Iowa native has quickly emerged as one of Muay Thai’s fastest-rising stars. Renowned for his creative and crowd-pleasing striking, the 29-year-old recently made the bold decision to leave his hometown behind and relocate to New Jersey.
The move brought Lessei to Beacon MMA, where he now trains under head coach Bob Peach and alongside popular YouTube and social media influencer Shane Fazen, who’s amassed more than 3 million followers on his YouTube channel, .
In fact, Fazen played an important role in Lessei’s sensational first-round knockout of this past January at .
For Lessei, the transition from small-town Iowa to the East Coast has opened up new opportunities and connections that are already paying dividends in his ONE Championship career.
The American striker’s relationship with Fazen represents a unique blend of traditional martial arts training and modern digital influence.
Lessei was first introduced to Peach and Fazen after teaching a seminar at Beacon MMA. After getting to know the crew a bit, he realized it was a perfect fit for both his personality and career trajectory.
“The Chef” told :
“I met [Shane] through Coach Peach, our head coach, and they trained me for this last fight. I like them both. I like their vibe that they created. It’s been cool. I came out for one seminar. You just catch a vibe at some point, and these conversations are like, ‘Hey, should I move out there and train with you guys?’ They become more and more serious at the time. And then s*** happens in life where I just pulled the trigger, and I said, ‘Okay, I’m moving to New Jersey.’
“They just study a lot. They want me to be really good. Shane is really involved in ONE Championship, as well, so it’s all beneficial to me. He’s helping me grow my brand, too, on the media side. It’s a pretty good connection.”
The partnership between Lessei and Fazen operates on multiple levels. While Fazen brings his analytical expertise and strategic mind to the table, their working relationship is built on mutual respect and complementary skill sets.
Inside the gym, the YouTube star is a training partner for Lessei, and in terms of coaching, he focuses on tactics:
“I go to class with [Fazen] once a week. He breaks down film, and he’s kind of an encyclopedia. He breaks down a lot of stuff. But on a day-to-day basis, he’s not really working with me. It’s more game planning and strategy.
“He’s not really a pad holder, but he doesn’t claim to be either. But yeah, he’s more of just studying. And he gave me a game plan, and then we implement that game plan.”
Lessei’s sterling performance against Jerome was a sneak peek into all the improvements he’s been making since moving to Beacon MMA.
Beyond the technical aspects of their collaboration, the Iowan appreciates the authentic personality and down-to-earth nature that Fazen brings to the training room. Beacon MMA’s comfortable training atmosphere mirrors the small-town values that Lessei grew up with.
Their shared background of coming from smaller communities has fostered a natural connection that extends beyond just martial arts:
“He’s cool. We just get along. He’s a regular dude. He lives out in the middle of nowhere. Kind of like the same type of person I am. I grew up in a small town, and we’re just good at chirping back and forth.
“It’s not too serious. The gym is cool. The environment at the gym is the same type of environment that I like. You don’t have to be walking on eggshells. You can joke around and bulls*** with the boys.”
Building ‘The Chef’ Brand
While Luke Lessei’s partnership with Shane Fazen has enhanced his strategic preparation, it’s also opened his eyes to the importance of building a personal brand in modern combat sports.
Understanding that his fighting career has a finite timeline, Lessei has embraced the challenge of building “The Chef” platform beyond just his performances inside the ring or Circle.
To that end, he’s invested considerable time and effort into his strong social media presence:
“[Social media is] important for the future because I understand I can only fight for so long. Hopefully, I’m fighting till I’m at least 35. And that’s only six more years, but hopefully longer than that. But I got to build this brand – this ‘Chef’ brand beyond just how I perform in the ring. So yeah, I think it’s going to be beneficial.
“It’s an investment for sure because I’m trying to build something so I don’t have to be struggling after I retire, and then I got to come out of retirement and take fights and that type of thing. So of course, I think it’s important that I’m building my brand for the future.”
While Lessei has amassed a considerable Instagram following and is consistently churning out high-quality, engaging content, he remains firmly grounded in his identity as a legitimate fighter first and foremost.
He’s keenly aware of the potential criticism that can come with being active on social platforms, but he’s confident in his fighting credentials and his ability to back up his online persona under ONE’s bright lights.
His wealth of high-level experience and his fights against the planet’s most dangerous strikers, he added, speak for themselves:
“People want to recognize me as an influencer or whatever. I’ve been fighting since I was 4. I’ve had a lot of fights, and I’m definitely a real fighter. I don’t even need to say that. I’ve never even had to make that argument. Some people just make their own assumption that I’m just an Instagram fighter, but whatever. Honestly, I haven’t even heard that much.
“People, I think, just get jealous because I don’t know why … A lot of the things I do, I back them up in the ring. I’m also a creator, and I post a lot of s***. I post tutorials, you know, all that. But for some reason, in this day and age, some people think you can’t really be a savage and an influencer at the same time.”
