The BJJ Mental Coach Podcast with Gustavo Dantas

Today, I interviewed the jiu-jitsu black belt Christina Houck, the co-founder of the nonprofit organization A New Grip, along with Samantha Glenn. The Mission of A New Grip is to help sexually exploited individuals and human trafficked survivors regain their lives and find their inner peace again using Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu as a form of therapy and exercise. Let me give you more information on the m...

Calder Powers is the Executive Director of Guardian Project. Calder grew up in Oakland, California, where he faced numerous challenges during high school. Struggling with low self-esteem and depression, he turned to alcohol and drugs to escape his unhappiness. However, everything changed when he tried his first Jiu-Jitsu class during his senior year. Calder was immediately drawn in by the martial...

The GDT #7 is dedicated to Zac Bighorn, a jiu-jitsu athlete who, at the age of 38, was diagnosed with stage four colon cancer. Despite the news, Zac continued to train and compete, inspiring his family and friends with his unbreakable spirit, determination, and gratitude. Even when he was weak and told he had only months to live, Zac signed up for tournaments and won matches. The message of Zac's...

Sam Crook is a first-degree black belt, 4-time IBJJF Black Belt National Champion, 4-time British Champion, and the Jiu-Jitsu head coach of the nonprofit organization FRANCIS NGANOU FOUNDATION in the Village of Bati, Cameroon, Africa. His cousin encouraged Sam to start his jiu-jitsu journey to lose weight, and as a result, he began an impressive story that has led him around the World; Sam has tra...

Welcome to episode 134; today, we have Tiago Mascarenhas. Tiago is a purple belt in jiu-jitsu living in Dublin, Ireland, and a serial entrepreneur passionate about education and learning. He is the co-founder and CEO of SEDA College, a first-class educational institution that offers English language courses to international students. SEDA College was established in 2009 and now welcomes around 2,0...

Welcome to episode 133, I’m your host Gustavo Dantas, and today I interview for the second time, Renato Santos, a jiu-jitsu black belt and the owner of Braus Fight. Their team include big names in the sport such as: ROGER GRACIE, PAULO MIYAO, THALISON SOARES and many others. With a vision to support the growth of BJJ at the same time as providing for the community, in 2014 BRAUS Fight was born. Fo...

Jeff Mata is a brown belt under Baret Yoshida, a motivational speaker, entrepreneur, business owner and an athlete. He is the founder and president of Matavation, co-founder of Haabu, Inc. and a partner with Poway Jiu-Jitsu. Very inspirational episode. Enjoy!  Gustavo Dantas www.jiujitsutribe.org www.thebjjmentalcoachpodcast.com Itunes –  https://tinyurl.com/y45kymp4 Google Plus –&n...

Dr. Mike Piekarski graduated from Binghamton University in New York with a bachelor's degree, it was during this time he found MMA and began competing, eventually turning professional while competing in Muay Thai and submission Grappling also.  After he began his professional MMA career he decided to shift his focus and return to school and earned his Doctorate in Physical Therapy.  Upon...

Tim Welch is a black belt in jiu-jitsu under Augusto “Tanquinho” Mendes. He is a former professional fighter with 23 fights in his career. He currently owns and operates TW BJJ & MMA in Peoria, Arizona, and he is Sean O’Malley’s MMA Head Coach. He is also the host of the podcast Timbo & Sugar Show Podcast & The Red Hawk Recap Podcast. Gustavo Dantas www.jiujitsutribe.org www.thebjjment...

Nicholas Hoekstra is a purple belt under Trevor Rivers as well as a black belt in Judo. He received his Judo black belt in 2011 from former World Champion Katsuhiko Kashiwazaki while attending the International Budo University in Katsuura, Japan. Nick, who is visually impaired, is currently pursuing his Ph. D in Special Education at the University of Kansas. Due his work Nick has had the opportuni...

Andre Motta is a 5th Black Belt under Andre Pederneiras. He has had an extensive competition career as he ascended through the belts, medaling in almost every major tournament. Today, Andre is an instructor at Vitor Shaolin's academy in New Jersey. Gustavo Dantas www.jiujitsutribe.org www.thebjjmentalcoachpodcast.com Itunes – https://tinyurl.com/y45kymp4 Google Plus – https://tinyurl.com/ydetberf...

James Clingerman is a 3rd-degree black belt under Anibal Braga. He spends the vast majority of his time teaching at two different schools in Indiana, Endurance BJJ in Zionsville and the Indiana Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Academy in Greenwood. James also owns and operates The Fight Hub which is one of the Internet's top resources for online instruction in BJJ. He also has his own instructional videos with...

