How to Make Money As a Jiu-Jitsu Athlete

Even if you haven't won anything yet.

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The relationship between money and Jiu-Jitsu is a tough conversation to initiate.

Here’s a hot take: most grapplers secretly despise money.

The way that most grapplers talk about money is wrong.

Jiu-Jitsu athletes say they want to make a living, but most of them don’t compete in events that offer cash prizes. They say they want sponsorships and influence, but they don’t work on building their brands.

If there’s anything that I’ve learned in my 7 years in Jiu-Jitsu, it’s aspiring Jiu-Jitsu athletes are a confused bunch. Most aspiring Jiu-Jitsu athletes are nickel and diming their way to the top and as a result, many athletes are forced to quit before they even take a shot at the top of the mountain.

We want money so that we can “live our dreams”, but most of us don’t know how to get it and don’t know where to start.

Up until last year, I’d say was one of those grapplers.

When I started Jiu-Jitsu, the storyline that I was taught was that until you’re a high-level black belt in Jiu-Jitsu, you will probably be broke.

In this article, I’m going to talk about how you can leverage your personality and your skills as a grappler to make money on the mat, off the mat, and on the internet.

They say “no sad stories”, but seeing grapplers quit because “the sport is too expensive” seems pretty sad to me.

With that, let’s dive in!