More Than a Gym

ANDRE GALVAO

Atos Jiu-Jitsu HQ Co-Founder & Head Professor

Andre Galvao is one of the greatest Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu athletes and coaches of all time, winning numerous championship titles over his 26-year career in the sport, and leading his team to win World, No-Gi World, Pan American and Kid’s Pan titles. He is a dedicated father and husband, whose faith in God has helped guide him in his personal and public achievements, and in becoming one of the legends of the sport of Jiu-Jitsu.

LEADER OF ONE OF THE BEST BJJ TEAMS IN THE WORLD
Andre Galvao is renowned as one of the best Jiu-Jitsu coaches of all time. He has led his team to win FIVE Team Titles at the IBJJF World Championships (two Adult Male, one Female, two Juvenile), NINE Team Titles at the IBJJF No-Gi World Championships (five Adult Male, four Juvenile), EIGHT Team Titles at the IBJJF Pan Championships (four Adult Male, one Female, three Juvenile), and SIX Team Titles at the IBJJF Kid’s Pan Championships. Year after year, his students achieve success at the highest levels of the sport.

FAITH & FAMILY
“Every time I prepared myself for a major world title, I prepared myself spiritually as well. Because I knew that afterwards, winning or losing, God would use me to praise and glorify His name, so that others will know the benefits we could all have if we seek Jesus first.”
Faith has played a major role in Andre’s life from the beginning. “I’ve always searched for God. Ever since I was little, I believed that God exists. I always tried to have a relationship with him, even before I knew how.” Born in São Sebastião, São Paulo on September 29, 1982, Andre was the second one of six children of Paula and Luiz Galvao. He grew up in a small town, riding horses, climbing trees and playing soccer barefoot in the streets. “My dad took care of us well. We weren’t wealthy, but we didn’t lack anything.”

At the age of 12, he started training judo and BJJ twice a week in Sao Jose dos Campos. But two years later, his family fell on hard times when his father lost his job. Andre made the decision to quit training to work at a pharmacy (Drogaria Sao Paulo LTDA), to help support his family. “I was always someone who thought a little different than the rest. When my family was passing through hard times, they would look at the “bad” side of the situation. But I always thought, ‘We will get through this and at the end everything will be okay.’ I think this is a faith that I had before, even before I started having a relationship with God.”

The experience proved to have a profound impact on his character. “I believe that everything that I went through, was for my own good. I think those hard times that I had really helped me. I think God made me pass through all of that so that I could become the successful person I am today.” The responsibility of having a job and supporting his family taught him discipline, focus, respect for others, and an openness to learning.

When he returned to Jiu-Jitsu nearly three years later, he knew he was going to make his life through the sport. Despite all the struggles and sacrifices it would take, he was going to make it happen. “There were some days that I didn’t have protein to eat; it was just rice and beans. Most days I would mix butter into my coffee, just so I could have enough calories to keep training.” His hard work paid off. Still a white belt, he found his first sponsor, a car dealership called Vinac Consorcios, which paid him almost three times what he was making at the pharmacy, and supported all his trips to tournaments.

Even from the beginning, Andre’s Jiu-Jitsu career was nothing short of spectacular. He won numerous major titles, including the World Championships at Blue Belt (2001), Purple Belt (Double Gold 2003), Brown (Double Gold 2004). In September 2004 (on his birthday), he met his future wife, Angelica, who was a Blue Belt at the time. In February 2006, already a black belt World Champion, he married the love of his life. Andre’s faith in God became even more profound after this moment. He felt really moved after he was invited to a church by his new mother-in-law: “I cried the whole service. I was already World Champion and everything, but that day I gave my life to Jesus. I stayed up the entire night reading the Bible.” It was during this time of renewed faith that his daughter, Sarah, was born, on July 5, 2006.

In October 2008, Andre founded the Atos Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu team with his friend Ramon Lemos, with whom he shared a deep faith in God and an intense passion for Jiu-Jitsu. The chosen name was significant. “Atos” is the Portuguese word for “acts”, referring to the Book of Acts in the Bible, which is based on the based on the belief that “God can do amazing things through ordinary people, when He empowers them through His Spirit.” Two years later, a friend by the name of Bryan Perry called him, urging him to move to San Diego and open a gym. It was a big decision, and with a wife and small child depending on him, he wasn’t sure what to do. “So, I told my Pastor, ‘I don’t want to go if that’s not going to be my purpose in life.’ We prayed for about 21 days, and my Pastor said that I should go, that God is going to open the doors for you.”

