Rigel was first introduced to Muay Thai in 1992 while working as a personal trainer in Philadelphia. He began formal training in 1994 under Kru Ood at the legendary U.S. Muay Thai Academy where he trained and fought continuously until his first retirement in 2000. Rigel was certified as a Kru in Bangkok in 1999 as the sole U.S. representative in that year’s I.A.M.T.F. World Championships.
In 2000 Kru Rigel retired from fighting due to a serious injury and devoted himself full time to teaching Muay Thai and training fighters. Though the idea of Cool Hearts Muay Thai Club was conceived in 1999 it became an official camp in 2000 as its own entity.
In 2003 Kru Rigel came out of retirement to fight on short notice for the WKA North American Championships in Calgary, where he already had two Cool Hearts fighters representing the U.S. Kru Rigel had to drop over twenty pounds in two weeks and the doctors declared him unfit to fight due to severe dehydration. He was still able to corner his fighters Andrew Glessner and Stephen Strotmeyer, himself now a top trainer and head Kru of Sit Dragon Leg Muay Thai Camp.
In the summer of 2003 Kru Rigel was recruited by Alex Gong in NYC and flown to San Francisco to train with him at Fairtex where he also trained with Kru Enn, Kru Bunkerd, Kru Jongsanan and Master Cheetah. Later that summer he returned to NYC and continued to train students and fighters in Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan and North Jersey.
In 2004 Kru Rigel returned to Thailand and spent two weeks in Bangkok before heading north to Chiang Mai to train. There he was offered a fight with Northern Champion Yodgaeng Sith-yaja with only one day’s notice. The event was TV5′s Loi Krathong Festival and he fought under his Thai fight name: Rittichai. That fight gave Kru Rigel the opportunity to stay five more months to train and fight out of Lanna Muay Thai. During that time he trained down to light heavy-weight and super middle weight and went the distance with Kunsuk at the Isarn Fesitval. Less than two weeks later he scored an impressive TKO over Kru Leamphet Wattanachai at Gawilla Stadium before returning to the States.
The trip focused Kru Rigel’s sense of purpose and he returned with a renewed fervor for teaching Muay Thai. By early 2005 Kru Rigel was teaching in Queens, Brooklyn, Clifton, NJ and also in Philadelphia. Kru Rigel settled back in Philly in the summer of 2005, returning to the city where his love of Muay Thai began in the first place.
Since moving to Philadelphia in the summer of 2005 Kru Rigel has been a driving force in Muay Thai and MMA training in the city and internationally. Kru Rigel and the Cool Hearts Muay Thai Camp have established a well known reputation for producing fighters in multiple disciplines to compete anywhere from smokers and tournament-level amateur to professional champions in highly touted organizations, such as the WKA, Friday Night Fights NYC Series, Elite XC, and Belllator Fighting Championships.
The Cool Hearts Muay Thai Camp family tree reads like a “who’s who” of Muay Thai and MMA in Philadelphia. Fighters trained by Rigel and the Camp have gone on to become successful competitors and trainers at gyms and camps all over Philadelphia including: BJJ United, Fight Firm, Balance Studios, Fight Factory, and many others.
In May of 2007, Kru Rigel returned to Thailand with the intent of reconnecting with his roots. This trip found him living and training among the fighters at Kaewsamrit Camp, home of seven-time champion Anuwat Kaewsamrit and two-year undefeated at Lumpinee, Watcharachai.
A two month trip was extended to three and Rigel once again came out of retirement on August 11 for the fight of his life. At 36 years old, and suffering from a broken foot , Kru Rigel fought at 84 kilos against Samman “Frankenstein” Rampo Gym to score a unanimous decision victory in front of an estimated 150,000 fans at Bangkok’s Sanam Luang Royal Grounds for the Queen’s Birthday Celebration.
Upon returning to Philly Kru Rigel continued to train fighters and students. Aside from WKA professional Jr. Welterweight Champion and Cool Heart Muay Thai team captain, Justin “The Purple People Eater” Greskiewiecz, Kru Rigel has also had the privilege of training amateur WKA Open Class Champion Kyle “Strictly Biz” Hillman. Kyle fought in what many have called “the most exciting fight in the 13 year history of the Friday Night Fights NYC Series”.
The list of accomplished fighters that have trained with Kru Rigel includes:
- Justin “The Purple People Eater” Greskiewiecz
- Kyle “Strictly Biz” Hillman
- Jenn “Smash” Szeker
- Sideco Honorio
- Shane “Shenanigans” Donahue
- Wilson Reis, Elite XC Champion and Bellator Fighter
- Casey Bohrman
- Matt Makowski
- Alex Covington
- WEC Fighter Anthony Morrison
- Max Olshansky
- Andrius Ratkevicius
- Brylan Van Artsdalen
- Aaron Meisner (Instructor at Balance)
- Tuan Pham (Head Instructor at Fight Firm)
This list goes on and continues to grow.
Recently, Kru Rigel has teamed up with Angel Cartagena, who is also a Muay Thai instructor and the founder of Body Arts Gym. This has quickly proven to be a strong match, as Cool Hearts Muay Thai Camp is stronger than ever and continuing to live up to it’s oldest slogan: STILL UNBROKEN.
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