Darren Finn has earned more recognition for his decades-long contribution to martial arts.
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The proud Kamilaroi man, who runs Sapphire Academy of Sports in Inverell, said he felt honoured to be inducted into the Israeli Martial Arts Hall of Fame.
"Some of the people on the committee that were voting were people like Bas Rutten, a former UFC world champion," Finn said.
"I didn't think much of it [being nominated]. I just thought to myself 'it is Atlanta in the USA and there are such amazing people [in the running]'.
"Then, all of a sudden, you win and the feeling is surreal. To represent somewhere like Inverell on top of that, it's been absolutely amazing."
Born and bred in Inverell, Finn is known for being the first Indigenous athlete to claim Australian titles in four different styles of martial arts.
He etched his place in the history books after winning the Australian Light Middleweight Boxing Title on the Gold Coast in 2012.
It came after a setback more than a decade earlier where he was told he would never fight again.
"I ended up having a car accident with Preston Campbell in 1995. I broke my leg, my hip, everything," Finn said.
"They told me I would never fight again in 1995, but a year after that I ended up winning a world title in martial arts.
"I had a lot of fights in kick boxing, so I sort of moved between karate, kickboxing and Muay Thai, and won Australian tiles.
"I ended up moving into boxing, just because the family never had an Australian champion.
"I went into that and won three Australian titles in three different weight divisions and three different sanctional bodies, so I fought the best."
Finn was inducted into the hall of fame during February, earning the honour for excellence in training martial arts.
He was nominated for his work teaching youths and women Krav Maga, which is an Israeli martial art that uses a combination of techniques from judo, wrestling, karate, aikido and boxing.
"People in America will walk through and see my name in a big hall," Finn said.
"One day I will get over to America and see it for myself."
Finn said he was living the dream as general manager of Sapphire Academy of Sports, a not-for-profit centre which launched in 2018.
"I wake up every morning and I understand what it means to never work a day in your life," Finn said.
He said the centre's success would not be possible without support from Jobs Australia Enterprises and Northern Tablelands MP Adam Marshall.
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