Off the Mats Podcast

What's up, listeners? This week on the podcast, I sit down with Jose Diaz from the Realm of Collectors to dive into his inspiring fitness journey and how it has transformed his life. Jose shares insights into his routines, future goals, and the mindset that keeps him motivated. We also take a fun detour into the worlds of video games and pro wrestling, discussing favorite moments and how these pas...

Greetings, everyone! 🎙️ This week on the podcast, I’m joined by Ms. Sarah Oriza, a 28-year martial arts veteran, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt, and co-founder of G.I.R.L.S Gym Combat Academy. 🥋 Sarah shares her journey through various martial arts disciplines, leading to her black belt in BJJ. We dive into what motivated her to start G.I.R.L.S Gym, the rewarding experiences of creating a women-o...

What's up, nerds??? It's been a while, but Maryland Phil has joined me for another Nerdcast episode to get caught up on nerd stuff in 2024. We talk about the upcoming MCU show and movie slate, our thoughts and hopes for the next Fantastic Four film, horror flicks, and what's going on in the world of comics. No martial arts were discussed this episode.    Maryland Phil can be found on Twitter hosti...

What's up, party people? This week on the podcast, I welcome Pete Jarvis to sit down and chat. Pete shares how he got into jiu-jitsu and his past as a podcaster. He talks about the paintball community, and we get nerdy and talk about collecting and being passionate about our hobbies.   To keep up with Pete and his journey, head over to @whitey_mouse on Instagram.   We want to give a shout out to @...

Greetings, friends. This week on the podcast, I welcome Crazy 88 MMA Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Brown Belt Devin Riley to the show. Devin shared his BJJ origin story. We discuss how he prepares for competitions, what he does in his downtime, weight cutting, and motivating the younger athletes.   To keep up with Devin, head over to @drileyjj on Instagram and check out  @odyssey.strong, as well on Instagra...

What's up, winners? This week on the podcast, I welcome Matt Veiga of the BJJ Balance Podcast and Oss Nation. Matt and I talked about social media growth, the importance of engagement on social media, growing up in the 90s, and what winning looks like in the training room.   To keep up with Matt, head over to @oss_nation_bjj on Instagram and check out  @bjjbalance   Follow the link below for the p...

What's up, beautiful mammals? This week on Off the Mats Podcast, I’m excited to sit down with longtime friend of the show, Zack H., as we celebrate his incredible milestone—earning his Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Black Belt! Zack shares his journey, the highs and lows of the grind, and how it feels to reach the pinnacle of BJJ. We also dive into the importance of recording training rounds, the responsibil...

Greetings, folks. This podcast week, I welcome Johan and Eli back as we play catch-up with where Eli is in her training as she returns to Sweden. Our conversation covered Johan's training plans at black belt, Eli's training plans after her vacation, how fencing can connect to BJJ, and wristlocks.  To follow Johan and learn what's next in his journey, you can find him at @johlor80 on Instagram. And...

What's up, folks? This week on the podcast I sit down and talk with Colin Stewart. We talk about his helping bring Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu to Ethiopia. He shares with us how it all started, the conditions they had to overcome, the importance of jiu-jitsu for so many, and the plans for Kao BJJ.   To keep up with Colin and Kao BJJ, head over to @kao_bjj on Instagram. Follow the link below for more info...

Greetings, folks. This week on the podcast, I welcome BJJ Purple belt and content creator Viktoria from Australia. Viktoria shared how her martial arts journey began, the importance of making people laugh, finding your tribe, and recognizing ego on and off the mats.   To keep up with Viktoria, head over to @heiviktoria on Instagram. Follow the link below to connect to her other links. heiviktoria....

What's going on, family and friends? This week, I want to share a personal episode with you. It's special to me because I get to sit and talk with my Grandmother. She shares stories about her childhood, coming from Exumas, Bahamas, moving to Washington, DC, and then to Detroit. She shares stories about her career working at Head Start, raising seven kids, and her hopes all of us, as grandkids, sta...

Greetings, folks. This week, on the podcast, I chat with Taelor Moore, a BJJ grappler out of 10 Planet Jiu Jitsu Oceanside. Taelor and I had a fun conversation as she shared her jiu-jitsu story. We found out the when, where, and why of her early training days. Taelor also discussed her experience as a public figure in the BJJ community, why she prefers no gi as opposed to gi jiu jitsu and plans to...

