Mastering Jiu-Jitsu Later in Life: John Mandato's Inspirational Tale

What ignites a passion for martial arts at an age when most people are thinking about retirement? Join us for an enlightening conversation with John Mandato, a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt who embarked on his journey at 44. John’s transition from skepticism to a deep-seated love for BJJ is a fascinating tale of personal transformation. We walk through his initial challenges, doubts, and how the sport eventually became an integral part of his life, offering both physical vitality and mental resilience.

From earning his blue belt on Halloween to clinching the Masters World Championship at Brown Belt, John’s story is a testament to relentless perseverance and dedication. We delve into the highs and lows of his progression through the ranks - dealing with injuries, overcoming competition anxieties, and achieving the ultimate goal of a black belt. John’s journey illustrates that success in jiu-jitsu, like in life, is a marathon, not a sprint. His experiences offer invaluable insights into the mindset required to triumph on and off the mats.

Balancing personal and professional life while staying committed to jiu-jitsu is no small feat, and John’s approach emphasizes the importance of "paying yourself first." Learn how he manages his morning workouts to reset mentally before facing daily responsibilities. John also shares his illustrious career in video production and graphic design, including his Emmy-winning work for the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. Finally, we celebrate the tight-knit community and lasting friendships forged through jiu-jitsu, wrapping up with gratitude and an invitation to our listeners to join this remarkable journey. Oss.

Check out John's The Point of the Journey - A Black Belt Story
https://www.johnmandato.com/video-production/the-point-of-the-journey-a-black-belt-story

Connect with John
@johnmandato68
https://www.johnmandato.com/

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Keep Your Passion Brewing

Transcript

Speaker 1 0:01

Welcome to Caffeinated Jiu-Jitsu the blend of white belt enthusiasm, black belt wisdom and a dash of caffeine for that extra kick. Dive deep into the world of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu as we explore the journey, techniques, challenges and the sheer joy of the sport from a white belt's perspective. From intriguing interviews with renowned coaches and professors to playful fun episodes that'll have you chuckling mid-roll. We've got it all brewed and ready. Now stepping onto the mats and into your ears, here's your host, joe Motes.

Speaker 2 0:54

Welcome back everyone to another episode of Caffeinated Jiu Jitsu. I am your host, joe Motz, and I am super excited to have yet another experienced black belt here on the show, mr John Mandato. All right, I said his last name, right? John and I have been training together for a little while now. Together. He is a black belt here at Alliance. John trains out of Alliance headquarters and he is the owner and head CEO, head honcho, for Monkey Head Productions, and he is also we're lucky enough to have another world champion on the show, john. Welcome to the show.

Speaker 3 1:40

Thank you, thanks, joe.

Speaker 2 1:41

Yeah, yeah, I'm happy to have you here. You know you're. You're absolutely one of my favorite people to train with and learn from, and just excited that you're on the show today.

Speaker 3 1:52

Same here, buddy.

Speaker 2 1:54

So let's start out, if you don't mind for the listeners, kind of discussing a little bit about your background, maybe before jiu-jitsu, and explore what motivated you and kind of led you to jiu-jitsu. And explore what motivated you and kind of led you to jiu-jitsu, your your jiu-jitsu journey, if you will, sir so originally I started.

Speaker 3 2:14

I grew up in New York and lived there for about 30 years and then came down here and in my 30s I was, I would just say, doughy. Now, I wasn't really in great shape, but I was in bad. 30s I was, how would you say doughy? I wasn't really in great shape, but I was in bad shape. And when I hit 40, I thought, well, this is probably going to be the best my physique is going to be. And then, for some reason, I got a hold of P90X.

Speaker 2 2:39

Oh, I remember that the video series right.

Speaker 3 2:41

Yeah, and someone gave it to me and I was like, all right, you know what, I'm going to listen to what this guy says. I'm very good at listening to what somebody says and just doing it without thinking. So I remember it was March 1, 2010. I started P90X and I did it for 90 days and I never questioned it and I never missed one day and I just kept going. After that I didn't even stop For years. I just did that on and on and I thought after about a year or two I thought, you know, maybe I should do something that will make me I don't know take it to the next level. So I went to an open house and there was an MMA gym up by where I lived and they had an open house one day and they were showing kickboxing and I thought, maybe I'll take a kickboxing class. So I was watching people do kickboxing and I was like, ah, I don't know.

Speaker 2 3:30

I'm 44 years old.

Speaker 3 3:31

I don't want to get kicked.

Speaker 3 3:33

Yeah, and all I saw was like broken toes and things. And then I saw these kids doing jujitsu and I thought I could probably do that. So I signed up for a one month for $40. To me that was oh, wow, yeah. I was like that's great, right. So I went the first night and after the first night I was like this is not for me, this is just not. But I spent, I spent the money, I spent $40. So I had to go back every week and within that month I just fell in love with it. I just I did again. No, no, turning back on that.

