Victor Genovesi was born with a rare disease, bullied at school for years, and raised inside Alliance by one of its founders. He tells Bernardo why he was jealous of jiu-jitsu as a kid, how the mat became his safe place, and what the Alliance split looked like from his house.

In this episode:

• Born with a rare genetic bowel disease: five surgeries between birth and age 13, and a doctor who said jiu-jitsu was out of the question
• Bullied from kindergarten until 15, and why the mat was the one safe place
• The fight after school that ended the bullying for good
• Advice for parents: find a safe place and a teacher who cares, in jiu-jitsu or anything else
• Competing with the disease: more injuries, hospital trips and weight cuts he could not make
• Rio vs São Paulo: why he thinks the best jiu-jitsu left Rio after 2000
• Jealous of jiu-jitsu: a father who gave his time to his students, and Tererê living in the house
• The Alliance split seen through a kid's eyes, down to the faces he scratched out of GracieMag
• His career: the line he was not willing to cross, luck, COVID and stepping aside for a teammate

Victor Genovesi is the son of Alexandre "Gigi" Paiva, who founded Alliance with Romero "Jacaré" Cavalcanti and Fabio Gurgel. In 2012 he won the IBJJF World Championship at brown belt, beating Gianni Grippo in the featherweight final, and today he teaches at Alliance East Boise, in Idaho.

Chapters
00:00 Intro
00:39 Meet Victor Genovesi, son of Alliance co-founder Gigi Paiva
01:14 Born with a rare disease: five surgeries by age 13
02:29 "Jiu-jitsu was my salvation", even when the doctor said no
03:46 Bullied from kindergarten to 15
05:37 The fight after school
07:19 Why a jiu-jitsu kid can still get bullied
09:20 Advice for parents: a safe place and a good teacher
10:42 The best gift his father gave him: the gym
12:34 A rare disease in a pro athlete: injuries and weight cuts
13:53 Rio vs São Paulo: where the best jiu-jitsu went
17:24 Carnival in Rio: empty classes, so he traveled to train
18:29 Growing up inside Alliance and jealous of jiu-jitsu
20:21 The Alliance split, seen from his house
24:06 Scratching faces out of GracieMag
24:36 His competition career: the line he wouldn't cross
26:54 Luck, his condition, COVID and a teammate's last run
28:51 His first BJJ Fanatics instructional

Connect with Victor Genovesi
Alliance Jiu-Jitsu East Boise, Boise, Idaho: https://alliance-east-boise.gymdesk.com

Connect with Bernardo Faria
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bernardofariabjj
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtXtqlLdZYZm3060qVExXkA
BJJ Fanatics, the largest online jiu-jitsu library: https://bjjfanatics.com
Kojo Fightwear, Bernardo's gear brand: https://kojofightwear.com/?rfsn=9277274.6e01c5

New episodes every week. If this one helped you, follow the show and leave a rating: it is the best way to help the podcast reach more people.

Eduardo Benjamin is a police chief in Maine and the founder of Titan Athletics. He tells Bernardo why the mats humble even the toughest cops, why he left a franchise to keep training affordable, and how jiu-jitsu turned a student's life around.

In this episode:

- Running a police department and a jiu-jitsu gym at the same time, and why the gym is his mental health

- Lifelong learning: an MBA, a second master's in criminal justice and the FBI National Academy

- Franchise or independent: why he left Gracie Barra in 2017 and lowered his prices

- Jiu-jitsu for law enforcement: safer arrests for the officer and for the person being arrested

- The ego problem: when a 130-pound kid controls a 200-pound cop, and how he prepares new officers for it

- The hardest belt in jiu-jitsu is the white belt

- Why his mostly no-gi gym has an older crowd than most

- The 25 Days of Kindness program at his police department

- From heroin to black belt: the student who got a second chance

Eduardo "Eddie" Benjamin is the police chief of Holden, Maine, and the founder of Titan Athletics in Brewer. Born in Salvador, Bahia, he moved to the United States in 2003, opened his jiu-jitsu school in 2006 and joined law enforcement in 2010.

