Hi Everyone!

Here's an episode I recorded with Hope Tabak!

Hope is a parent, a coach, a competitor and so much more.

It was great to be able to sit down with her to share her journey through faith, jiu jitsu, health and so much more.

Health is one of those things that when there's no glaring problem in our life we often take for granted however when we do experience a health issue there's no greater gift than to get healthy again.

I hope you all enjoy this conversation!

Links:

Hope on Socials: https://www.instagram.com/hopebjj/

Hope's Sponsor: https://www.instagram.com/alchemicalfightwear/

Kumite: https://www.instagram.com/kumitejiujitsu/

Hope's Health Consulting: https://www.instagram.com/functionally.well/

Australian Girls in Gi: https://www.instagram.com/australiangirlsingi/

 

In this episode I sat down with Raphael Rodrigues at the new Grappling Education 2.0 Pit!

Raph teaches classes at Grappling Education and is a wealth of knowledge & experience having decided early on to make Jiu Jitsu a career.

From Rio to Singapore to San Diego, Rafael has been fortunate to travel, learn, compete and now coach Jiu Jitsu.

Raphael actually started Jiu Jitsu because he has a fraternal twin (who stole all the physicality genetics) and so had to keep up by training.

We talk about what makes ATOS special, jiu jitsu training, competing and much more.

Enjoy!

Links:

Raph on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/raphaelrodriguesbjj/

Grappling Education on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/grapplingeducation/

Locals Jiu Jitsu: https://www.instagram.com/localszetland/

Raphael's Gi Sponsor: https://www.instagram.com/fightaestheticau/

Raph's S&C: https://www.instagram.com/electrum_performance/

Raph's Twin: https://www.instagram.com/theprogressiveoverlord/

 

Hi Everyone!

In this episode I headed out to Partizan Grappling in Kingsford to chat with Lachlan Jarrah & Benjamin Marks!

We talk about the transition from Compound Grappling to Partizan Grappling, building a social media presence, content strategy as well as delve into topics around jiu jitsu learning, teaching methods and more.

The guys run a mastergroup for athletes looking to grow their socials and it was great to have them share some of their stories.

If you're interested check the links below:

https://www.youtube.com/@Partizangrappling

Partizan Grappling on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/partizangrappling/

Lachlan Jarrah on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lachj89/

Ben Marks on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/benjamin_marks1/

Partizan Grappling Website: https://partizangrappling.com/

Free Partizan Grappling Newsletter: https://partizangrappling.kit.com/6286852799?fbclid=PAZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAaZFBzhggSbm-ESerYexiRKNAMjK7LjptJ1LeXkEKtFLsQskvCN41CvDETU_aem_1Ir-4nDhu4XdxCJ4D8lvBw

In this episode I sat down with Samuel Beatty, an Actor, Hip Hop Dancer, Martial Artist, Rapper and more!

Sam and I first met working on a fight show in commentary together and Sam is so full of personality that there was bound to be some stories behind him.

From growing up in New York to losing his family when he was young through to finding Chinese Kung Fu Cinema, Hip Hop Dancing, Ballet and more we still have so much more to the story to cover (stay tuned for part 2!).

That said, it was great to listen to Sam's recollection of growing up and his experience of what that time of life was like.

Enjoy!

Links:

Sam on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/internalchineseboxing/

Sam on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/0NReVvfHxlNOZrXbXkFfHG?si=ak4S77liRuK4DMeBaD2Apg

Alpha Medici: https://www.aliveshoes.com/alpha-medici-7?fbclid=PAZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAaYwIU9d5cKJ8sh9G-lcsSywE91GnO1NDkJsDwnwALv2T976bOtjqMxJEOw_aem_qQTbct2Gueb8prbVcG74TA

Mad Monkey Kung Fu Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y3UXdlbrcFk

 

In this episode I sat down with Katie Rose Mitchell, the current #6 WBC Ranked in the World  (61kg)  & the #1 Ranked in Australia at 61kg!

Katie recently won the Hardcore Promotions 8 Woman Eliminator, securing herself $20,000 and the 60kg Muay Ying Title!

As such it was great to be able to sit down with Katie and chat about her story, her mindset and the moments that have gotten her to this point.

This chat was a lot of fun and I hope you all enjoy thi episode!

Links:

Katie Rose on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/katierose144/

WBC Rankings: https://www.wbcmuaythai.com/female

Hardcore Promotions 8 Woman Eliminator: https://www.livecombatsports.com.au/live-ppv?id=4937074

 

In this episode I sit down with a training buddy and friend of mine - Tony Tran.

It's always amazing the people you meet on the mats and the stories they have behind them.  Tony shared a few snippets of some of his experiences in policing and I wanted to get him onto the podcast to share his stories.

