Don Niam was born in Akron, Ohio and worked in his family owned diner at age 13. Don attended St. Vincent grade school and later graduated from Firestone high. He graduated from Akron University with a marketing degree. In his early years while attending college Don worked on the docs at UPS and a few trucking companies loading and unloading trucks. 

While attending college at age 19 Don started training in Kung Fu and opened his first school at age 23. 13 years later his sifu passed away and Don searched out Tai Yim a Hung Fut Kung Fu Grandmaster. In 1987 he traveled back and forth from Ohio to Maryland to train privately with Grandmaster Yim. Shortly after training with Tai Yim he was allowed to start teaching the Hung Fut system. 

In 1989 Don entered his first Kung Fu tournament NACMAF and placed second in Southern Hand forms with only two years training in the Hung Fut system.

In that same year Don reached out to the Cleveland Browns and showed them what he had to offer for NFL players to improve their speed, hand eye coordination and how the defensive lineman could avoid the offensive lineman and hand techniques along with footwork to move around the offensive lineman. Shortly after training the Browns, the University of Akron football team coach sought him out to train the entire team. 

Don also trained Bob Golic All Pro Nose tackle. He also was aired on Cleveland ABC Morning Exchange show and how he was training the Browns along with a series of self defense shows and how women could defend against attackers and general awareness.

In 1990 Don decided to close his Kung Fu school and move to Los Angeles to move into the acting business. During his time in LA he worked as a personal trainer in a plush health club called the Beverly Hills health club on Robertson Blvd. in Beverly Hills and also taught martial arts there. Don also managed a strip club called the Jet Strip and was a bodyguard for the Saudi Royal family. 

Don co-starred in the cult movie classic Undefeatable as a Martial Arts serial killer. Other work in film was Out For Blood a Don Wilson film, his audition was used in the beginning of And God Spoke, he played a hit man in a PM Entertainment syndicated series LA Heat in episode Night Of Electra and was a drug dealer in a film called Baja Run in which Sam Jones from Flash Gordon was the lead. 

In 1996 Don moved back to Akron and eventually started a Kung Fu school again. In 2000 he created a trademarked workout now on DVD called Nitro Kick. In 2004 there was a flood in the entire building his school was located in and wiped out 5000 Nitro Kick videos and he lost everything. 

At that time he was offered a job running a club in Las Vegas and moved there in 2004. After 4 months he quit the club and started a personal training business which flourished. He also auditioned for an Atlas media TV documentary called Breaking Vegas. Don auditioned and landed a role as a professional dice thrower named Frank Scoblete. 

Presently Don is in Las Vegas and maintains his personal training business along with teaching private kickboxing, self defense and martial arts.