Logistically, where do these come from?
These Okay, first of all, these are
Baron Bolo plushies. It's a It's a bear
in a bowl of acai. You know, it's a clay
on the word, Baron Bolo for anyone who
doesn't get it. Um, on the back, we've
got like nutrition facts about the Baron
Bolo. You know, 100% fun, 10% function,
neck pain, 30% back pain, whatever. You
know, you got you get it. Okay.
What is up ladies and gentlemen? And it
is your friendly neighborhood BJJ
podcaster Rap Sparza coming to you with
another great installment of the
grappling Hour. I hope you guys are
ready for a good episode. We have
somebody that I find very funny and I am
very excited to get to our guest here in
a second. But before we get to our
amazingly awesome guest, a few things.
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that is at grappling Hour. All right,
let's get into our guest. All right, I
find her videos hilarious. I think that
she is pound-forpound
one of the funniest people in jiu-jitsu
content cuz a lot of people will make
Tik Toks in this age. They make memes.
It's a little saturated and it's hard to
stand out when the main currency is
Tylenol jokes,
steroids,
and gay jokes in the world of jiu-jitsu.
And this is somebody who can make any
kind of concept work, especially with a
whiteboard. This person and their
whiteboard are two of the most powerful
entities in all of jiu-jitsu. and I have
laughed so much at all of her content
and I wanted to get to know her even
better. So, I thought I would bring her
on. You've enjoyed her content. I have
seen you guys in the comment sections.
So, why don't we get to know a little
bit better? One, Beatatric Jen. How are
you doing, Beatrice?
>> I'm good. Thank you so much for having
me.
>> Beatrice, let me tell you something. How
much I appreciate your videos cannot be
stated enough. But the biggest question
I have for you is
where does this come from? Where do you
get the boldness, this idea to create
these very funny charts, these very
funny almost like PowerPoint
presentations in a whiteboard form to
let us know some of the kind of cliche
things that people do and finding a fun
way to poke fun at commonalities in the
world of jiu-jitsu.
Okay, this is kind of a complex question
like where does it come from? Does it
like where does it come from as in what
motivates me to do this or where does it
come from? Like where do the actual
ideas come from? Right? Like if we want
to talk about motivation, that gets kind
of deep. Like I remember like talking
about this on a few other podcasts, but
but like saying jokingly, but not really
jokingly, like there must be something
in my childhood trauma that like just
makes me want to perform for other
people and like set myself and make
myself different. Like I just like
something inside of me is like, oh, I
just can't post something that's
identical to what 10 other people posted
about the exact same event, you know? Um
I don't I don't know what that is. I
have like guesses, you know, like my my
dad, he's an immigrant, but he spent a
lot of time uh doing Toast Masters,
which is like giving speeches in front
of strangers as your hobby. And like I
as a kid, like I watched him do that.
And maybe like that like something like
inside of me was like, "Oh, like I got
to be like my dad, you know?" So he's so
cool. He's like making people laugh and
his English wasn't like you definitely
not perfect English, like pretty heavy
like Chinese accent, but he was making
other people laugh with his jokes, which
were like kind of corny, but I saw how
hard he worked on them. um they weren't
like you know he didn't like take the
jokes from anywhere he like created them
from his experience and stuff. So if you
want to talk about like motivation. Yes.
>> Hold on. Okay. So you said Toast Masters
and you hit
>> a big thing for me. I was a speech and
debate kid. So I competed in speech and
debate. And we would hear these mythical
stories of people who would do Toast
Masters, which is a little different,
but at its core, you had to basically
get up and say, "I like performing for
people. I want to become better at it.
And your dad, you mentioned uh being an
immigrant was going to come in and we've
heard so many stories in speech of
people who did it because they wanted to
get over their fear of public speaking
and that they wanted a challenge of
putting themselves in one of the most
difficult settings possible, which is
standing up in front of people. So, you
were watching him do that and you said,
"Oh, wow. Okay, that seems tough, but I
kind of like that." Like, what is your
first memory of your dad doing a
Toastmaster speech?
