Gymdesk Originals

Before he had a gym of his own, Marcos Flecha slept on the mats at Carlson Gracie's academy in Rio—for over a year. In this episode, Alex sits down with Marcos, owner of Carlson Gracie Amsterdam, who trained directly under Carlson Gracie and was one of the last black belts Gracie personally promoted before his passing. Marcos spent nine years as a blue belt under Carlson's notoriously strict promo...

Joey "the Real Deal" Diehl had 35 professional MMA fights before he ever taught a yoga class. Today, his gym runs both side by side—and he'll tell you that's not a contradiction, it's the whole philosophy. In this episode, Alex visits Real Movement Martial Arts (RMMA) in Chicago, a 13,000-square-foot facility that started in 2021 as a tiny sublet space inside someone else's gym. Joey walks through...

Great gyms are built. And sometimes, they also need to be saved. In this episode, Alex sits down with Bambu, founder of Axé Capoeira in Chicago, and his wife Jennifer, who together have spent over two decades building something far bigger than a single school. Bambu's capoeira journey started with a 55-hour bus ride to Canada in 1998 and turned into a 28-year teaching career. But the real story is...

Most gym owners spend years figuring out what kind of gym they want to run. Chris came in knowing exactly that — and he's spent 12 years proving it works. In this episode, Alex sits down with Chris, owner of Cast Iron Jiu-Jitsu in Kansas City, Missouri. Chris spent 15 years as a union floor installer before getting laid off, getting two offers to open gyms, and taking them both. He sold his tools...

What does it take to run an MMA gym when you also have a full-time job—and you've been training for 30 years just because you love it? In this episode, Alex sits down with his longtime friend Misho Colo, co-owner of Chicago MMA in the South Loop. Misho's story doesn't follow the usual path. He's a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt under Ralph Gracie, a Muay Thai practitioner trained under one of the...

ITC (International Training Center) is a single-location MMA gym in Astoria, Queens, primarily focused on Muay Thai and Judo, with Sanda on Sundays. Sensei Greg Gutman opened the gym in 2006 in Long Island City, then relocated twice as the neighborhood gentrified—first to another Astoria basement, then to the current location, the first space ITC has ever had with windows. The gym runs lean: Greg...