Speaker 2 4:01

Yeah, I and that's one of the topics that I know we're going to talk a good bit about is starting jiu-jitsu later in life. So how old were you when you started? I was 44. 44. Yeah, see, I was going to be doing Brazilian jiu-jitsu and competing and training three, four, five times a week. It's crazy.

Speaker 3 4:36

It's almost a disease. It takes over your psyche. It's an obsession.

Speaker 2 4:40

It really is. It really is. And there's a lot of friends and and co-workers and some family members Well, maybe not so many family members, because it's usually my sons I'm trying to convince to come get on the mat but they have other plans right now, mostly to do video games. But it's crazy how it's one way or the other. Either it's just not for you and you know day one, or you just become obsessed. I love the hashtag or the term we see floating around on IG jujitsu lifestyle right or BJJ lifestyle, because that's exactly what it becomes.

Speaker 3 5:21

And it's not only you, it's your whole family becomes part of this. My daughters make fun of me constantly because I'm so about jujitsu.

Speaker 1 5:24

Oh same that becomes and it's not only you it's.

Speaker 3 5:24

Your whole family becomes part of this. I mean, my daughters make fun of me constantly because I'm so about jujitsu.

Speaker 2 5:27

Oh same, yeah, yeah my wife is, she's, oh, and the kids too, they're always. Yeah, let's talk about jujitsu. Like they know, at some point during the day there's going to be a topic, uh, kind of brought up about that. You know, I know I had some challenges, mostly physical starting out, you know, getting used to the soreness and things like that. But what are some of the initial challenges you faced and how did you overcome them? And I know now you're sitting at Black Belt, you know, but what challenges can you think back on that you may have had?

Speaker 3 6:05

Well, first challenge was my wife was completely against jujitsu oh wow, completely against it but she's probably one of my biggest fans right now. We went out to the Worlds and she came with me and she's at every competition and she's always the one behind me that's always saying you can do this, where I'm usually like maybe if, worst case scenario, I'll lose, you know yeah, I was like no, no, best case scenarios, you win.

Speaker 2 6:30

So yeah, what was it? The injury? I mean, what was it she was?

Speaker 3 6:34

against.

Speaker 2 6:35

She just was against yeah like why do you have to do this?

Speaker 3 6:37

you're so old, I mean no, but when I first started jujitsu, uh, I remember within the first couple of weeks I got a black eye and then, you know, she was like no black eyes and then I separated a rib, and this was within the first like three or four months and I was still training over there on Saturday mornings and Tuesday nights, but I loved it, I was so into that. And then, um, um, one Saturday morning I was getting ready for jujitsu. While I was just about to get up and get ready for jujitsu and then I got a call that my, my sister, passed away Suddenly. She had an asthma attack and she was 54 and I was shocked. But I was like, okay, I'll go after I go to jujitsu, I'll.

Speaker 1 7:23

I was.

Speaker 3 7:23

I wasn't really thinking, but yeah.

Speaker 2 7:25

I didn't go to jujitsu that day.

Speaker 3 7:27

Also, the gym that I was at closed down so the instructor had to take the class to like a makeshift place and while we were there I herniated a disc. So I had like all these injuries that were telling me like the universe was saying you're too old for jujitsu. I even have a friend, a really good friend of mine in New York was like you know, these are like life-threatening injuries, which they're really not.

Speaker 2 7:53

Well, to them, to them it is.

Speaker 3 7:55

And they're like, why are you doing this? And I said I don't know why I'm doing it, but something's keeping me doing it, me doing it. And uh, after four months of being out, uh, with the uh, the herniated disc, I ended up coming to alliance and starting to work, uh, starting to train here as a white belt under lucas laprie oh wow, so lucas trained here at headquarters too? Yeah, is that yes, he was before leo, he was, he was the head instructor here.

Speaker 2 8:21

Yeah, I've. I've been to Lucas's place in Charlotte a couple times. I don't know if you've ever.

Speaker 3 8:27

Yeah, I was there for his opening.

Speaker 2 8:28

Oh, wow.

Speaker 3 8:29

Yeah, Lucas, great competitor. Oh wow, Really all-around great guy. Yeah, when he was here for the seminar a couple of months ago, I made that. That was amazing too.

Speaker 2 8:39

Yeah, I know he did one at Roswell. Did he do one up here or no, he did one, just yeah and um, he hasn't been there when I, when I trained there, but the while, the talent there is just a, it's amazing. I um, so you, when you started, because I moved gyms as well, um, already, kind of my journey, it had mostly to do with with job change. The other gym was still going and thriving, actually, but did you notice any differences and this isn't a good jiu-jitsu, bad jiu-jitsu thing, but maybe around the community and just how your jiu-jitsu changed a little.

Speaker 3 9:25

Yeah, the class that I was in originally was all white belts. I think we had like maybe one blue belt that would visit every once in a while, but it was all white belts, probably five or six of us, most of us late 30s, early 40s.

Speaker 3 9:37

Yeah, I was probably one of the older ones as I'm always so when that closed down, the reason came to uh alliance was it's halfway. I was working in the city, so it's halfway from my house to the city, so I was able to beat traffic, go to a morning class and then when I got here, uh, I mean, you thought you're talking about eight, nine black belts on the mat and you know we were all allowed to roll at that point yeah white belts yeah and uh and back then it was was some heavy hitters right.