>> Oh, this is that's crazy. I've like
never been asked this before. I've never
even talked about it before, but uh it
was it was at Chinese school, I think,
or like but but for some reason there
were like a lot of like non-Chinese
speaking people there. And he was giving
a speech about how his name was you. why
you uh like Eugene, but um in Chinese
it's like I don't know whatever the
character like translates phonetically
to why you right and so whenever someone
said hey you they he would always turn
around even if they were saying like hey
you over there you know not like
necessarily you so then his whole speech
was like on the premise of like um all
the names that he went through all the
names that he tried that weren't you so
like he tried Tony he tried something
out Bruce I think he goes by Bruce now
I'm not really sure, but I I'll just
call him dad. But uh uh I thought it was
a really funny speech and people were
like laughing really really hard and it
was a very unique story, right? Like
obviously like you can't just like not
anyone can tell that story or joke. And
so, um, that like really stuck out to me
because I think I was I was very young
then, maybe like five, six, like max
seven, um, when I heard that and watched
him deliver that speech, um, several
times and I remember him like practicing
it in the basement and like yelling
like, "Hey, you over there." So, he
definitely was not afraid to perform or
at least if he was, he didn't really
show it and he felt like it was more
important to actually do the thing than
to like, you know, bask in the fear or
whatever. Um, so I think that probably
now that I'm like talking about it, I'm
like, "Oh, that probably had like made a
strong impression on me."
>> Well, okay. Here's the reason why that
this is so fascinating to me.
I am a huge proponent of dead pan
comedy. And when I'm watching your
videos, like so many people will do a
wink and a nudge and like really sell
the fact that like I'm trying to be
funny. Uh, and the delivery is a little
Sometimes it's too much where I made
like the joke, but the delivery to me is
kind of like as a former speech kid.
>> Yeah, that works. That's good. Yours,
I think you might have the best dead pan
in jiu-jitsu right now. And I'm not even
kidding. I don't think it's close. I
think for you to get through these
videos where you're walking through a
series of scenarios that are funny and
that you're presenting what people
really do and say and I'm like she's not
cracking at all and it's so much funnier
to me in that delivery. Like rather than
needing the attention, you are
delivering it in a way that seems like
somebody is getting up there and doing a
presentation to a big company that just
introduces the idea that says
jiu-jitsu.
What to do if you lose in jiu-jitsu?
Allow me to walk you through some of the
areas. And you don't crack. And it just
it the synthesis of it tears like
literally crying laughing and I'm just
sitting there going like I think it
might be because you're not needy on the
laugh that makes me laugh more and so
the deadly serious way that you're doing
it just kudos and it made me say like
yeah we have to talk because so much of
this has been so good. So, let's get to
this next area, which is what has been
the best responses that you have gotten
to these videos that have all been so
incredible and fun to watch. Do any
particular ones stand out to you?
Um, I mean, I've had a I've had a lot of
people like start to reach out to me
because uh they've seen the whiteboard
reels and they were like, "Oh, like you
know, maybe she can do a dead pan
delivery of like something about our
product or like while wearing our
product because um like they know that
like the it's going to be good." Like I
feel like like you said uh before we
started this recording this podcast, um
I don't feel like I had a lot of like
especially whiteboard reels that were um
what do you call it like flops, right?