Henry Akins moved to Los Angeles in 1995 and began training, achieving his black belt in 2004, becoming the third black belt promoted by Rickson Gracie. He is currently sharing his knowledge via his website Hidden Jiu-Jitsu and his YouTube channel Hidden Jiu-Jitsu where he has recently started "Mat Chats" in which Henry hopes to share with viewers the soul of Jiu-Jitsu. Enjoy the interview! Gustav...

Greg McLarty is a jiu-jitsu purple belt, physical therapist, and owner of Control Physical Therapy in Scottsdale, AZ. He earned his Doctorate degree in physical therapy in 2016, and founded his business in 2019, with a goal to help active adults maintain their ability to participate in sports. Although he helps people maintain all activities, he has a large client base of jiu-jitsu athletes. In th...

Todd is a 3rd-degree black belt, who has trained under Rodrigo Vaghi. He is also a former Marine who has spent his career in executive protection, with his company Tour Protection, which provides world-class protection services to celebrities and VIPs. He is the author of the book "Protection for and from Humanity". Here is the link for the book https://tinyurl.com/xpbw63c Check him out at www.tod...

Aaron Benzrihem is a black belt in jiu-jitsu under the four-time world champion Bernardo Faria. He has a long entrepreneurial career which has included such ventures as, The Jiu-Jitsu, Gainesville Digital Agency, and Rise K9 Training. For the last seven years, he has worked for Fanatics, LLC. And has been part of the growth of BJJ Fanatics, the world's premier resource for digital BJJ instruction....

Welcome to episode 122, Today we have Elliot Bayev. Elliott is a returning guest to the podcast first appearing on Episode 31 published on December 23, 2018.Elliot is a second-degree black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu and the owner OpenMat mixed martial arts in Toronto. Since he last appeared on the podcast he has written a book with Daniel Moskowitz - Sales Jiu-Jitsu - The Secret Black Belt System...

Welcome to episode 121; this is Gustavo Dantas, and today we Robbie Stahl. Robbie is a jiu-jitsu blue belt and the owner of THE FITNESS DOCTOR. He runs his company with doctorate and masters level professionals who transform their client’s bodies and lives through fitness training systems. All of their programs are based on each client’s unique body issues, needs, and goals. Robbie is now an exerc...

Lee Baucom is a blue belt in jiu-jitsu and the host of the Thriveology Podcast. He is an established author who has written several books including The Immutable Laws of Living and the Thrive Journal. Recently,he turned his attention, along with co-creator and MMA fighter, Bethany Marshall, to helping people effectively learn and improve their jiu-jitsu through the Jiu-Jitsu Training Journal. Befo...

Welcome to episode 119, today; we have 8th-degree coral belt under Rickson Gracie, Pedro Sauer. He was one of the first Brazilians to migrate to the US to teach jiu-jitsu in the late '80s & '90s. The interview starts at 10:40. Before the interview, I share with you some jiu-jitsu history. It's about one of the most important events that took jiu-jitsu to an entirely different level, the 1991 V...

Welcome to Episode 118, today; we have the 4th-degree black belt Jeff Curran. Jeff is an MMA veteran of the UFC, WEC, Pride, Strikeforce and Bellator, and currently owns and operates Curran Jiu-Jitsu Academy in Crystal Lake, Illinois. He shared his early days of jiu-jitsu, before UFC 1, fighting and coaching MMA for nearly two decades, and the lessons learned during his journey. Before the intervi...

Welcome to episode 117; today, I interview Andrew Gardineer. Andrew is a second-degree black belt under Giva Santana. He is the co-owner of De Boa Jiu-Jitsu Academy in Surprise, Arizona. He will be sharing his journey with you. Before I play the interview, I'm going to share with you some thoughts about the who is number one event that took place in Austin, TX, on February 26, then we get into the...

Sean Downie is a first degree black belt and the owner of Lotus Fight and Fitness Club in Peoria, Arizona. He is the Lotus Club USA West Coast Ambassador. He shares his jiu-jitsu journey, the decision to open up a business and make a living with his passion. Gustavo Dantas www.jiujitsutribe.org  Itunes –  https://tinyurl.com/y45kymp4 Google Plus –  https://tinyurl.com/ydetberf

Ethan Kreiswirth is a jiu-jitsu black belt and the owner of Kreiswirth Sports Medicine Systems, which oversees medical handling for Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Federations and has provided medical coverage for BJJ events since the mid-1990s. Ethan earned his PhD in Athletic Training from Rocky Mountain University of Health Professions in Provo, Utah. Currently, he is the Director of Education for RockTape...

Thomas Rodzynski is a second-degree black belt in Jiu-Jitsu and a black belt in judo. In 2015 he opened ROL Jiu-Jitsu academy in Orland Park, Illinois.  He did this while maintaining a job, getting married and having two children. Thomas left corporate life in 2017 and has built ROL into one of the fastest-growing Jiu-Jitsu academies in the Chicagoland area. He continues teaching hi...