Speaker 2 10:08

I know in my interview with Leo, our professor Noguera, he was name-dropping all of these big guys that have trained in and out of here. Yeah, there was some really but you know what?

Speaker 3 10:20

They were all super, always super nice guys. That's the thing about jiu-jitsu Everyone you meet is basically super nice. I consider everyone that I know that I've rolled with, to be part of my family, even if I don't like their personality. I still love them as a family member, just like you would your brother or your sister.

Speaker 2 10:38

Yeah, and I feel like my jiu-jitsu is improving by training with the upper belts. I get so much training with you and JT. And any time I come up here, I know you and I are going to train after this for our open mat, and it's going to be mostly upper belts that come to it, it seems like. And then, of course, when I train with Professor Maciel, even though it's crushing, you get a lot out of it, yeah.

Speaker 3 11:04

I mean, it's an amazing thing for a lower belt to have access to this many. That's why I really get a little kind of disappointed that I don't see more white belts or lower belts at Open Mat, because there's got to be six or seven here now. Black belts training this morning at Open Mat and you could learn so much.

Speaker 2 11:23

Oh yeah.

Speaker 3 11:26

And I'll roll with white belts and blue belts and let them just work and work, and work, and you're not going to get that with another white belt right you're going to just get somebody who's really going hard against you. Yeah, I'll work with you. I'll let you do your stuff. You know, and and I think that's that that was the best training that I got from the black belts no, there's no prize for beating black belts or beating white belts or blue belts, you know.

Speaker 3 11:48

So it was always in my best interest to make the people that trained with me better. So by letting them work their stuff they're getting better, and then my stuff gets sharper because they're learning my secrets as well.

Speaker 2 12:01

Yeah, absolutely so. Let's talk about, about. Let's talk a little bit about your, your journey through the ranks, and you know thinking back. So you've been training a total what? 10 years, 12 years. I started in 2012 12, so that's 14.

Speaker 3 12:17

That's 12 years.

Progression to World Champion

Speaker 2 12:18

12 years, okay, okay, carry the one so you know, thinking about your, your days as a white belt to blue belt, purple and brown, I mean, can you kind of just take us through that, that journey a little bit? Were there ever times where you thought, oh man, this is, this is going to take forever. I know, I know you did this amazing video on your kind of you called it your black belt speech. When you received your black belt and you talked about, you thought you would get your black belt posture, yeah, exactly yeah, talk us through the journey a little bit.

Speaker 3 12:49

Yeah, I really never had.

Speaker 3 12:51

Uh, I never saw light at the end of the tunnel. I never thought there's. There's my black belt and I'm gonna go, for I just, I just kept going every day. I still do. I just keep going every day. As long as I can get my feet on the ground in the morning, like when, when my alarm goes off, if I lay in bed, I'm staying there, but if I get one foot on the ground, I'm done, I'm up.

Speaker 3 13:09

So I come to jujitsu class, I just put one foot in front of the other and as a white belt I mean because I had all those injuries and all those setbacks I was a white belt for two years, wow. And then I got my blue belt on Halloween. I remember testing on Halloween and then I only had my blue belt for, I want to say, maybe eight months and I was at a competition. Oh, before that, the first competition I ever did was I was a white belt and people would ask me are you going to compete? And I'm like no, I'm not in this to compete, I'm just in this to learn jujitsu. But one day at work we were watching the Karate Kid and I thought I can do that. This looks like a lot of fun to be at one of those tournaments. So I signed up and I didn't know the rules, my first jujitsu competition as white belt, and I let the guy pass my guard because I had a really good sweep I was going to use to get him back and he me by two points. So I learned the hard way.

Speaker 3 14:05

But then again then, as a as a blue belt, I started to compete more and um, I started to win actually. So I was I was, you know, thrilled that I would. I was starting to win these things. Blue belt was fun. And then, um, yeah, I'm thinking of how I got my purple. I think I just tested as purple belt. I think it was like two year blue belt. Then I tested for purple belt um same with brown. But um, I thought purple belt, I think I just tested as purple belt. I think it was like two year blue belt. Then I tested for purple belt Um same with Brown. But um, I thought purple belt was was everybody says it's the most fun.

Speaker 3 14:31

It is because you really kind of you're, you're better than a blue belt and you're you're in the jujitsu lifestyle. But, um, your game really starts to take shape. You know you're going to learn new things, but you've got a core. You have a core game that you use and I always felt that my core game developed more in my as my purple belt, as a brown belt. You pretty much have a game and you're just kind of honing it. And and brown belt was was fun too. I really had a lot of fun with that.

Speaker 2 15:05

So Brown Belt Now, I think I was going to talk about this a little bit later, but this is kind of a perfect pivot. Was it, brown Belt, that you won your Worlds? Yeah yeah, let's talk a little bit about that so at Brown Belt, I said I'm going to do PANS.

