I didn’t start my jiu jitsu journey until i was 29 years old. At this point i was over 300 lbs and a pack a day cigarette smoker. I was depressed and upset with myself on a daily basis and i knew i needed to make a change. I tried to do gyms but i never stuck with it. A friend of mine, whom i went to college with lost a ton of weight training jiu jitsu so i started to ask him questions about it. He turned me on the to Joe Rogan podcast.
I started listening to the podcast and heard a conversation between him and Eddie Bravo(i had no idea who he was) about the positive aspects of doing jiu-jitsu. I also knew a guy who was a friend of my older brother who posted about bjj on facebook all the time so i started to ask him questions as well. He is now one of my best freinds and mentors.The school my brothers friend taught at was only about 10 mins from my house. Between conversations i had with my college buddy, my brothers friend and listening to Rogan talk about getting your life together i decided i needed to try this out.
I was scared, way out of shape and wasn’t sure if it was going to be for me. After my second or third class i was hooked. Three weeks into training i stopped smoking cigarettes and started living a much healthier lifestyle. Im only about three years into my journey and i know this will be a life long change for me. Jiu jitsu has taught me so much about my self its hard to put into words.
I am thankful for all my teammates who helped me when i first started training and didn’t beat me up to the point of no return. Ninety nine percent of the people i have meet through this sport are awesome people, they all share humility.
Eddie Bravo put in the best when he said “the sport has a built in douche filter” meaning that those who don’t have the right attitude will get weeded out. At one point i was well over 300 lbs and now i weight about 215, i weigh less at 32 than i did at 18 and i feel way better. I feel great both mentally and physically and jiu jitsu has given me the confidence to do whatever i want in this life! I have personally inspired several others to join me on my journey and it feels weird to me that i am the one motivating other people to get in better shape.
