Gymdesk Originals

Great gyms are built. And sometimes, they also need to be saved.In this episode, Alex sits down with Bambu, founder of Axé Capoeira in Chicago, and his wife Jennifer, who together have spent over two decades building something far bigger than a single school. Bambu's capoeira journey started with a 55-hour bus ride to Canada in 1998 and turned into a 28-year teaching career. But the real story isn't the founding—it's what came after, when years of personally funding a struggling academy led to the lights getting cut off, and Jennifer stepping in to keep the doors open.What you'll hear in this episode:How a 55-hour bus ride turned into a lifelong calling—and a school that almost didn't make itThe moment everything turned: the lights went out, and Jennifer paid the billHow "no Plan B" became Bambu's actual business philosophy, and why it works for himRunning two academies, two programs (Axé Capoeira and its sister School of Samba), and a marriage where business and home don't have clean linesHow COVID brought them closer together while pushing other partnerships apart, and how they kept their students through itTheir advice for anyone chasing a passion: "Educate yourself, ask for help, and go for it with both feet!"If you've ever wondered what it actually takes to keep a gym alive through the years nobody sees on Instagram, this one's for you.Axé Capoeira is based in Chicago, Illinois, with a second location in Rolling Meadows. Bambu has been teaching capoeira since 1998 and holds the rank of Mestrando.

Most gym owners spend years figuring out what kind of gym they want to run. Chris came in knowing exactly that — and he's spent 12 years proving it works.In this episode, Alex sits down with Chris, owner of Cast Iron Jiu-Jitsu in Kansas City, Missouri. Chris spent 15 years as a union floor installer before getting laid off, getting two offers to open gyms, and taking them both. He sold his tools a year later and never looked back.What you'll hear in this episode:Why Chris got into jiu-jitsu in the first place — and the promise he was made that he absolutely was not going to have to do itHow he built Cast Iron around one clear mission: pure, high-level jiu-jitsu — not MMA, not McDojo, not a little of everythingHis take on the "friendly, competitive" model — why pros and beginners training together makes a stronger community than keeping them separateWhat he's learned from 12 years of watching kids grow up on the mats, and why that's the part that humbles him mostHis plan for expansion: grow to a certain size, open a second location nearby, and send 20–30 members with them on day oneIf you've ever wrestled with what kind of gym you're building—and whether you can hold your standards without limiting who walks through the door—this one's for you.Cast Iron Jiu-Jitsu is based in Kansas City, Missouri, and has been running since 2014. Chris trains under Hinato Tavares and competes in the Masters division at PANS.

What does it take to run an MMA gym when you also have a full-time job—and you've been training for 30 years just because you love it?In this episode, Alex sits down with his longtime friend Misho Colo, co-owner of Chicago MMA in the South Loop. Misho's story doesn't follow the usual path. He's a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt under Ralph Gracie, a Muay Thai practitioner trained under one of the best coaches in the country, and—by day—the COO and Dean at the University of Chicago. He didn't open his gym to escape a day job. He opened it because the mats are where he's always belonged.They trace it all the way back to 1998, when Misho moved from Chicago to the Bay Area and stumbled into Ralph Gracie's academy—where his very first class ended in a ten-on-ten battle royal and a humbling armbar from Dan Camarillo. He never left. Over the next three decades, he trained across San Francisco, Boston, and even Mozambique, where he ended up running an impromptu jiu-jitsu school out of his spare bedroom for 20 sweaty Mozambicans after losing their mat space.Chicago MMA opened in 2010. Sixteen years later, Misho and his team just opened their second location—still running on the same philosophy that drew him to the arts in the first place: this is a place people come to learn, not just to train hard.You'll hear how he thinks about the shift from competitor to coach, why he's built a culture that balances building a fight team with welcoming total beginners, and what finally pushed him to make the switch to Gymdesk.In this episode:Training alongside BJ Penn, the Camarillos, and Carlson Gracie Sr.—and what that era taught him about building a real martial arts cultureThe Mozambique chapter: finding jiu-jitsu in a country with no martial arts scene and accidentally becoming the head instructorWhy competitive training environments and community schools require completely different approaches—and how to know which one you're buildingThe moment he decided to open a second location, and how that decision finally pushed him to switch gym management softwareWhat he looks for in a gym that puts the art firstChicago MMA is a Gymdesk customer based in Chicago, Illinois.

ITC (International Training Center) is a single-location MMA gym in Astoria, Queens, primarily focused on Muay Thai and Judo, with Sanda on Sundays. Sensei Greg Gutman opened the gym in 2006 in Long Island City, then relocated twice as the neighborhood gentrified—first to another Astoria basement, then to the current location, the first space ITC has ever had with windows.The gym runs lean: Greg owns and teaches, son Mark manages and teaches, his older brother helps lead the judo program, and every other instructor is a world-class fighter brought in to teach a specific discipline. Mark believes ITC was the first NYC gym to combine Muay Thai and Judo under one roof, though he's careful to add there's no official record keeping to back the claim.