Ryan Mackin was a Maryland State Wrestling Champion for Hammond High School (Columbia, Maryland) in 2001 and a member of the National Junior College Championship team at Gloucester County College (Sewell, NJ). After leaving Gloucester in the spring of 2003, Ryan returned home to Maryland and began pursuing a career in competitive MMA. His career saw him compete 7 times professionally as a Mixed Martial Artist, earn a Black Belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, and live for a short period in Bangkok, Thailand as he studied and competed in the art of Muay Thai Kickboxing.
During his time as a competitor in combat sports, Ryan began his coaching career as an assistant at his alma mater, Hammond High School. His presence was felt immediately has he helped the team improve from a .500 record in 2004, to winning back to back State Dual Meet Championships in 2005 and 2006, recording 51 wins and 1 loss during this period.
Ryan used many of the lessons he learned as a competitor and implemented them into his coaching philosophy. It was evident that coach Mackin had a positive impact on turning his wrestlers into champions, but it wasn’t until Ryan began working as a Corrections Officer in Jessup Maryland that first saw champions on the mat are not always champions in life. When working one day he noticed that a former wrestler was doing time at the facility, this caused Mackin to reflect on his true impact as a coach.
Ryan would leave his job as a Corrections Officer to manage the Ground Control location in Owings Mills and train the combat fighters. While he was still coaching at HHS, Ryan began to develop relationships and mentor many of the local athletes as many Baltimore County wrestlers would come in for extra training. In 2016 childhood friend, Shawn Girch, convinced him to work with the wrestlers at Owings Mills High School where he has helped athletes become champions and move on to attend college. Coach Mackin continues to work with athletes in the greater Baltimore area and train combat fighters for competition.