like I feel like all of them are like
kind of on point or like at least they
reach the target audience that they were
meant to. Um so I feel like having like
actual companies reach out and asking to
collab has been pretty cool. But um on
like a more like personal level, I just
remember going to Jiu-Jitsu Con in Vegas
and I had like probably at least 20
people like come up to me and be like,
"Oh my god, like I can't believe you're
real. Are you Baron Bozo? Can we take a
picture?" Um, and like you know I
obviously as an athlete I had hoped that
this would happen to me because they
thought my jiu-jitsu was awesome and
they had like watched me like you know
submit someone in 20 seconds which did
happen but no one saw it. they saw my
whiteboard reels and so I felt like um I
don't know like I think like the content
is very important like everyone says it
right like content is very important
whether whether you're an athlete or not
but um I felt like
>> um I felt like when I was trying to
market myself
just it always it always fell short
because everyone feels that you're
marketing to yourself if that makes
sense right like everyone whenever
someone sees that it's an ad they kind
of just skip over it as soon as you feel
like you're being sold to people just
don't want to like just don't want to
engage with it anymore. And so I just
kind of like veered away from that and
I'll be I was like, "Okay, I'll just
like be an athlete on my own." And I'll
just make content about things that are
like adjacent to like being an athlete,
which is where like, you know, the
Instagram caption reel comes in, which
is where like, you know, this the
competition anxiety, why when you never
think you're why you'll never think
you're good at jiu-jitsu, those kind of
things, right? Like I feel like I really
do understand those because I experience
them. But, uh, if I'm as long as I'm not
telling everyone how great I am, I feel
like that alone like already makes me
different from a lot of different a lot
of content creators and athletes.
>> That's very true. I can't deny that. But
it's like, okay,
the weirdest way to describe this is one
of your most recent videos is, are you a
spaz? Now, it's a popular topic for
people because
>> if you are, you don't tend to know. And
so
you it's like a double play because
you're also talking to an audience that
usually has no idea they're the problem
and the cause, not the solution.
And the way that you're playing it is
almost hilariously allowing them to be
part of the joke while also saying you
have no clue that you are the spaz. But
I'm going to walk you through some
things that might make you think about
it. And it has a great level into it.
But one of the questions I have as as a
performer is how many takes is this
taking you? Because if I'm right,
I think you're doing it pretty close to
one take. And I have a theory as to why
that might be. But I'd like to know how
many takes do these videos normally take
for you.
The whiteboard reels actually take
probably like four or five, but it's not
because of like it's not because I'm
like cracking myself up. I I almost
never laugh during the whiteboard reels
cuz I feel like I feel like they're not
funny. I feel like they're Sorry. Um, I
don't feel like the whiteboard reels are
funny to me like like lol in in that
way. They It's more like it's more like
science. It's like, oh, like that's
interesting. I think people would laugh
at that and it's a different angle and
I'm not putting anyone down and like
that's a good point. So, I'm excited to
deliver it. Right. I think the hardest
part for me with doing takes is that I
feel like I'm not actually a good public
speaker. I feel like I have a lot of
difficulty annunciating my words and
some difficulty like connecting
sentences together when I like need to
deliver a paragraph of content and it
takes a lot of practice for me in in
that sense. Um, which I think is just
like a skill that I probably didn't work
on because I was like a nerd and
whatever studied math in college but uh
like that's why it takes like four or
five takes.
>> Okay. I that that is telling. I want to
say that it's more perfectionist nature
probably speaking here because it looks
very conversational
and
it looks very intentional. So again,
public speaking kid, I competed in
speech tournaments for years,
few national tournaments, no big deal.
Did pretty well. But
When I watch people perform, I go
through different things where I think
the current version of how people
communicate is, "Hey, what's up? This is
my voice if I'm on air." And I just, you
know, it's almost like it becomes part
of the the norm where it just blends in.
your conversational tone. It is the
hardest thing for people to learn in
speech, but I think you do it so well.