Greetings, everyone. This week on the podcast, I want to welcome back Alfredo Moscoso of Arte Suave Elite. Fredo and I did some catching up as we discussed the current state of Arte Suave Elite. We talked about the most recent event that took place on September 14th, we discussed being able to have fun while doing the things that you love, being authentic, impacting the California jiu-jitsu scene,...

Hi, friends and welcome back to the podcast. This week, I chat with Mike Leng, a sports nutritionist with 14 years of experience specializing in BJJ and MMA. Mike and I discussed what makes for good nutrition, weight-cutting in combat sports, my love for honey buns, and a little bit about eating lifestyles like the carnivore and vegan diets.   To catch up with Mike or to schedule a consultation wi...

Hey folks, welcome back. This week on the podcast, I sit, once again, with George Ivanoff and he shares his adventures from CJI and ADCC. We talk about his experience at both events, matchups, event competitions, and the future of jiu-jitsu, ADCC, and CJI.   To follow George and his family's continued adventures, head over to Instagram and see @geo_n_fam And to help George tap cancer out, head to...

Welcome back, folks. This week on the podcast, I sit with friend of the podcast and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Black Belt, Chad Meyers. In this episode, Chad shares his transformation to a full-on carnivore and how it has helped him. We discuss the benefits of a meat-only diet, getting back in touch with our physical & mental health, jiu-jitsu & stoicism, and helping others meet their potential....

Hello again, folks. This week on the podcast, I welcome Roxi Smith, a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu grappler who focuses on strength, flexibility, and mobility programs specifically designed for female BJJ practitioners. She is also the creator of the Ready to Roll training app, which offers tailored programs to help BJJ athletes improve their physical conditioning to complement their grappling skills. Roxi...

Greetings, folks. This week on the podcast, I welcome back Randy Sheets. As we get reacquainted, Randy and I talk about adapting on the mat, and counterattacks while grappling, and we go through a quick round of "Would You Rather...?"   For more content from Randy, follow his Instagram account at @black_belt_randy and head over to his link tree for so much more. https://linktr.ee/blackbeltrandy  ...

Oh lookie here, we celebrate another year. What's up, folks? This week on the podcast, we celebrate another year of nonsense and when that time comes around, there's only one person I want to chat with... Mark Rollamas, my teammate and friend out of Crazy 88 MMA. Mark and I talk about our year in grappling, our ventures into other sports like tennis and football, our listening habits when training...

Happy Monday, friends. This week on the podcast, I welcome back Jennifer Thompson to catch up on how training has been going for her. We also discuss the differences and challenges between training in the gi vs. no-gi, flow rolling, and what it means, the calmness of martial artists, and we talk about various styles of McDojos. Jennifer can be found on Instagram at @themartialartsmuse. You'll find...

Hello again, friends. This week on the podcast, I welcome Danielle Curtis, who is the host of the Drop Bear Downpour Podcast, a mixed martial artist in the bantamweight division, a triple champ (featherweight, bantamweight, and flyweight championships), and a content creator. Danielle shared the story of her martial arts journey and the importance of her mother's support. We also talked about main...

What's up, folks? This week on the podcast, I welcome back my good friend Johan Lorentzon and new friend to the podcast, Ellie Prchalova. In this episode, we celebrate Johan's recent promotion to BJJ black belt, discuss Ellie's newfound journey into jiu-jitsu, competing in martial arts, how Johan avoided fencing, and ask a few "Would You Rather...?" questions.  To follow Johan and what's next for...

Greetings, humans. This week on the podcast, I welcome BJJ Purple Belt and Tap Cancer Out Ambassador, George Ivanoff. In this episode, George shares how he got involved with @tapcancerout, his BJJ journey, his mission to tap cancer out, and the powerful story of how his daughter Mila battled against cancer and won.  To follow George and his family's continued story, head over to Instagram and see...

Welcome back, happy people. This week on the podcast I sit with Brandon Timmins, a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Blue Belt training out of Crazy 88 MMA. Brandon shares with us, his introduction to BJJ, his background in wrestling, and his experience with weight cutting, we discuss team sports vs. individual sports, and we finish with a round of "Would You Rather...?" To follow Brandon's continued journey on...

What’s up, you hungry hungry grapplers? This week on the podcast, I sit down with Thomas Rozdzynski, the host of @therolradio and @rolacademytv in association with @rol_academy. In the episode, we talked about how we learn as grapplers and the evolution of the white belt coming into training. Also in our conversation, we discussed what we’d do if money wasn’t a factor and Thomas presented a very t...