A Space Built
For Growth.

My BJJ journey began in 2016 when I started training under Scott Huston at 360 BJJ. What started as curiosity quickly became a calling. The discipline, the problem-solving, the community — I was hooked almost immediately. There's something about Brazilian Jiu Jitsu that gets into you. It humbles you completely, then slowly gives you back something better.

In 2019, I made the move to California, trading seasons for sunshine and finding a city that matched my energy. I continued training and competing at the highest levels I could access, earning my black belt in 2023 — a milestone that took seven years of consistent, sometimes brutal, always rewarding work on the mat. The black belt wasn't the end of anything. It was the beginning of understanding how much I still didn't know.

Kaizen Academy was born out of a simple belief: that BJJ should be accessible to everyone who wants it, regardless of their background, fitness level, or age. I've taught students from complete beginners who had never worked out in their lives, to parents training alongside their kids, to experienced competitors looking for a serious home. Every single one of them had the same first-class nerves. And every single one had the same potential.

I hold a NASM Personal Training certification and a NASM MMA Strength & Conditioning Specialist certification. These aren't just credentials on a wall — they shape how I think about athletic development for my students. Not just technique, but the physical and mental conditioning that makes great practitioners. Jiu Jitsu without physical preparation is a car without fuel.

Outside the gym, I'm a proud dad to two girls, Alana and Ashton, who my wife Jessica and I are raising here in Playa del Rey. You'll often see them at the academy — they're part of what makes Kaizen feel like a family gym, because it genuinely is one.

I teach BJJ the way I wish I'd learned it — with clear structure, honest feedback, and a genuine investment in each student's development. I don't believe in throwing people into the deep end and calling it the way. I believe in meeting students where they are and building from there, systematically and patiently.

Class sizes are capped at 15 students. That's intentional. It means I can actually watch every person in the room and give them real coaching feedback — not just shout corrections from across the mat. Small classes mean more reps, more attention, and more progress per hour.

The name Kaizen isn't branding. I try to apply it to my own practice every day — showing up, refining small things, staying humble enough to learn from my own students. The practitioners who thrive in BJJ aren't the toughest or most athletic. They're the ones who got comfortable with being bad at something — and kept going anyway. If that resonates, come try a class. The first one is always on us.