And so, part of the reason why I think
it's low takes, and I'd say four is kind
of a low amount of take uh for something
like that, but I think part of the
reason it works on our side, at least by
the time you've edited it, is that
you're talking to us in a conversational
rate that is your voice. And the one
thing I think that's the hardest to
teach people is how to speak in their
actual voice. So whenever I'm hosting a
show,
>> you know, if you meet me in person, this
is how I sound. If you
>> uh find me commentating a match, it's
usually this voice. I don't have an
announcer voice. And I worked really
hard to try and make sure I am always
authentically myself. And I just get
this sense when I watch your videos. cuz
I was like, you know, if I was taking
one of your classes, I can almost
guarantee this is the exact same cadence
and voice that you have. So, I'm going
to get to the next question here, which
is as somebody who's created comedy
memes. It's how we started when I worked
for Verbal Tap and I was doing that with
my co-host. It was memes, memes, memes.
I kind of burnt myself out because I
just figured like
I don't want to do cliche jokes. So for
you,
>> where did you find your lane in? Like
obviously we got into this idea of what
made you want to start doing comedy and
interrupting the the norm of what people
see, but like when did you say like, you
know what, nobody's doing it like this.
I kind of think somebody should.
>> Oh, well, I don't I don't know if that's
how I thought about it. like I I wasn't
like it's time for me to disrupt the
space of jiu-jitsu comics on Instagram,
>> but like
>> I uh like I I had felt like there was
there was so much that I wanted to like
commentate on. Like whenever I watched
the jiu-jitsu match, I would hear the
commentary and I'd be like this
commentary is [ __ ] because of whatever
reason, you know, they don't understand
the athlete, they don't understand the
jiu-jitsu, they could be like saying
better things about the athletes. like I
always had an opinion about what people
were saying, you know, and I feel like
um I I always like wanted to give my
opinion too, even though it wasn't like
always unnecessarily like jiu-jitsu's
like the the technique of jiu-jitsu, but
rather like the culture of jiu-jitsu. Um
but I was I was just afraid to do so.
Like it's it's ob scary to put yourself
out there if you're not funny. It kind
of sucks, right? Like it's at least like
at least it's not standup where like I'm
in front of a crowd and people that just
crickets, you know? Um, but still you
put yourself on social media like you
know permanent digital footprint all
that stuff. Um, but you know, honestly,
what like gave me some confidence was
like I was like already making like
little skit kind of like uh like go come
compete with me kind of situation like
reals that with grappling industries and
IBJGF before um and they were like
pretty wellreceived and then it was
actually after I got my black belt that
I was like, "Oh, probably people will
probably listen to me cuz I'm a black
belt." And I know it's very shallow, but
I do I I did feel like a significant
difference in like how people interacted
with me, especially in the public. Like
not my friends, my friends are always my
friends, but like especially in the
public, I felt like there was a big
difference in how I was perceived. And
that also gave me a confidence boost to
put something out. Um, and then my first
whiteboard reel was the the Instagram
caption one. Um, and that did well. IBJF
commented on it. They thought it was
funny. That was like, you know, pretty
big validation. And then I just uh just
kept going. So yeah, I'm not I'm I'm not
trying to disrupt any space. But I am
just doing like what I like like to do
and it's it's very fun for me. Like I
don't, you know, I don't feel like it's
a job. I just uh I have an idea, I write
it down, I record it, people like it,
and I'm like cool. Like maybe one day
it'll be monetized. But uh yeah, that's
that's just kind of how it is right now.
Well, if you say that you've had brands
reach out to you, it's because you hit a
good sweet spot of you know how to
market something and you know how to
present yourself. So, they they want to
be associated with you. The question is,
do you want to be associated with them?
And you know, how does that work? But
it's a very good compliment. Like if
there's ever
jiu-jitsu business conventions aside
from like jiu-jitsu con, you have to be
one of the first people to call be
called in my opinion because this is
this is right down the line. And you're
right, like reasons you lost at a
competition. I've sent this to my
students uh because I've told them I'm
like I have a philosophy that if you
compete, win or lose, I don't want you
looking at the footage until Monday. You
compete on a Saturday, we do no good.
Literally watching the footage when we
go to dinner, when you're up at night.
Like, just let it go because one, you're
white belts.