Speaker 3 15:21

I wanted to do PANS every year, but something would always come up, so this was 2020. I'm going to do pans. I wanted to do pans every year, but something would always come up, so this was 2020. I'm like I'm going to do pans. So I was getting ready from I think pans was in March. So I started getting ready right after the holidays and I just trained really hard. I was in some really good shape and I was working out, I was lifting and I was doing jujitsu, doing privates with your, with Nesta Rodrigo.

Speaker 2 15:44

Oh, wow.

Speaker 3 15:45

And, yeah, I was rolling with him. He wasn't training over by you, he was training here. I was rolling with him like almost daily and it was great I had all these monsters in here that I was training with. And then, like three or four days before we're supposed to take off for LA, the whole world shuts down. So I was like all revved up with no place to go right. So COVID hits and then things start to come back and then I hear they're going to have the Worlds again. So I said the Worlds are going to be in November.

Speaker 3 16:14

And I think in June I was rolling with a really good friend of mine, a great black belt named Trenton Cook. He was down from New York and I said I think I'm going to do Masters this year and he goes. Well, if you're going to do master's, this is in June. Now he goes, sign up today because you will talk yourself out of it. And I thought you know what, if I really want to, you know be where the rubber hits the road I got to do this. So I signed up that day and, um, I trained all summer long and then around September I took a couple, I took a break, we went on a vacation to Alaska, came back and I was all business and I just trained, just like I did for pans, and I was like I'm going to do this.

Speaker 3 16:52

Went out to Vegas. There was 14 guys in my division. I never looked up anything. I didn't look up any person. That I never do, because I just want to take my game and put it up against theirs. I don't want to worry about countering their game or anything like that and I just went out there with my skill set and I said let me see what I can do. And then I beat the first guy and I think I took him down, I mounted him and I took side control and then I mounted him and then wrist locked him. So I was up like 10 points or something like that, and then I wrist locked him. Super nice guy. I felt bad because the wrist lock came on really fast.

Speaker 3 17:27

And then the second guy was these guys were tough. The second guy was really tough and I ended up beating him on points. And then I think the third guy beat us on the decision and I'm like, holy crap In the ref's decision, yeah, ref's decision. Wow. And then I find myself in the finals and I'm like, wow, this shit's going to happen.

Speaker 1 17:49

I'm like I can't believe this.

Speaker 3 17:51

And I was a lot less nervous then than I am for the local competitions, I don't know why. I just was really at peace there. I think I really had prepared quite well, and I'm sure I had my wife with me too, and so she was kind of, you know, calming me down and I wasn't really that excited. But here's the best part. We're going into the finals and me and the guy I'm against are standing on opposite sides of the judge's table. All of a sudden the judge goes you guys got to wait here, I got to go to the bathroom, so all the nerves, I'm like just about to go on the mat and the guy's got to go to the bathroom. Five minutes. We're sitting there, the two of us just kind of looking at each other, looking back, and I didn't want him to see like any expression on my face. So I had some pictures of me and I looked like a real idiot.

Speaker 3 18:34

But I was just like you know, he had the straight face. So then him and I went Great guy, he was from Hawaii and I ended up winning that and I thought, holy crap.

Speaker 2 18:49

World champion. At what point in the match did you know, like I've got this, and what kind of feeling did you get? Or did you get that? Oh, no, so.

Speaker 3 18:58

I took him down. No, I pulled guard on him and then there was no way he was passing my guard. And I thought back for every match. I thought back about Rodrigo and all the big black belts that I roll with every day and I'm like there is no one here. It's that None of these old men that I'm fighting against now are going to be anywhere near that. And I knew I had him in my guard and I'm like he's not going to escape. And I'm like he's not going to escape and I'm just going to try for a triangle, I'm going to try for a maplada, and I just kept trying. He was actually really good, didn't come close to passing me, but I knew like there were about 30 seconds left and I said you know what? I'm just going to, I'm exhausted and I'm just going to clinch up. So I had his arm locked and I just kind of held on for 30 seconds.

Speaker 2 19:40

Yeah, that was it that had to be an amazing feeling.

Speaker 3 19:42

Yeah, it was a little less spectacular than I wanted, but, man, it was an amazing feeling and I didn't realize really the weight of the worlds, so to speak. I didn't realize the weight of the worlds until I got back and people were like, man, you just won the worlds. And I was like, yeah, I guess I did that, but it was a big high. I mean, for the next two or three days I felt. Now I know what a bride feels like on wedding day, because you feel like you feel like the whole world is.

Speaker 2 20:05

It's a different feeling for the for the groom right I um I love hearing their stories and and you talk about your guard and I when you and I train together, I find that one of the most frustrating things and I notice even it's trying to get past your guard it's the level of flexibility you have, and even don't take this the wrong way, but even at your age you're still very flexible. You, you've seen like you've maintained a lot of consistency, and is there anything that you think you do, uh, specifically, that has really helped you kind of maintain and continue to improve, as now you're a black belt world, you know, master, world's champion, but you're just continuing on. Is there, is there, a diet? Is there a supplement? Is there just a mindset? What is it?

