A Gracie Academy Owner Told Him to Switch. He Did.
30 Years of BJJ Experience
250+ Members at Milford
2 Locations & Growing
30 Years In. Still Training Every Day.
At 17, Mark Cerrone took the train from West Haven, Connecticut to Manhattan every single day to train at Renzo Gracie’s first academy. Four to five days a week, for 12 years straight. His family thought he was nuts. His girlfriends left him. He kept going.
He earned his 4th degree black belt under Renzo and John Danaher, opened Renzo Gracie Milford as one of the first academies on the East Coast, and grew it to 250+ members. He now runs a second location in Naples, Florida—with more on the way. “It was that or nothing. So I was going to do it.”
His Software Kept Dropping the Ball
Mark had been with his previous software for years. Not months—years. And in that time, the vendor had made a habit of it: projects would land on the table, follow-ups would go unanswered, and the features the academy actually needed never materialized. For a business that runs on accountability and follow-through, the irony wasn’t lost on him.
It wasn’t just frustrating. It was starting to cost him. When you’re running two locations across two states and trying to grow, you can’t afford software that treats you like an afterthought.
“Everything that we need is there. The attendance tracking, the app—you guys evolved more than anybody.”
The Right Tool. And the Right Team Behind It.
Mark had heard of Gymdesk but hadn’t made the move. Then he called a fellow Gracie academy owner to compare notes—and the answer was immediate: switch to Gymdesk, they’re the best. That was enough.
What he found wasn’t just a cleaner product. The branded app put the Renzo Gracie Milford logo on every member’s home screen. Attendance tracking gave him visibility he didn’t have before. Belt colors showed up in the app—something no other platform had built. And when Mark’s team had feedback, it went somewhere.
The Operational Shift
Without the Right Tools
- Software vendor ignored follow-up requests for months
- No visibility into who was showing up and who was falling off
- Academy branding absent from member experience
- Paying for software that didn’t evolve with the business
- Growing multi-location operation with tools that couldn’t keep pace
With Gymdesk
- Responsive support and continuous product development
- Attendance tracking that shows exactly who’s engaged
- Renzo Gracie Milford logo on every member’s home screen
- Belt color visible in the app—no other platform had it
- One system running Milford and Naples with room to grow
The Same Vibe. 30 Years Running.
What makes Renzo Gracie Milford different isn’t just the lineage or the instruction—it’s that the feeling has never changed. Kids as young as three training alongside adults. Law enforcement. Competitors. Beginners. All one room.
“Everything that we need is there. The attendance tracking, the app—you guys evolved more than anybody.”
“It’s the same vibe as when you went there 15 years ago. That’s what part of makes our team unique. It’s just that family vibe that’s always there.”
Run Your Academy. Not Your Inbox.
Gymdesk handles the admin so you can stay on the mat.