So, none of this matters. Number two,
you're obsessing over things that if you
did lose, which is statistically more
likely that you are going to try and fix
things in your head or come up with
excuses and that I don't want you to
come up with excuses. I want you to fix
it. And I think you could be more
objective on Monday rather than finding
a reason where it's like, "Ah, the ref
hated me. That's why I didn't get this."
It's like, "No, don't give yourself
that." Like, "Mday, let's do that." So,
I think there was one tournament or
something where I was trying to explain
it and one of the kids went to go watch
their footage. And I go, "Hm." And he
goes, he posted up and I go, "What did
we just talk about?" I said, "Don't
watch your footage." Like, don't be dumb
because now you're obsessing over. And I
literally I sent your video and I go,
"Nope. Here you go. Watch this.
Don't talk to me. I'll talk to you on
Monday." And they're like, "Yo, this is
pretty funny, coach." was like, I know
because she's saying kind of what's in
my brain, which is very much a very nice
way of saying shut up and I will see you
on Monday. So, you you have such a funny
way of doing it. So, naturally, when
you're bringing up this idea of it's not
standup, have you ever thought about
doing standup?
>> I I love standup. I love standup so
much. I wa I watched it all the time
like growing up. Um when I was sad and
like depressed and like going through
like you know dark times in life I would
watch standup like every standup. Um so
I have thought about it. Um I honestly
like the time that I thought like the
most seriously about it. I also felt
like I didn't have a story to tell. Like
I would love to deliver a story but I
don't have a story. So that at least
that's how I felt when I was like 22
when I like first considered it. and I
did like two weeks of DC improv before
like getting sucked into the world of
jiu-jitsu and then like it was like open
mat or DC improv and so obviously I
chose open mat. Um, so like, you know, I
think that like that that world might
exist, but I feel like pretty embedded
in jiu-jitsu and I feel like I uh, yeah,
I feel like I do a lot in jiu-jitsu
right now and so there's not really a
lot of time to spend hours practicing
and going to open mics and stuff like
that, but uh, it's it's something that I
really appreciate. I I mean I think the
standup uh I feel like the standup
comics that I follow are probably like
left-leaning. So I'm not sure if I
should name them, but like I Yeah, I I
watch them all the time. I think it's uh
I think that like story tell like humor
through storytelling is just like the
funniest thing to me.
>> Okay, let me
Okay, I have to put this challenge to
you now.
I'm a big believer, and I'll use
jiu-jitsu to kind of give you my overall
philosophy on this, okay?
I'm a big believer of if you feel like
you have to do standup in the back of
your head, you have to do it. It is
similar to you don't have to compete,
but if you have an inkling in your brain
that says, "Hey, I wonder if I should
compete." That means you probably do
want to do it. So, like at least once or
twice. And I can tell you why I think
you would succeed at it. You're thinking
about it in the sense of I want to be a
good storyteller because I'm sure some
of your favorite comics are master
storytellers.
But a lot of it, if you're doing it
right, is assembling threeinut bits and
honing that craft and getting that three
minutes really dialed in is a very big
craft. But I want to point something
out. What is in your hand right now?
Oh, I have I have a pen and notebook.
>> Strike one.
>> You are a comedy nerd because you are
taking down notes. So, you are already
somebody who develops bits and writes
that down. And standup comedy is nothing
but you writing down stuff. And the way
that you're doing your videos right now
is like a great training ground for
getting those reps in. So whether you
think about it or not, you're drilling
standup comedy when you do these
whiteboard videos like 100%. And now the
modern meta is standup comics are doing
more and more Tik Tok reels and your Tik
Tok reels and and style and vibe. It's
very warm. It's very inviting. So it's
just a matter of what you want to share
or what you have to say. So somewhere in
the back of your mind, you're a busy
person right now with tons of things
that you're doing.
