Anthony Bourdain fought his demons with jiu-jitsu: a tribute from a devastated Hong Kong friend
Hongkonger Matt Walsh, who produced the celebrity chef’s television shows for 14 years in Asia, remembers his colleague and discusses the legacy he leaves behind
Anthony Bourdain used to hang around cold New York stairwells first thing in the morning, waiting to score heroin. Then he replaced that with hanging around cold stairwells waiting to start a jiu-jitsu class.
Most of the tributes that have been pouring in for Bourdain, the beloved celebrity chef who took his life aged 61 last week, have pontificated that he succumbed to the demons in his head which came from a decade-long addiction to drugs.
Taking up Brazilian jiu-itsu six years ago may have helped him cope for as long as he did.
“He had said himself that he’s the guy that needs projects,” said Matt Walsh, a close friend of Bourdain’s who produced Asia-based episodes of his programmes Parts Unknown, No Reservations and The Layover for 14 years.
“Idle time was bad for him because idle time perhaps gave him the opportunity to do things he shouldn’t do, or think thoughts he shouldn’t think. Jiu-jitsu gave him focus and certainly tension release, anxiety release.”
Walsh did the advance work for Bourdain’s shows, arranging things for him to do, scouting locations for him to eat at, and finding people for him to eat with, before the crew would come in and shoot. But he also helped find gyms for Bourdain to train jiu-jitsu when the cameras weren’t rolling.