Speaker 3 20:58

it's probably a mindset. Well, I don't drink alcohol at all, I just don't. I mean, I have nothing against it. Yeah, people love out their alcohol, I just don't. I don't have any room for that. Um, I and I just believe in consistency. If you're just consistent, I I just I'm almost ocd about it where I have to do things exactly the same every day, pretty much eat the same foods and do the same routine, and I'm happy.

Speaker 3 21:25

When I'm out of that routine. I'm kind of like a little bit I get a little crazy. So this, I fit this into my routine and it's just part of my day, and I think that's the key to any kind of successful exercise or anything you want to do. Well, you just have to be consistent right, right.

Achieving Work-Life Balance in Jiu-Jitsu

Speaker 2 21:42

So consistency, putting you know, weaving jiu-jitsu into your life, kind of making it your lifestyle. I recorded a podcast not long ago I think it was a solo, I think it was just me rambling on about my thoughts and how, you know, we all get overwhelmed when we start it's not really the the right phrase when we start, kind of in this master's part of our life, jiu-jitsu. We're professionals. You know you're ceo and owner of a business. Uh, you have, um, how many children do you have? Two, two, so you've raised two kids.

Speaker 2 22:20

You know life is crazy and we just want to train jiu-jitsu sometimes all the time, every day. But we have this balancing act and I guess I'm kind of getting to the question what are some of the things that you do to balance your, your jiu-jitsu training at your level with your now personal life and professional life? And you may have a little bit more time on your hands these days now I think you said your kids are grown, but thinking back, maybe early on for those, you know, listeners who aren't quite at that stage, you know what are some of the things that you've done over time.

Speaker 3 23:01

Well, as far as just you've done over time, um, well, as far as as just you got to go to work, you know, and I always, uh, I always feel that you have to pay yourself first.

Speaker 3 23:09

So that's my whole thing about training in the morning, even when I was doing back in the day, when I was lifting at home, um, I would always get up at about 4, 30 or 5 o'clock, get my work done, get my my workout done, which is paying myself first, and then the rest of the world can have me. Because if you wait till 7 o'clock to go to jiu-jitsu class or to lift weights, sometimes the world has other plans. You got a kid's soccer game, or there's traffic, or you're just tired. That's why I always felt like, let me just get this out of the way first, and then the rest of the day is free. And that's just one thing that I can't stress enough about. The success that I've had in jujitsu or in anything else is just about doing it first, getting it out of the way. It's do what you want to do for you and then the world can happen.

Speaker 3 23:59

It's do what you want to do for you, and then the world can happen.

Speaker 2 24:02

Yeah, so one of the questions I had written down is around well-being, but I think you just answered that really well. I like that phrase paying yourself first. A lot of times when we hear that, a lot of people think in the financial side and they forget totally about the taking care of yourself side. So I, I'm, you know, I'm former military and then, you know, now I'm in the corporate world and there's a lot of times I forget to do that, to pay, you know, myself for it, or pay myself first. And I I hope that those that are, you know, kind of getting into this jiu-jitsu lifestyle really understand that concept and balancing life and balancing work and balancing their training, because I think it'll help keep you going. You may can add some to this, but a lot of people say that blue belt is the highest dropout rate in jiu-jitsu. Absolutely White belt you're still excited, but blue belt's when life starts kind of taking over.

Speaker 3 25:12

I think people also feel overwhelmed. The cliche is it's a marathon, it's not a sprint, right, which it really is. And like I never had sights set on a black belt, I just said let's just train every day and this stuff will come, it doesn't matter. Like you can take your belt off, you know they say the belt is just something that holds up your pants, but which is absolutely true. You just, you're just training against another guy. He may be more versed than you, he may be bigger than you, but so what, it's in it for you.

Speaker 3 25:43

That's the thing that I love most about jiu-jitsu is, although I feel everyone I roll with is family, it's all about me, and there's no place as solitary as being on the mat. While you're rolling, you can't think about work, you can't think about your family, you can't think about anything but jiu-jitsu, and it is really a reset for your brain. That's the one thing I love. Lost my job two years ago that I had for the past 25 years, and I was in a bad place. But you know what? I came to jiu-jitsu every single day and it was my place to reset my brain and say you know what you can do. This, this is. You know where you? It's like stepping out of yourself.

Speaker 2 26:25

You can't think of anything else while you're on the mat rolling yeah, I would a hundred percent agree and I definitely think that's that's one of the things that leads kind of to the obsession is it is, it's something that's ours, it's something that that helps us. It's weird to even think this decompress while we're getting smashed you know it's crazy like you're like, I was trying to explain to someone I think it was a work colleague like how they ask how do you do that, like every morning before you come to work?

Speaker 3 26:56

people won't understand until they do. Unless you do it, you won't understand. But, um, yeah, it's. Yeah, it's one of the most amazing things, and the fact that it is so solitary. It is all about me, it's the one thing I have, that's just me, and my old professor said your mama can't help you on the mat, which is so true, and I always think of that before I compete, because there's nobody out there, it's just you, you. You know teamwork's one thing, but this is just you and it's great. Yeah, I love it yeah, I would agree.

