Ivan Rogers was born on September 20, 1954, in Indianapolis, Indiana, to Paul B. Rogers, an independent building contractor, and Ola M. Rogers, a professional secretary. He was one of three sons and attended Pike High School in Indianapolis, graduating in 1972. Rogers went on to attend Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana, on a music scholarship, where he studied percussion and karate. He began his professional music career, touring extensively with various bands before deciding to leave the music business to pursue karate.
Rogers became a professional kickboxer, achieving the level of second-degree black belt, and eventually began teaching karate and promoting kickboxing bouts. He was approached by an executive from a video disc company to write, produce, and star in an educational video disc teaching basic karate and self-defense, which proved to be successful.
Rogers' interest in filmmaking led him to write a dramatic script for a feature film, and he entered it in an international scriptwriting contest sponsored by Writer's Digest magazine. The results were very favorable, and he began to pursue scriptwriting as a career. He moved to Maui, Hawaii, where he managed a youth center, taught karate, and wrote.
Rogers' success in the health and fitness business led him to buy into a health club and become a part-owner. He helped build the Atlantis Health and Fitness Center into one of the largest health, fitness, and professional karate training centers in the South Pacific.
In Los Angeles, Rogers met Mike Stone, who shared his knowledge and experience in the filmmaking business and urged him to move to Los Angeles to further his film career. Rogers collaborated with Stone on a script entitled "The Angkor Rescue," which was later retitled and filmed as "Tigershark" (1987).
Rogers continued to write, produce, and star in films, including "One Way Out" (1987),"Two Wrongs Make a Right" (1987),"Slow Burn" (1989),"The Runner" (1992),and "Karate Raider" (1995). He also began to look for new challenges and eventually started directing, co-producing, and writing "Caged Women II" (1996),a sequel to an Italian production.
Today, Rogers is active in the film industry, acting, producing, and distributing feature films worldwide. He also conducts seminars and workshops on the creative and business aspects of filmmaking.
