While enjoying a cup of coffee at Starbucks in Hillsdale, Saddle River resident Wil Horneff spends a half-hour reminiscing about his days as a child actor, which included roles in The Sandlot, Ghost in the Machine and Born to Be Wild. A man comes up to him, extends his hand and says, "Hey, Wil. How are you?" The man, it turns out, doesn't recognize Horneff the actor, but rather the mixed martial artist from Training Grounds, Horneff's Mixed Martial Arts/Gracie Jiu-Jitsu/Muay Thai Kickboxing facility in Westwood. "It's like I've had two different lives," Horneff says, laughing, after the man walks away. "I was a child actor, and I'm proud to be in a classic like The Sandlot that I can show my kids one day. And, later, I did things like Law & Order and House, but when the acting opportunities started to slow down, I followed this other path, competitive athletics and opening a gym, which I also love, but in a different way from acting. It's been a pretty interesting journey so far."

Wil's Words:

"I was born in Englewood and raised in Saddle River. I was in Los Angeles for a long time and met my wife, Alisha, there, and then we moved back here. My gym is in Westwood and my wife and I were living in Tuxedo, N.Y., renting a place for a year. But the commute was getting to be too much, so we just moved back to Saddle River. And it's great.

"We love walking through Ridgewood. It's a beautiful town. I'm at the Whole Foods there all the time to do our shopping. I love Matthew's Diner in Waldwick. Barnes & Noble on Route 17 is a big hangout of mine, and was since I was a kid, actually. And I'm really falling in love with the town of Westwood, now that I have my gym there. It's really nice going up and down the main street. I'm at the Starbucks there all the time.

"I think a lot of people grow up in Bergen County, go somewhere else to do their thing for a while, and then they somehow make their way back here. There's just something about the people and the environment that's so familiar and comfortable.

"A lot of the MMA gyms and Jiu Jitsu gyms are so hardcore. Don't get me wrong, we have multiple Pan-American champions, world champions, MMA fighters, and we have programs at Training Grounds for those people who want to go that route. But, really, Training Grounds is a gym for the everyday person who wants to learn how to defend themselves with Gracie Jiu Jitsu or just get in shape. We have a lot of kids and women who come to us as well. The kids are really a passion of mine because I was severely bullied when I was younger."