Dan Millman | |
---|---|
Born |
Los Angeles, California |
February 22, 1946
Residence | Brooklyn, New York: |
Nationality | American |
Occupation | Author, speaker |
Spouse(s) | Joy Millman |
Children | Three daughters |
Parent(s) | Herman and Vivian Millman |
Website | peacefulwarrior.com |
Daniel Jay Millman (born February 22, 1946) is an American author and lecturer in the personal development field.
Millman was born in Los Angeles, California, to Herman and Vivian Millman (both deceased), and he has an older sister Diane. Much of his early life included active pursuits such as modern dance and martial arts, and then trampoline, tumbling, and gymnastics. During his senior year at John Marshall High School in Los Angeles, Millman won the United States Gymnastics Federation (USGF) national title on the trampoline and was voted Senior Athlete of the Year. While a freshman at U.C. Berkeley, he won the 1964 Trampoline World Championships in London, and earned All-American honors and won an NCAA Championship in vaulting (1964) and a USGF championship in floor exercise (1966). He represented the United States in the 1966 Maccabiah Games, winning four gold medals in gymnastics. He was voted Senior U.C. Berkeley Athlete of the Year, graduating with a B.A. degree in Psychology in 1968. In September 1966, just prior to his senior year at U.C. Berkeley, Millman's motorcycle collided with a car. He suffered a shattered right femur, requiring surgical repair and bone marrow transplant with a steel nail inserted in his femur (which was removed a year later after the leg was healed). Millman actively pursued rehabilitation and was able to return to gymnastics as co-captain of his team which won the [1968 NCAA Gymnastics Championships] in [Tucson, Arizona]. He was the last man to perform for U.C. on the high bar, and a best-ever routine and perfect landing clinched the team title. (This true event was later changed and fictionalized in the "Peaceful Warrior" movie, which depicted him instead competing in the Olympic Trials).