I wouldn't think it's that far off in
the future. So if you ever have an
instinct or an inkling to do it, I think
you got to give it a shot. And the good
news is most open mic times are about
five to six minutes. And really just
getting the at bats and doing that is is
where it comes cuz right after I was
done doing speech, you know, I used to
do an event called uh after dinner
speaking or speech to entertain which is
standup comedy but with sources and
you're giving it on one topic and you're
just writing joke joke joke joke joke
joke joke joke joke joke joke joke joke
joke joke joke joke joke joke joke joke
joke joke joke joke joke joke joke joke
joke joke joke joke joke joke joke joke
joke joke joke joke joke and I've always
done that and I did standup comedy I
love doing it but I also recognized I
was like well I don't want to go to them
I want them to come to me. Oh, I should
do a show. Okay, I'm doing a show.
Jokes, jokes live. Okay. Do guests with
jokes. Do live topics with jokes. So, I
found my forum that I like just as much
as standup comedy, but I said there's no
way I get through this earth without
doing it a few times. And I did it and I
loved it. And different time in space,
sure. But I also recognize there's a lot
of jiu-jitsu nerds that deserve time on
air that I think are just as valuable of
my time. So that's why for me I'm like
eh it just is a matter of format and you
might find that you become a better uh
performer in doing so. So I I hope that
if that is truly in you you do it and if
it's not you don't need to do it.
>> Yeah, for sure. No, I I definitely think
like even besides like traditional
standup comedy like late night like go
to a bar and perform a strangers like
like YouTube definitely provides like
the ability to have like a long form
type of situation. I feel like Tik Tok
kind of does too. I don't think
Instagram is like good for long form but
um in any case yeah like I love like I
love like following the meta about
content. like a half of my YouTube
videos are like about or like that the
YouTube videos that I watch are about
like how to create YouTube content even
though I literally don't create YouTube
content. Um so yeah, there's there's
definitely hope out there. I feel like
once I stop competing or stop competing
really seriously, then I won't feel like
I am uh like whenever I feel like I'm
not studying jiu-jitsu, I feel like I'm
wasting my time. So I I feel like I'm
wasting away my life and I'm like, you
know, that the lifespan of my
competition like years is getting
smaller and smaller and like I'm just
like letting it go if I'm like working
on jokes. So I like I feel like if I
have like a couple more years of like
competing and then you know maybe maybe
after that I'll be able to be more
content focused.
>> I'm with that. And you have forever to
do comedy. That's the beautiful part is,
you know, a lot of people think they age
out of stuff and all that. Comedy is one
of the few places that you're like, you
get like a Rodney Dangerfield that shows
up and you go, "Oh, this dude's ancient,
but
that means he's lived some life. What do
you have to say, bud?" And some comics
really step into their their best
material as they get older. I argue
somebody like a George Carlin really
became even funnier in his older age
because he's like, "I don't give a [ __ ]
All right, here we go."
>> Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Not not giving a [ __ ]
and like like like not caring what
people think and then also just like
life experience and like literally just
developing skill. Like probably like all
the older black belts in you know like
right now their jiu-jitsu is way better
than it was in their 20s. It's just that
they're older, right? Like so but in
comedy it doesn't matter like what your
body is. So, I I definitely feel like
the older the older you are, the better
the the writing should be, the the
better the delivery should be ideally.
>> So, let's get into this. What makes you
laugh? Because the beautiful part about
seeing somebody with a good dead pan is
you almost get the sense that they don't
laugh. But you just told us you're
absorbing comedy all the time. I mean,
it looks like it just from the way
you're you're doing your stuff. And I'm
like, "Oh, okay. She's funny." Like what
makes you laugh?
>> I I like the dead pants stuff. Uh I
think like there are like whiteboard
people out there. They're just not
jiu-jitsu whiteboard people. They're the
whiteboard like the niche the niche of
whiteboard humor is like not small. Um
so I think a lot I I do watch like a
decent amount of whiteboard Tik Toks if
that's uh like an actual thing. Uh I um
yeah. So yeah, I watched a lot of long
form standup uh back in the day. Um like
I preferred the kind where like they
just told one story for like 40 minutes,
but each part of the story was just so
funny. And you know the the angle that
they took of that moment was so funny.