Speaker 2 27:27

Um, so we've spent a lot of time kind of on well-being and in mindset. Uh, there's several other sections I definitely want us to cover. Uh, you know, we got to be on the mat, so I mentioned a little bit earlier this video you made around your black belt speech and it's just phenomenal and it obviously comes from your skill sets and your talents as kind of a digital content producer and things like that. As a digital content producer and things like that, talk just a few minutes about the moment you received your black belt, knowing that, wow started at 44, never thought I would get here, but now I am.

Speaker 3 28:16

Yeah, it was almost nine years to the day that I got my black belt. So, like I said, I was competing at Worlds and Leo, our instructor, was competing as well. So he was. I think he was an absolute when I was competing, so he didn't get to see me actually win. So I saw him after absolute and I had the medal around my neck and he came up to me. He's like John, you won, won, he goes. Well, now you've you've done everything there is to do a brown belt, and I thought what the hell is that supposed to mean?

Speaker 3 28:47

I went back to my, my friend, um, one of my, one of my co-black belts here, uh, and my wife, they were sitting together and I was like Leo just told me that, uh, I've done everything. I you think you think this is means'm going to get a black belt. And they're like, absolutely, I'm like no, no way. And then we got back here to Atlanta, we were talking about the ceremony and he's like, yeah, john is getting his black belt. And I was like, oh, my god, I'm really getting a black belt. There was a possibility a minute ago, but now I know I'm getting my black belt and it was great.

Speaker 3 29:17

So we had a huge ceremony here and it was so big that the black belts there was five of us and none of us got to do a speech.

Speaker 3 29:26

And I was kind of a little bummed out because I really had I mean, you work hard to get a black belt and I really had a lot of things I wanted to say and I mostly wanted to thank the people that I train with, because they're the reason that's another reason I'm consistent with coming to class six days a week.

Speaker 3 29:43

I always feel like I'm obligated to hold my end of the bargain, I'm obligated to be the best training partner for them, so they can be the best training partner for me and we all get the most out of jujitsu, and I really wanted to say that so badly. So then, when I got let go from work, I had plenty of time on my hands and I thought you know what I'm going to say this the best way I can. And I had my phone, my camera, and I got here to the gym early. I would set up a tripod, I would record myself, then I'd go back and turn the camera off and then things like that, and I had it all planned out. I did it all by myself and I thought this is exactly what I wanted to say, but it made it better because at least it's visual too. So you can see what I've gone through, where I've been, and you know how I feel about jujitsu, and I think it's a key. It's a cool little piece and it really kept me a little sane at the time.

Speaker 2 30:43

I needed some project to focus on. Yeah, could imagine. It's phenomenal. I, uh, I wish so many people would see that. I just absolutely, absolutely loved it. I don't know how I feel. I'll feel when I get my black belt. I know you know that day's so far off for me, but you know a lot of things you talked about in it and just how you phrased it uh, a journey. But you said something along the lines of you know, sometimes a point of the journey is not arriving. Yeah, that's pretty deep.

Speaker 3 31:10

Well, it's not my quote, but I mean it's something that I kind of live by. It's like you know you're aiming for one place but you never know where you're going to end up. And that's probably the best part of venturing out, and I think that's what jujitsu is all about venturing out. I was like I said I was kind of doughy in my 30s and I did half-assed workouts and then, once I started to really get out of my comfort zone, so to speak, I found myself in places I never thought I would be out in Vegas competing at a world competition or anything like that. It's amazing where I've come just by venturing out, taking one step out, yeah, yeah, I think it's great, and especially later in life, most people just hang it up. I was going to hang it up at 40. But I'm so glad I didn't, because I think I'm going to be doing jujitsu probably until I'm 90. Yeah, if not 96. Then I'm going to start to smoke and drink.

Speaker 2 32:05

Drink Yep 96,.

Speaker 3 32:07

I've won Just let it all go. Absolutely Right, you're going to be that nice.

Speaker 2 32:10

You won at that point, look, and then you'll probably live to like 110. Yeah, my life it's perfect. I love how conversations kind of pivot into the questions you want to ask. As a black belt, and as somebody who is an older black belt, do you feel there is um kind of an additional responsibility on your part as a black belt, especially when it comes to grooming and helping train, maybe lower belts and things?

Speaker 3 32:52

I always feel like, uh, you have to lead by example in life in general. So as a black belt, I feel that pressure a little bit more and, um you, someone comes into the gym new, I'm always one of the first people to go over and say you know, hi, how are you doing? My name is John. Make them feel comfortable. I want other people to do that as well.

Speaker 3 33:14

I feel like the way you conduct yourself on the mat, the way you conduct yourself in class while while professors showing a move, uh, the way you roll with everybody, that I have to lead by example. I'm never going to get frustrated. Uh, I'm never going to show anybody that I'm frustrated. I will get frustrated, but I'll never. Um, you know, you just have to really watch, uh, the way you act. And it's not like I, I act crazy or anything, but you don't.