Policing is one of those occupations where you can have a very strained relationship with the public with people who may not respect the line of work, yet it's an absolutely necessary role in society that I think deserves a lot of respect and commendation for.

I hope that in Tony sharing these stories more people can appreciate the things our support services face on a daily basis.

There are some pretty morbid stories in this one so I guess this is my little warning for the listeners.

The other important outtake from this episode is the importance of jiu jitsu or martial arts training in relation to policing.

Tony admits himself that without his Jiu Jitsu training that perhaps some things may not have gone the right way to keep him alive today.

Enjoy!

Links:

https://www.instagram.com/tonzbjj/

https://www.instagram.com/grapplingeducation/

https://www.instagram.com/the.grappling.lab/

https://www.instagram.com/ganbaru_kimonos/

 

In this episode I sat down with the freshly minted 2 x ADCC Gold medalling Adele Fornarino!

Adele's accolades speak for themselves however it was really good to sit down with her and chat about her journey including navigating coach / student relationships, people pleasing, mindset and more.

Just as how we as people grow, our relationships grow with the people around us and I felt like this was an important theme that Adele and I discuss.

Adele takes a very professional approach to the sport, bringing on board people in specialised capacities that allow her to focus on what she does best.

Enjoy!

Links:

Adele on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/adelefornarino/

Jake O'Driscoll's Episode with Johnny: https://youtu.be/a3qAUiJjXIg?si=IvmEkuDGB31O2i83

Adele's Manager - Sara Rafferty: https://www.instagram.com/a_rafferty/

Bulletproof for BJJ: https://www.instagram.com/bulletproofforbjj/ Stay tuned for Adele's Instructionals: https://submeta.io/ The Fight Dietition: https://www.instagram.com/the_fightdietitian/

In this episode I sat down with Aaron De Castro, of Boxclass Smithfield / Smeaton Grange!

I first met Aaron from being referred to MC their in house boxing challenge event. It was an amazing vibe and a true credit to the vision that Aaron and his team want to achieve.

In this episode Aaron and I discuss Personal training and discuss the most important things about running a coaching business which may not be what people would think of is important when running a fitness business.

We go through the journey all the way to the genesis of Boxclass and I appreciate Aaron for sharing his stories with us!

Enjoy!

Links:

Aaron on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/coach.azza

https://www.boxclass.co/

Boxclass on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/boxclassau

Top Spasojev: https://www.instagram.com/topspasojev/

 

In this episode I caught up with rising One Championship contender - Isi Fitikefu.

From growing up in South Auckland to moving to Australia to pursue Rugby League, Isi is a soft spoken athlete who definitely prefers to let his fists do the talking.

That said, it was great to be able to chat with him and have him open up about his experiences, from getting bullied on his first day of school (and the repercussions for his bully) through to his first attempts at trying to go to Jiu Jitsu.

As stable mates with fellow Aussie Middleweights Jacob Malkoun and Robert Whittaker, It was also great to talk about his most recent outing at One 168 in Denver Colorado against Hiroyuki Testuka and how his coach Alex Prates was able to get Isi into another frame of mind by knowing what's important to Isi and fighting.

One of the most beautiful moments of this podcast was being able to bond with Isi around being a father, I hope you all enjoy the episode!

Links:

Isi on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/isidoxz

Isi's Tapology: https://www.tapology.com/fightcenter/fighters/61092-isi-fitikefu

Gym: https://camdenvalleywrestling.com.au/

Gym: https://graciesmeatongrange.com.au/

 

In this episode I sat down with Trekko before the Australian Grappling Federation's Event #1

This was an event designed to put more money in the Athlete's pockets with 4 x $1,000 Jiu Jitsu 8 man brackets.

As such, the event was inspired by Trekko's own experiences doing it tough trying to make ends meet whilst competing, to try and create something that would put more money back into the competitor's pockets.

If you're interested to see some of the best grapplers compete for the $1,000 prize you can rewatch the action here: https://kombatants.com/videos/australian-grappling-federation/agf-1/

Trekko was one of the early generation MMA fighters in Australia so it was awesome to be able to sit down and listen to his stories, from growing up in Rio de Janeiro to coming to Australia, training, competing and much more.

I had the pleasure of MCing and Commentating for this event and I look forward to being involved with more Australian Grappling Federation events in the future.

Enjoy!

Links: Australian Grappling Federation on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ausgrapplingfederation/

Event #1 on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/event1_aus/

Trekko's Sherdog: https://www.sherdog.com/fighter/Bernardo-Magalhaes-26495

Event #1 website: https://event1.com.au/

Life BJJ: https://www.instagram.com/lifebjjau/