Um that those always made me laugh. Um
like physical comedy like we I do also
some skits, not just whiteboard reels.
And I feel like the skits actually do
really well too. like probably just as
well as the whiteboards actually. The
skits make me laugh a lot because there
it's it's like physical humor is so like
I feel like universal and it's like just
so ridiculous that like you know
whatever has happened like the most
recent one I like climbed under a fourth
degree black belt's legs right like and
I was just like this this like so absurd
and uh and I laugh while I'm making them
um both editing them and recording them
and that's when I know like oh this is
probably going to be funny for other
people too. Um, so yeah, probably
probably those things. Um, yeah, off the
top of my head. I don't know. Like I
feel like I'm around funny people in
general, so that's that also helps to be
influenced by them.
>> Are you okay, so you are also an
instructor, correct?
>> Yeah, I teach jiu-jitsu as well. Yeah,
kids and adults.
>> Okay.
H, how do I put this?
Do you ever notice they laugh because
you're an instructor? And like, not that
you're not funny, but typically,
I won't name other instructors or
people,
as a comedian, I have watched people get
up there and tell a joke that I go,
"It's not even funny. This is just the
instructor. This is okay. They didn't
even work for that joke." But do you
find that even sometimes your students
are nervous? They're like, I think I
need to laugh because I think that was a
joke. I don't know. Like, do you find
that you get an easier laugh with your
students? Because for me, if I'm
creating content, I don't want easy
laughs. I want to know if this is going
to play to other people. So, have you
noticed that you might have gotten the
easier laugh because you're a professor
in charge?
>> Definitely not. Definitely not. I feel
like they're the hardest audience. Um, I
feel actually probably the most nervous
around them because I feel like one,
they're they're my students, so I don't
want to be like not serious around them.
Like I really want them to like actually
learn jiu-jitsu. And also, I feel like,
oh, like if this joke is like, you know,
too crass for whatever reason, maybe
they won't like me and then they won't
like want to learn from me anymore. So,
I feel like there's a lot more like goes
into it cuz it's like it's more human.
It's just like between me and them and
it's like a room of, you know, 10 to 20
people. Um, also I would say probably
like 70% of our students aren't on
social media because we live in DC so
like or we're in Arlington which is
close to DC. Everyone's like a
government worker or that works for a
military or whatever. So they're not
like big social media people. So
probably like I would probably say like
70% of them don't even know that like
I'm whatever blowing up on Instagram,
however you want to say it. Um, so like
they don't expect me to be funny. I
think I I hope like I don't like not not
in the job description. Um, but I don't
know. I think teaching kids does make a
difference though because uh you can't
like teach kids techniques, which is
that's too broad of a statement, but
like when you teach kids, you have to
like tell them a story, right? Like, oh,
like the the one I most recently heard
was when you teach them closed guard,
you know, you have to keep the dragon in
the castle and your legs are the castle
and you know the other person's a dragon
and unless you like tie it into some
sort of character or animal or something
that like they already know. Kids don't
care about closed guard. They don't
like, you know,
>> like half guard is meaningless to them.
Like they don't it's they're not
interested in training to to train, you
know, they're training to have fun, to
like play games. And so I feel like
that's when I feel like I do have to
perform a little bit. I have to find the
story. I have to like, you know, oh, I
don't know, the crab has to like get the
penguin and that kind of stuff. And or
like, you know, zombies, that kind of
situation.
>> Okay. Yeah. Uh hm. See, I I have a
slightly different experience where when
kids come to my my class,
I both want them to laugh but then get
angry if it's an easy laugh. So,
it's mostly me being in front and if
somebody says something so dumb and out
of pocket,
then I put them on blast very quickly.
