Many people discover Les Zampino while reading about his daughter, Sheree Zampino, or her former marriage to Will Smith. Yet his own story leads somewhere quite different from Hollywood: the martial arts community of New York’s Capital District.
Zampino is the founder of Northeast Taekwondo Academy, a school established in 1977. Its history gives readers a clear starting point for understanding his professional life, beyond his connection to a famous family.
His background brings together teaching, amateur sport and fatherhood. Some personal details remain poorly documented, but the available records reveal a career built around martial arts and a family relationship that Sheree has publicly celebrated.
Quick Bio
| Field | Details |
|---|---|
| Full Name | Les Zampino |
| Profession | Martial arts instructor and academy founder |
| Professional Title | Taekwondo Grandmaster |
| Known For | His Taekwondo career and being Sheree Zampino’s father |
| Martial Art | Taekwondo |
| Academy | Northeast Taekwondo Academy |
| Role at Academy | Founder |
| Training Began | 1969 |
| First Instructor | Master Sang W. Lim |
| Academy Established | 1977 |
| First Academy Location | Broadway, Schenectady, New York |
| Listed Academy Location | Rotterdam, New York |
| Notable Recognition | Joint recipient of the 1995 AAU David G. Rivenes Award |
| Family Connections | Father of Sheree Zampino and maternal grandfather of Trey Smith |
Who Is Les Zampino?
Les Zampino is a martial arts instructor and academy founder, publicly identified by his school as a Taekwondo Grandmaster. His professional background includes teaching and involvement with organised amateur Taekwondo.
Outside the martial arts world, he is known as Sheree Zampino’s father. Published coverage of their relationship has drawn attention to family celebrations and affectionate moments shared publicly by his daughter.
These two parts of his public identity help explain the interest in his name. Entertainment readers usually arrive through Sheree, while martial arts students may recognise him through his academy and sporting connections.
His Martial Arts Training Began in 1969
According to the academy’s instructor biography, Zampino began training in 1969 under Master Sang W. Lim. It also records his membership in the American Taekwondo Association under Grandmaster H. U. Lee.
The same biography names Master Suk Joon Kim and Grandmaster Won Keun Bai among his later teachers. These details provide a more useful account of his training than vague descriptions of him simply being a lifelong martial artist.
Learning and teaching are different responsibilities. An instructor must explain movements, recognise mistakes and help students work through frustration. His move into running an academy therefore marks an important step in his career: taking knowledge gained through training and building a place where others could learn.
Building Northeast Taekwondo Academy
Northeast Taekwondo Academy was established in 1977. Its first location was on Broadway in Schenectady, New York, according to the school’s account of its history.
The academy’s website now lists an address in Rotterdam, New York, and describes the school as a longstanding part of the Capital District’s martial arts community. It also states that Northeast is chartered by the Amateur Athletic Union.
That local setting is central to Zampino’s story. His professional identity developed through a school with roots in a particular community. For readers researching him, the academy offers firmer evidence of his work than celebrity biography pages that repeat personal claims without explaining their source.
What His Academy Says About Teaching
The academy presents Taekwondo as a combination of physical training and personal development. Its stated approach recognises that students have different abilities and should develop at their own pace.
Its teaching philosophy highlights five familiar principles: courtesy, integrity, perseverance, self-control and indomitable spirit. The school also advertises programmes for children and adults, alongside family memberships.
In everyday language, those principles concern how students behave as well as how they move. Courtesy involves treating others respectfully. Perseverance means continuing when progress feels slow, while self-control requires care in how a skill is used.
These are the values the academy promotes. They should not be mistaken for proof of every student’s experience, but they explain the kind of learning environment the school aims to provide.
His Connection to AAU Taekwondo
Zampino’s academy biography reports that he served on the AAU Taekwondo Executive Committee for more than 20 years. Because that biography contains older experience figures, it should be read as a career record rather than a precise statement of his current position.
A separate official AAU record provides a specific achievement: Les Zampino and Mark Giambi received the 1995 David G. Rivenes Award. The organisation describes this award as recognition for dedicated service to its national Taekwondo movement.
This matters because a named award, with a year and an official record, gives substance to descriptions of his contribution. His documented recognition concerns service to the sport, an important part of martial arts that extends beyond individual competition results.
A Documented Role in Youth Competition
An official AAU event flyer named Zampino as the host of the Adirondack AAU Taekwondo Junior Championship scheduled for 22 February 2025. It identified Northeast Taekwon-Do Academy and listed age groups from five to 17.
The flyer documents his role in organising a youth sporting opportunity. It does not establish attendance figures or competition outcomes, but it adds a more recent example to the older records of his career.
Local competitions give young participants a setting in which to prepare, perform and handle results. Hosting such an event also involves practical responsibilities beyond teaching a regular class.
His Relationship With Sheree Zampino
Sheree Zampino’s public profile includes work as an entrepreneur, artist and television personality. Through her, many readers have become interested in her father.
Published coverage describes a surprise reunion in 2021 during which Sheree arrived unexpectedly and her father became emotional before embracing her. The same reporting discusses a Father’s Day tribute she shared in 2023.
These moments offer a limited but meaningful view of their relationship. They show affection expressed publicly, without giving outsiders a complete account of their family life.
It is tempting to assume that his martial arts background shaped every part of Sheree’s character. However, that would go beyond the evidence. Their documented family bond is interesting enough without invented childhood lessons or private conversations.
His Family Connection to Trey Smith
Les Zampino is also the maternal grandfather of Trey Smith, Sheree’s son with Will Smith. Published family coverage includes a photograph from Zampino’s 75th birthday celebration in 2022 featuring Trey.
This explains his connection to the Smith family. However, readers looking for his own achievements will find more useful information in his academy history and AAU records than in extended accounts of Hollywood relationships.
Why His Exact Rank Needs Careful Wording
Different sources give different black belt ranks. The academy’s instructor page lists Zampino as an eighth-degree black belt, while later entertainment reporting describes a ninth-degree promotion in 2019.
The academy page appears to contain older information. Without a clearly updated promotion record, Taekwondo Grandmaster is a sensible description that avoids presenting an uncertain current rank as settled.
Similar care is needed with online claims about his wealth, marriage history and personal circumstances. Repetition across biography websites does not automatically make a detail reliable.
Conclusion
Les Zampino’s story combines martial arts teaching, sporting service and a publicly celebrated family bond. His connection to Sheree Zampino explains much of the wider curiosity about him, while his academy and AAU recognition provide the strongest foundation for understanding his own career.
The most informative account keeps those achievements in focus. It gives readers a picture of an instructor and academy founder whose working life has a documented history beyond the entertainment headlines.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Who is Les Zampino?
Les Zampino is a Taekwondo Grandmaster, instructor and founder of Northeast Taekwondo Academy. He is also Sheree Zampino’s father.
2. When did Les Zampino establish his academy?
Northeast Taekwondo Academy was established in 1977. Its first location was in Schenectady, New York.
3. Is Les Zampino related to Will Smith?
His daughter Sheree was previously married to Will Smith. Their son, Trey Smith, is Zampino’s grandson.
4. What AAU award did Les Zampino receive?
Official AAU records list him alongside Mark Giambi as a recipient of the 1995 David G. Rivenes Award for service to AAU Taekwondo.
5. Where is Northeast Taekwondo Academy located?
The academy’s website lists its address as 369 Duanesburg Road, Rotterdam, New York. This is the school’s address, rather than confirmation of Zampino’s private residence.
