Gabe
brown belt
Q: You did judo before jiu-jitsu.
Yeah.
Q: You’re Brazilian.
Okay.
Q: You are always here, right?
Most of the time.
Q: If there needs to be some mat enforcement, you’re there to gently push people in the right direction.
Sure. I mean, that’s fair on some level.
Q: Tell me more. Where are you from originally?
I’m from a city called Itacoatiara. It’s right across Guanabara Bay. The joke is that I’m from the New Jersey of Rio. But we do have the best beach. I was just at Leme most recently. And nearby is where we have the giant wave competitions.
I came to the U.S. in 2013 to pursue filmmaking. At the time, I was actually more focused on soundtracks. But once I got into film school, I learned about photography and Steadicam, and I completely fell in love with it. I did a one-year filmmaking program. That’s how I got my Social Security number—I did everything by the book with immigration.
Judo was my mom’s decision. I grew up with two older brothers and a younger sister, and my mom said the three boys all had to do judo until purple belt. My brothers quit, I stayed.
Q: How did jiu-jitsu enter your life?
Completely unexpectedly. I hadn’t even met any Brazilians in New York before that. Funny enough, a friend of mine from third grade called and said he was visiting New York because his sister lived here. We met up, and out of nowhere he asked, “Do you want to meet Rolles Gracie?”
I’m like, “How do you know Rolles Gracie?”
He told me Rolles was his brother-in-law. So we went to HQ, hung out, and Rolles asked what I did. I told him I was a filmmaker and owned a camera. He invited me to train.
I left afterwards and didn’t follow up—but one day my phone rang. It was Rolles.
He asked what camera I owned. I told him I had a RED camera. He said Luca wanted to shoot something for a video program with Master Renzo and asked if I was in. I said yes immediately. The shoot date was October 7th.
A few weeks later, I realized it was the same day as my wedding.
I panicked. It was a four-day shoot. I got a friend to cover the first two days and trained him on the camera. Then I nervously called Professor Luca and explained everything. He laughed on the other end of the phone.
I showed up on day three—completely exhausted from the wedding—but we bonded immediately. After that, Luca and others started hiring me regularly. It turned into a full family connection out of nowhere.
Q: Are you still involved in film?
Yeah. Last year was slow, but I still work—Steadicam, aerial shots. Steadicam is my favorite. It’s highly technical, but it’s also about storytelling and feeling.
Filmmaking is very niche. I started as an assistant camera, my first real paid job. I’m technical, kind of a gear geek. Steadicam fits that. Ultimately, everything leads toward directing your own thing someday.
Between 2017 and 2019, I worked for Professor Luca’s company. We shot the Rickson Gracie Self-Defense Unit. The first version had been done poorly by a commercial video guy. After Luca brought me in, it went viral and was a huge success. It’s Rickson reinterpreting his father’s self-defense book, The Gracie Method.
When this location opened, Professor Luca called me into a meeting and said, “We want you on the team.” That was huge for me. It’s been great ever since.
At first, it was just me, Professor Luca, Tiago, and Vini Landeira. Vini Landeira was John Danaher’s professor. A legend—very respected, especially in Brazil. Visa issues meant he was only here for a couple of months, but that early period was special.
The first year was crazy. We went from zero to four or five hundred members in one year. Then Covid hit and ninety percent disappeared overnight. Professor Luca worked every day. He’d arrive at five in the morning and sometimes still be here when I was closing the gym at night. Everyone worked incredibly hard, and we were proud of it—not just because of the business, but because of what the gym represents.
Q: What does it represent?
It’s a beacon of human contact. A school for redirecting human instincts into something controlled and constructive. I’ve learned so much here—not just jiu-jitsu, but personally.
Luca doesn’t talk much, but he’s a legend. Jiu-jitsu teaches you not to judge by appearances—you can’t measure the size of someone’s heart.
He has incredible knowledge of jiu-jitsu history. His memory is unbelievable. He was close with Helio Gracie and Master Renzo, and he carried messages between different parts of the Gracie family during splits after Carlos Gracie’s death. We interviewed him for the ESPN series. I don’t think the director fully understood how much history Luca holds.
Q: It still amazes me that this gym is never closed.
That’s the mission. There’s always a class—morning, noon, night, weekends, holidays. There’s never an excuse not to train. It’s about being available to the neighborhood.
Sunday class is a phenomenon. Professor Luca’s teaching on Sunday reflects everything about this place. He draws people in everywhere—HQ, here, Wall Street.
Q: Who are your favorite training partners?
I’ve stopped doing super hard rolls all the time. Survival instincts are hard to control, especially with bigger people. Smooth technique is the solution. I want longevity. I want efficiency—how to redirect energy, how to be heavy without being stiff.
I don’t want to fight anyone anymore. There’s too much downside. I’m much calmer now. Injuries teach everyone that lesson eventually, but sometimes I have to step in and tell someone, “This isn’t the way, you’re going to get hurt.”
Q: You work a lot with kids here.
That might be the most powerful thing this gym does. I’ve seen kids come in unable to make eye contact, and within weeks they’re running up to hug people. We try to guide them through the process. You see triggers in kids because they panic under pressure. If you break it with humor, disarm it, suddenly the pressure becomes fun. Then they turn into little beasts—in a good way. This place works on something primal and tribal. It’s an academy in the true sense, with everyone learning all the time.
Q: What’s the goal now?
To learn. It doesn’t matter the belt. What matters is what you’re doing inside the roll. You have to leave your ego at the door. There’s always someone bigger or better.
Frustration is actually a sign of progress in jiu-jitsu. You’re fighting your own nature, fighting your survival instincts. Over time, you learn principles. Then you learn strategy. Then patience. Blue belt is long and hard. If you survive it without serious injury, your thinking starts to change.
I love rolling with beginners. You both learn so much about human nature. They leave happy instead of scared. That’s the beauty of jiu-jitsu—small details create superhuman results.
Q: No white belt classes, everyone trains together here.
That was intentional. Professor Luca asked Master Renzo if we could remove beginner classes. So everyone is together, all the time. It’s special. It works.
I’m just happy to be here. This place changes people.
This is part of a weekly series on the people who make up jiu-jitsu culture.