Chapters

00:00 Intro

00:41 Meet Eduardo Benjamin: police chief and gym owner

01:39 Running a police department and a jiu-jitsu gym

02:43 Lifelong learner: two master's degrees and the FBI National Academy

04:35 Franchise or independent: why he left Gracie Barra

06:30 Cops on the mats: jiu-jitsu for law enforcement

08:01 Ego: when a kid controls the cop

10:27 The hardest belt is the white belt

12:26 From Salvador to Maine: long winters and fighting depression

13:28 MMA, boxing, pro fighters and his black belts

14:29 Why his no-gi crowd is older

16:39 Acadia, the winter and a white belt in skiing

18:19 "The day I'm not learning, I'm dead": training his officers

19:03 25 Days of Kindness: the police department's program

20:35 Immigrants who give back

21:17 From heroin to black belt to a governor's pardon

23:06 What's next

Connect with Eduardo Benjamin

Titan Athletics, Brewer, Maine

Connect with Bernardo Faria

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bernardofariabjj

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtXtqlLdZYZm3060qVExXkA

BJJ Fanatics, the largest online jiu-jitsu library: https://bjjfanatics.com

Kojo Fightwear, Bernardo's gear brand: https://kojofightwear.com/?rfsn=9277274.6e01c5

New episodes every week. If this one helped you, follow the show and leave a rating: it is the best way to help the podcast reach more people.

On the drive to a seminar, Rafael Lovato Jr tells Bernardo how to keep doing jiu-jitsu for the rest of your life, why he is wrestling college kids at 43, and how to beat the young guys: make them tired.

In this episode:

- Timeless Jiu-Jitsu: keep doing what you love for as long as possible, and build a game that lasts

- Why he never saw himself as "just a jiu-jitsu guy", and the difference between an athlete and a martial artist

- Wrestling college kids at 43, and his plan to medal at the Masters Worlds in wrestling and judo

- Coming up in Oklahoma with no black belt in the state, learning side by side with his dad

- Bruce Lee, jeet kune do and "take what is useful"

- Going to Brazil at 16, getting beaten up over and over, and how he met Saulo

- Getting beat up and coming back the next day: find your why

- How an older grappler beats a 20-year-old: slow the game down, stay on top, keep them flat, make them carry your weight

- What MMA taught him, and why he thinks it is what he does best

- Why he calls a basic game the most powerful one, and the Roger Gracie comparison

Rafael Lovato Jr is the 2007 IBJJF World Champion at black belt and the undefeated Bellator Middleweight World Champion. He runs his academy in Oklahoma City and teaches the Timeless Jiu-Jitsu approach: a game you can keep using as you get older.

Chapters

00:00 Intro

00:35 Timeless: keep doing what you love for as long as possible

02:40 From Worlds champion to wrestling college kids at 43

03:58 Not just a jiu-jitsu guy: living as a martial artist

08:57 The next goal: Masters Worlds in wrestling and judo

10:45 Want to get good at something? Compete in it

13:45 Oklahoma, no black belt in the state, learning with his dad

14:47 Bruce Lee and jeet kune do: take what is useful

15:58 Brazil at 16, sleeping on mats, and fighting Saulo

18:15 Starting over again and again

19:44 Why he took a match against a 22-year-old

21:01 Getting beat up and coming back: find your why

24:45 Everything great is hard

26:29 Putting on a singlet in his 40s

29:18 How to beat the young guys: "Make them tired"

32:24 Keep them flat: why he wants to be on top

34:29 What he's best at: MMA, 11-0 and the cage door

37:09 Give it all back: why teaching drives him

39:21 The American Roger Gracie: a basic game you never change

42:14 His new BJJ Fanatics instructionals, one a month

His new BJJ Fanatics series starts with the Gi Mount Masterclass: https://bjjfanatics.com/products/gi-mount-masterclass-by-rafael-lovato-jr

Bernardo says a new one is coming every month.

Connect with Rafael Lovato Jr

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lovatojrbjj

Timeless Jiu-Jitsu: https://www.timelessjiujitsu.com

His academy in Oklahoma City: https://www.okbjj.com

Connect with Bernardo Faria

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bernardofariabjj

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtXtqlLdZYZm3060qVExXkA

BJJ Fanatics, the largest online jiu-jitsu library: https://bjjfanatics.com

Kojo Fightwear, Bernardo's gear brand: https://kojofightwear.com/?rfsn=9277274.6e01c5

New episodes every week. If this one helped you, follow the show and leave a rating: it is the best way to help the podcast reach more people.