Dragomir “Gago” Mrsic was sentenced to three and a half year in prison for participating in a bank robbery in Stockholm in 1990. This summer he will be an expert commentator for Viasat during the Rio 2016 Summer Olympic Games.
Born in Bosnia, Dragomir came to Sweden as a baby. He grew up in the outskirts of Stockholm and in an area where the immigrant population grew steadily. He earned a yellow belt in taekwondo as a 9-year-old and became Nordic Champion in the same sport at 18. In 1990, he was one of three that carried out one of Sweden’s biggest robberies ($100 million). It was the first case in Sweden to reach conviction with the help of DNA.
After serving his prison sentence, he switched paths and applied to Sweden’s most prominent sports colleges. He was accepted and never skipped school. He became Nordic master in Taekwondo in 1987. Eventually he was offered a position as a coach for the Swedish Olympic Committee.
Over the years he has he has not only trained international top athletes such as tennis legend Marthina Navratilova and NHL-pro Douglas Murray but also helped actors and actresses prepare for their roles, including Noomi Rapace and Rooney Mara for their roles as Lisbeth Salander in the Swedish and American versions of The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo.
30 years old Gago was watching a bootleg of Risky Business, starring Tom Cruise, with his buddies in an apartment in the projects of Stockholm. That he would one day meet Cruise in person, let alone make a movie with him, wasn’t in his mind.
In 2004 he opened the club, Extreme Training, where he teaches his own concept, Martial Strength, which combines the agility of MMA and physical strength by isometric exercise.
Gao is also offering youth a free ebook on Saying No to Drugs.
As a 38-year-old father of two he became an actor in Josef Fares dark drama Leo. Three years later, in 2010, his big break came with Easy Money, directed by Daniel Espinosa, in which he played the Serbian hitman Mrado. The film caught international attention, and he played his first Hollywood role in Edge of Tomorrow alongside Tom Cruise, Emily Blunt and Bill Plaxton in 2014.
Same year he also released his first book, “Extreme Training: from Fittja to Hollywood”, which is a combination of his training and lifestyle philosophy, and biography. Last year he produced his first TV-series, Alex.
So Viasat has chosen an experienced actor and combat sports pro to comment on the fighting sports during the Rio 2016 Summer Olympic Games.
From Bank Robber to Expert TV Commentator, written by Tor Kjolberg