I didn’t grow up in one sport.

My parents had me try everything, soccer, basketball, swimming, I knew I liked to move, but nothing really stuck.

What did stick was that I kept getting into fights with bullies.

So when I was 11, my parents sent me to a local Thai boxing gym.

That’s where I first learned how to deal with bigger opponents.

My coach showed me strategy - how to move, how to create space, how to fight smart. I used that a lot growing up.

But when I was 16, I got into a fight with a much bigger guy.

It was a tough fight, but he broke my nose. And that moment stuck with me.

I realized that striking alone wasn’t enough. If something like that happened again, I needed more tools.

At 18, I started wrestling in a small club in Brooklyn, training with Eastern European world champions and national champions. It was intense, and I made progress - but I knew I had started too late to really compete in wrestling.

So I tried Jiu Jitsu.

And I fell in love with it right away.

I started competing constantly - my weight class, higher weight classes, absolute divisions, pro divisions. I progressed quickly and spent years pushing myself as hard as I could.

But like a lot of people in Jiu Jitsu, I didn’t understand how to take care of my body.

Over time, my body started to break down. I had some serious injuries, especially in my neck and lower back, and I was told by doctors I shouldn’t train anymore.

That was a turning point.

Instead of stopping, I started studying. Movement, physical culture, recovery, breathwork - I traveled and trained with different coaches, teachers, and systems trying to understand how the body actually works.

Over time, I was able to heal my injuries naturally.

Then I started teaching my students how to do the same.

As I built my first academy in New York, I worked with competitors and fighters - but eventually, I started teaching kids.

And that changed everything for me.

It opened up a new world of possibility that I didn’t see with pro fighters...

I realized how much I loved working with kids...

You can shape their confidence, their movement, their discipline early - and it carries with them for life.

That became my focus.

I built a strong academy in New York, then moved to Costa Rica and started another program, which grew into one of the largest Jiu Jitsu non-profits in the world, with over 150 students and national-level competitors.

Through all of that, I kept studying - injuries, nutrition, performance, psychology.

Eventually, I moved back to the U.S. looking for the right place to build something long-term.

In 2023, I found Garden Valley.

We started teaching small classes here, and the response from the community was incredible.

In 2026, we decided to open VLNK Academy as a full-time program for our neighbors, families, and their kids.

The name VLNK stands for freedom - training in a way that builds strong, capable, and self-reliant individuals.

Everything we do here is built around a few core principles:

Longevity, Mastery, Self-reliance, Community, and Integrity.