Muay Thai is one of the fastest growing martial arts in the world. While it has had its roots in Eastern culture for centuries – alongside similar sports like Luthwei – the popularity of the discipline has skyrocketed in the past 30 years, thanks to Thai masters travelling the world sharing their knowledge, and the boom of the UFC cementing its effectiveness.

As any sport grows, it’s bound to catch the attention of celebrities. Although, while most celebrity fads are ridiculous beauty treatments and genital scented candles, celebrities drawing attention to Muay Thai will help grow one of the best, and most effective, martial arts in the world. In honour of Muay Thai’s growing reputation among the social elite, here are 6 celebrities that train Muay Thai.

Wiz Khalifa

Wiz Khalifa is perhaps the best known celebrity who is known to train in Muay Thai. The multi-award winning rapper and producer started training in 2017 to get in shape and put on muscle. The rapper then fell in love with the sport, and has been very public in his love for the Art of Eight Limbs, training with ONE Championship star Superlek. Khalifa’s profile rose drastically in the Muay Thai community when he appeared on the Joe Rogan Experience, and discussed his training with the famous podcast host.

Ryan Gosling

While Khalifa is commonly known to train Muay Thai, seeing Ryan Gosling on this list might come as a surprise to many. The Barbie and La La Land star has been training in Muay Thai since 2012. The Canadian star trained with Muay Thai master Vohn Thonaphan in preparation for his role in Only God Forgives – in which Gosling plays a young Thai-boxing club manager.

Denzel Curry

There seems to be a bit of a trend forming around rappers training in Muay Thai. The Florida born rapper Denzel Curry is best known for his song ‘Ultimate’ – which is coincidentally a staple of many gym playlists. Curry’s started Muay Thai to keep up with his brothers, who were all ‘backyard’ fighters (in a similar vein to Kimbo Slice). He also said the art helped him to overcome his addiction problems. Curry is still incredibly passionate about Muay Thai to this day.

Diego Klattenhoff

Best known for his roles in hit TV series like The Blacklist, Diego Klattenhoff is not just a talented actor but also a dedicated Muay Thai practitioner. Klattenhoff said he initially started to training to build a similar physique to Mark Wahlberg, and to get in the right mindset to portray a Marine Corps Captain in Homeland. According to Men’s Health, Klattenhoff still keeps Muay Thai as part of his larger workout regime.

Idris Elba

Any fan of Idris Elba’s knowns he can fight. As well as appearing in some of the biggest action franchises, like The Fast and the Furious, Elba was also the subject of a documentary which saw the British actor train in Muay Thai, culminating in an officially sanctioned bout. Fun fact (depending on your stance on the controversial figure): Elba trained with online personality and K-1 champion Andrew Tate in the documentary.

Matthew McConaughey

Oscar-winning actor Matthew McConaughey is not just a master of his craft but also a dedicated student of Muay Thai. McConaughey began training in the art to prepare for a movie role, as many actors do, and fell in love with the sport. McConaughey’s exploration of Martial Arts hasn’t stopped at Muay Thai though. The actor has been spotted attending Brazilian Jiu Jitsu classes in his home town of Malibu as well.