Speaker 3 33:39

You don't want to be seen by any of the lower belts as not stable, and I think, yeah, lead by example. And if you just show your best practices on the mat, I think that you're instilling that in everybody else. And I mean, I don't know if people look up to black belts, but I know the lower belts are always looking at the black belts like that's where I want to be black belts. But I know the the lower belts are always looking at the black belts like that's where I want to be. So if you show them you know this is what a black belt, what I feel a black belt is, then it's something to aim for. Yeah, I mean, like I said, lead by example.

Speaker 2 34:13

That's all I can say. Yeah, I think that's great Be consistent.

Speaker 3 34:16

Come every day, like I like to come every day, because I feel like if I'm leading by example, I should be here. Don't miss no-gi days. A lot of people just don't come to no-gi days, which is probably one of the best days. I love no-gi.

Speaker 2 34:29

I had to force myself to go no-gi, no gi and um. But because prior to trying training to uh alliance it um, I didn't do any really gi or no gi. All right, well, yeah, I, I couldn't agree more about the mindset and the responsibility that it. You know. I know, even as a blue belt, I'm the same way. Anybody that comes into roswell for the first time a trial class, it's hey, how are. Anybody that comes into Roswell for the first time a trial class, it's hey, how are you? I'm Joe, welcome. Is this your first time? And you know, kind of have that, that conversation. So let's do uh another pivot here. I want to learn a little bit more about your uh, your company, uh, monkey head productions and you know, yeah, just talk us through a little bit what it is Kind of the journey with that.

Speaker 3 36:08

So I've been doing like video production, video editing and graphic design and things like that. I was actually went to college to be an illustrator.

Speaker 2 36:17

Oh, wow.

Speaker 3 36:17

So I went to an art school in Manhattan and I left art school with this bag of paintings that I did and I was like I'm going to conquer the world and realize that nobody's going to pay me to do paintings.

Speaker 2 36:29

There's too many people doing that.

Speaker 3 36:30

So I ended up getting into design and video production and things like that and I was in New York and I worked on a whole bunch of really high profile things in New York and then I decided to move down here and start a family. So I came to Atlanta and I was hired by a company right from New York. They hired me and moved me down and I worked for them for 10 years and then their main client was Turner Broadcasting and that became my main client and then they swallowed me up. So I was working for Turner for the past say, 25 years or so and then they had this, uh, what they call workforce reduction yeah, policy and they laid off like 6 000 people.

Speaker 3 37:13

So I was one of the lucky ones and, uh, I got. I. I ended up getting out and, um, I had to do something. I'd do something to make a living, so I figured I'd go freelance. Yeah, and I just wanted to form an LLC and use all my skills. Instead of just the editing or the design. I wanted to use all my skills. So I started this company called Monkey Head, and the reason it's Monkey Head is because for some reason, being a bald guy with jujitsu ears, my young nieces would always call me Uncle Monkey Head.

Speaker 1 37:44

So I thought that was kind of cute.

Speaker 3 37:46

And yeah, just one thing led to another, and sometimes it's a little embarrassing to say yeah, monkeyhead, but you know what it works and and I'm sticking with it, I don't care.

Speaker 2 37:55

Yeah, that's an awesome story. I was wondering that myself, and now I know. So, in getting kind of preparing for this, this conversation today, and talking a little bit about you know, your professional past and stuff, you, uh, you shared with me that, uh, you've got a little bit more uh hardware than just a, you know, jiu-jitsu championship. Uh, you've gotten some what were the emmy, emmy awards, right? Yeah, oh yeah actually, yeah, let's talk, share a little bit about that they're not as precious as my world's medal. Yeah.

Speaker 3 38:27

But they are, yeah. So I was back in 1996, when the Olympics was here in Atlanta, I was living in New York and I was hired by NBC Sports to design the look. Well, me and three or four other designers were hired to do the look of the NBC on-air coverage of the Olympics. So I worked on that for a year. That was a really great project. I was young, I was like 25 years old, and it was one of the highlights of my life. We ended up working for a year on that and I was hired as a contractor and we would work 12 hour days and it was amazing. I never got a chance to come down to Atlanta. I worked completely from New York, from Rockefeller Center, and, yeah, we ended up winning two Emmys for that. Wow, yeah, it was pretty cool. So I feel like one for graphic design and one for a technical team.

Speaker 2 39:22

I didn't even realize like those kind of awards were for that. A lot of people will forget about that kind of you know that more things go into you know, designs and things like that movies and TV and advertisements and stuff like that.

Speaker 3 39:42

Yeah, so we won two Emmys, which is really crazy, and they've been sitting in my basement for a long time. And then, when I started Monkey Head, I decided to take all my winnings and put them all on a shelf. And, of course, the World's Medal is so dear to my heart Because even the Emmys I won, but I won with the help of other people that World's Gold Medal is. Yeah, that is my pride and joy.