The second he stepped into the space that would become the first Atos Jiu-Jitsu Headquarters, he knew he was supposed to be in San Diego. In fact, “in 2007, I had a dream that someone gave me an academy. And in my dream God was showing me the place, and it was blue and black. I had forgotten about this dream. It was like God was using Bryan to tell me to come here.” Three months later, Angelica and Sarah left Brazil to join him.

In less than ten years, Andre and Angelica created one of the best academies on the planet, with affiliates in more than 20 countries around the world, all while competing and winning multiple IBJJF World Championship and ADCC titles. Throughout his career, Andre has maintained a strong relationship with God, to whom he attributes his success. However, he never subscribed to the notion that his faith alone would put him on the top of the podium. “Even though I have God, and I have a relationship with Him, I always believed that I still needed to work really hard for what I wanted. I always made sure I deserved to win something, on and off the mats. Every time I trained, I did so with that in my mind. It’s one thing to ask something from God, but you have to make your own move, too. You must do what you can do, and God will do what you can’t do.”

ANGELICA GALVÃO

Head Women’s Only Professor

Prof. Angelica Galvão is a first degree black belt under Prof. Galvão.

Prof. Angelica is the head instructor of our large, and very well-known, Women’s-only Jiu-Jitsu program.

Speaking about her husband, Angelica says that he “is a great father, husband, professor, coach, business man, man of God, and one of the greatest people ever. Every time I look at him, he shows me that it is possible for me to be a mom, wife, business owner, coach, connect with God, and still be able to be in the highest level in BJJ.”

MICHAEL PEREZ

No-Gi (All Belts) Professor

Professor Michael Perez is an American-born Black Belt under Professor André Galvão.

Since moving to San Diego and joining Atos in 2013, he has had successful competitive years in No-Gi (IBJJF Worlds and ADCC) and was awarded the “Atos Brown Belt of the Year Award” in 2016.

When not on the pursuit for the ADCC Championship, Professor Perez can be found on the mats of Atos HQ teaching No-Gi classes and private lessons.

ROLANDO SAMSON

ADULT FUNDAMENTALS

Rolando Samson is a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Black Belt under André Galvão.

Rolando has also earned a reputation as one of the top athletes of his generation, winning important championships like the World Championship, the World No-Gi Championship, and the American Nationals of the International Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Federation (IBJJF).

Rolando Samson was born on September 13, 1994 in San Diego, California – United States of America.

He became interested in martial arts as a child, influenced by cartoons like Dragon Ball Z. After watching classes at the after-school Karate program in his neighborhood, Samson’s curiosity increased.

At the age of nine, Samson showed a keen interest in martial arts and was guided by his father to a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu school. Rolando’s dad was a mixed martial arts (MMA) fan and had a decent understanding of grappling and it’s value in hand-to-hand combat, opting to register his son to Alex Brandão’s academy – a gym under the lineage of Master Fábio Santos.

His first IBJJF World Championship came while competing for Brando, where he was in the kids and Juvenile divisions. He began considering switching to a gym that emphasized competition over his Jiu-Jitsu career as a Blue Belt. This thought was doubled down on after a conversation with fellow competitor Michael Liera Junior – who advised Rolando to try a class at Atos HQ in San Diego.

Already a big fan of André Galvão‘s game, Rolando decided to take the challenge and visit this famed grappling stable. Once there, and given that Samson was already a relatively well known Blue Belt competitor, he was put through ‘the ringer’. In an interview given to BJJ Heroes in 2017 Rolando remembered that first experience at Atos HQ: “I tried to keep up and I was completely exhausted. I learned so much in that one night and I was already looking forward to the next class right after the class finished. That was how I knew Atos was where I wanted to be“.

While training and competing regularly, Rolando Samson’s focus never strayed from his academic studies having attended a junior college for 3 years before being transferred to San Diego State University to further his education – all this while also working part-time.

On June 2017, after another fantastic competitive year where he achieved a silver medal at Worlds (while training only 2 times per week), Samson was promoted to black belt by André Galvão.

Today you can find Rolando teaching our fundamentals classes with a lot of enthusiasm helping every single student to achieve their goals on and off the mats!