I was born in Ohio and I was raised my whole life in Rio, that’s where my real education happened.

At 7, I walked into Sensei George Mehdi's dojo.
By 14, I was under Roberto Traven.
By my early 20s, I had trained with Behring, Toco, Muzio, and At late 30s under Master Rilion Gracie.

They didn't just teach me techniques.
They reprogrammed how I think, feel, and teach.

But first — the mat had to break me a little.

Speech delays as a kid. Learning difficulties.
A quiet, invisible insecurity that followed me for years.
And then, in my early 20s, a serious back injury that nearly ended everything.

I didn't quit. I pivoted.
Rehab. Resilience. A completely different approach to how I move, train and teach.

That injury is the reason I teach the way I do today — with depth, empathy, and longevity in mind. Twenty-plus years later, I still train daily. I live pain-free.

Since late 1990s, I spent 18 years running global partnerships between Brazilian companies and sports entities and UFC, FIFA, FILA, Barcelona FC, and the Brazilian National Wrestling Federation.

And since 2003, I've been taking people to Rio the way it should be experienced — not as tourists, but as people who belong there. Locals.

In 2017, I moved back to the US with my family.
And built our first academy in Doral — six miles from Miami International. Fort Lauderdale followed in 2022.

Four businesses. One through-line.
What the mat teaches you, you carry everywhere.