nobody is tougher than me or willing to go longer and harder. For me losing hurts worse than form of exhaustion ever could.
Where does your motivation come from?
Honestly I’m driven by more than just materialistic accolades. I want to motivate, inspire, and entertain. I want some kid that has a losing record right now to read my story and believe he can because I was in the same situation. I want a kid to hear about how I was not the best student and didn’t make varsity my first year of high school but found a way to achieve what I set out to do. I hope somebody hears what I have done and pushes through Crohn’s and becomes and Olympian and everything I have failed at because they believed in themselves because of me. Also, I want to bring more fans to our program and the sport of wrestling through my personality and exciting style. I want more people to support Duke wrestling and wrestling as a whole as I build my own personal brand and legacy. And most importantly, I want those same kids to know that I did it the right way. By eating right, sleeping right, studying right, never cutting corners, never smoking, never drinking alcohol, all while being a good person.
You have battled Crohn’s disease throughout your career, touch on what that has been like as well as your mindset to not let it become your identity..
Chron’s disease is tough; it challenges you 24 hours a day and 7 days a week. But my parents raised me to man up, saddle up, buckle down, and get the job done without complaining. Chron’s disease is not a crutch that is going to hold me back. Instead its just another detail in the story to inspire others.
What’s next for Jacob Kasper? UFC? Wrestling? WWE?
Stay tuned!
Why did you decide to team up with Fueled Supplements?
I’m a blue collar, hard working, honest, loyal, family man that under promises and always over delivers. These are the same values represented by this brand. I would not put my name to anything less than the best!
