Season 3 Premiere · Oct 6
Two Companies. One Mat.
"You train, and you try to kill each other. You become friends." (placeholder attribution: Smoothcomp co-founder; the quote is confirmed against the final cut before it ships)
Start small. A few short clips will tell you if this is your kind of thing.
Then pick a full episode when one grabs you.
Latest episodes
Sleeping on Mats to Owning a Gym: Gabriel Goulart’s Journey
Explore elite training culture, leadership, and what builds a world-class BJJ academy with head instructor, and black belt champion Gabriel Goulart.
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Learn What It Really Takes to Run a Jiu-Jitsu Academy
Explore Roll Society Jiu Jitsu with Gymdesk Originals - academy culture, coaching philosophy, and how they’ve built a thriving BJJ community.
The Gym Owner Playbook: Lessons from South Austin Fitness
We sit down with the founders of South Austin Fitness - Mike, Chris, and Rachel to hear how they built a tight-knit, fast-growing fitness community.
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How This Jiu-Jitsu Gym Became #1 in Austin in Just 12 Months
We go behind the scenes at East Austin Jiu Jitsu Parlor, a gym that’s rewriting the playbook on martial arts culture and doing it with serious style.
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The Reality of Opening a Gym in NYC
Go inside Two Bridges Muay Thai with Gymdesk Originals—training culture, coaching mindset, and what it takes to grow a successful fight gym in NYC.
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Starting a Gym in a Foreign Country? Watch This First
In this Gymdesk Originals episode, we go behind the scenes to hear Grant’s incredible journey from growing up in Iowa to opening his own Jiu-Jitsu gym in Japan.
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How This Jiu-Jitsu School Scaled in Southeast Asia
Step inside Gracie Jiu Jitsu Singapore with Gymdesk Originals - training philosophy, academy culture, and how they’ve built a world-class school.
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I'm not looking to go to Brazil and hire a black belt to come in and do it. We're going to build our greatness right from within.
Alex Cuevas
Your host
Someone who’s actually on the mat.
Alex started teaching Taekwondo as a teenager. He’s a black belt in it now, and still trains Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.
“We’re stepping out from behind the website to hear your stories and learn what makes a gym thrive.”
Find a gym near you.
56
episodes across
40
cities and 7 countries. Hover a pin for the gyms there, or open an episode straight from the map.
Your gym could be the next one.
Every episode is a real gym and the person who built it, filmed where they teach. If that’s you, tell us how you got here. Alex reads these himself.