Speaker 2 40:09

Yeah, yeah, I think it would be my biggest accomplishment too, as far as awards or anything like that. I mean, I've got a lot of military awards and ribbons and all that hardware and things like that. But if I were to win something like that, and maybe one day, yeah, I never thought I'd win.

Speaker 3 40:34

To be honest with you, I never thought I'd win even a gold at a competition. And then going out to the world was just to prove to me that I could do that, that I could go out to a different city and compete with the world's best. I just wanted to do it. And I remember saying yeah. I said what's the worst that can happen? Yeah, and I know you know Jeff, jeff Donovan said no, no, what's the worst, what's the best that can happen? And I said right now, you sound like my wife and you know what, when I won, I thought of that too. I thought, yeah, that's right, this is the best that can happen, yeah.

Speaker 2 41:08

Yeah, so we got to get to training soon. So kind of you know. Wrapping up on really two things, it's something I love to ask black belts. One, what advice would you give someone starting jujitsu early in life and later in life? And then also, what would you?

Speaker 3 41:32

say to somebody who may be considering doing jiu-jitsu. Well, you know, the old adage is when's the best time to start jiu-jitsu? When you're really young, or right now, and that is absolutely right, just start. I mean, I had a friend who saw my point of the journey and he was in his mid-50s and he decided I'm going to take jiu-jitsu. He hasn't stuck with it. He had some injuries but I'm sure he could come back. But at least he knows what jiu-jitsu offers. Right and the great thing about jiu-jitsu. Again I say I just saw something with Dana White explaining how jiu-jitsu for your kids is great.

Speaker 2 42:05

Right, yeah, yeah.

Speaker 3 42:07

And because you know you could put your kids in baseball and football and things like that. But once they reach a certain age, they stop. This is something they'll have for the rest of their life, and that's the thing about starting late in life. Life's not over yet.

Speaker 2 42:20

Right.

Speaker 3 42:20

Like I said, it's a marathon and if you start something now that you'll have for the rest of your life, even if it's only for another, you're only going to live another 20 years, I mean, or 30 years. It's something that can enhance those 30 years. And yeah, you get injuries and stuff like that and your body hurts all the time. But that's part of living, that's really living. Yeah, yeah, the rest is just existing.

Speaker 2 42:48

This is really living. Yeah, it keeps the edge on, and I think that's great. So, as far as you personally go, what are your future goals and plans? I know you're thinking about competing in an Open, but are you setting any milestones or goals to reach?

Speaker 3 43:04

I haven't really thought about it much. Like I said, after getting let go from work, I'm trying to set some sights on that, just getting things in order professionally and then I can concentrate a little more on jujitsu. But jujitsu is that constant that I can keep coming back to. It's there, yeah, it's there when I need it, and maybe I'll do another Worlds. Not right now, financially I can't go do another Worlds.

Speaker 3 43:31

I can't justify that, but maybe next year I'd love to do that. And at Black Belt it's a little tougher because I think, like at my age, I've been a Black Belt for two years now or three years now and I'll go up against guys my age that have been a Black Belt for 20 years 20 years so it's a little bit different, but you know what. What are you going to?

Creating Long-Lasting Bonds in Jiu-Jitsu

Speaker 2 43:50

do, yeah, any given Sunday, right, yeah, you could be on the other side of the Madison big names I know I talked to Rodrigo about, because that's one of his goals is to get to a championship and he starts naming some of the people that are could be in his bracket if they so choose to compete, and I'm like wow, yeah, I would freak out.

Speaker 2 44:11

So yeah, well, john, this has been great. Is there anything that you would like to add? Put out there into the end of the universe as it, as it relates to you know the journey and the listeners. This has been a great conversation and I really appreciate you being here.

Speaker 3 44:31

No, but if anybody wants to check out that point of the journey, they can check it out on johnmandatocom or monkeyheadproductionsprod on instagram. Yeah, and it's there. It's pinned up there. It's great. I love it. I'm really proud of that, and there's not many things that I am proud of, but that's yeah, I know I'm very proud of.

Speaker 2 44:47

Yeah, hopefully, when I get my black belt, we're still connected and at least around each other, so you can do one for me, because that was awesome, joe, that's another thing, though People that I've started jujitsu with 12 years ago I still stay in touch with.

Speaker 3 45:04

That's awesome 12 years ago I still stay in touch with. So anyone that I roll with, I pretty much, like I said, I feel as family, no matter what, and I'll stay in touch with pretty much everybody that I've rolled with yeah, yeah, well, to the listeners, all of that information is going to be embedded and and put into this episode.

Speaker 2 45:17

Again, john, thank you so much for your time appreciate it and uh, man, let's go roll, let's go buddy, all right and that's the final tap on today's episode of caffeinated jujitsu.

Speaker 1 45:29

A big thanks to all of our listeners, especially today's insightful guest, for sharing their BJJ knowledge and tales. If you felt that adrenaline rush and are hungry for more, hit, subscribe, drop a review and spread the jujitsu buzz. For show notes and to contact the host, reach out to the email provided in the podcast description and to join our grappling community, head over to Instagram. Get those geese, crisp your coffee strong and always be prepared for the next roll Oss.