So
>> last week,
uh, one of the guys was going over like
a game plan they want to do if they're
competing. And I said, "Oh, great. That
looks" And I go, "Hey, do you know how
to do this, though?" And he goes, "Nah,
sure. I got that." And I go, "Maybe we
should do that in class." Okay, we'll
see if we can bring this up to the class
and see how good they are at it. So I
start showing them something. And true
to form, very basic stuff, but I've got
a assortment of people who are
experienced, inexperienced. So I'm like,
"Hey, very simple sweep. Let me see you
do it."
Immediately I get, "Hey, coach, can you
do it the opposite way?" Mhm.
Oh, I'm going to do it the opposite way.
And I'm like, "Okay,
sure. Go ahead and get some drilling in,
but can I see your first like the real
way first and then we can look at the
opposite way?" And I go, "Yeah, it looks
like trash, dude. Probably need to drill
that first." So do that first. not going
to create a problem for your creativity,
but like try that one first. And they
were like, "Hey, what about a submission
from here?" And I was like, "I can't. I
I beg of you
if you do the sweep. The next thing
we're doing is the submission. Like,
>> for the love of God, just do the sweep."
Because if you don't do the sweep,
you're going to look at me like, "Coosh,
this doesn't work."
So sometimes
the only way to point it out to people
is to show them what they're like. And
so then it becomes like a gentle roast
and then they see how dumb they are by
me making fun of them or having fun at
the situation. They go, "Oh, do I sound
like that?" And I go, "This is exactly
you. This impression is you."
>> How old are they?
>> Mentally or physically?
uh physically like in time on the
calendar
>> 26 23 24 they might as well be a kids
class sometimes but they are good enough
to know my sense of humor that they
laugh and I feel good about it because I
don't like picking on people like my
humor my my sweet spot is roasting
people who I love but never doing a joke
that I feel is like a killer. So, I
really don't like picking on people, but
I do like telling people,
>> "Hey, that you're being dumb or chill
the [ __ ] out." So, they know that's
usually coming. But on the opposite
side, if they give me too easy a laugh,
I was like, "That's not even funny. What
are you guys laughing at?" No. Boom.
Save it for my A material. So, it's a
good way of me being like, I don't want
to just get the laugh because I'm an
instructor. Think of it this way. If
Jerry Seinfeld shows up at your open
mic, before he even opens his mouth,
people are going to laugh. They hate
that. They hate just being a celebrity,
but it is what it is. If people know
you, they tend to laugh a little bit
easier. And I've noticed there are
certain instructors in the world of
jiu-jitsu who think they're pretty
funny. And I'm like, "Oh, it's cuz their
students are terrified of them. That
joke sucked."
>> Yikes.
>> Oh, I want to know who these instructors
are.
Oh, I will I will tell you gladly off
air,
>> but I've sat witnessed to it and I've
just been like they are killing in this
room and there is not one lick of joke
or timing that has been good but that
their students are like and they go
promotions are coming. Got it. All
right. I know what's going on here. So,
okay, I'll get into this area as well
because I bring up my students for this
reason.
I have a policy that if I write a tweet
about them or a joke, it's not the day
after
because they have gotten into the
practice as detectives to being like,
"Is that me?" So, I usually delay it by
a month and it's always somebody who
isn't the intended target who goes, "Is
that me?" And I go, "No, not at all."
But it's supposed to be universal. So,
do you now get people who think they are
the targets of your skits or your
whiteboards because they said or did
something because that's a real thing
when you're doing comedy and jiu-jitsu
is that connection we have with people.
Everybody assumes it's them.
>> I don't feel like I target people. I
feel like that's why my like reals like
do pretty well cuz I don't feel like I'm
like trying to offend anyone. And the
only one that I feel like was mildly
controversial
was the spazzy white belt one. And those
people aren't like self-aware enough to
like anyway. So I don't know like I feel
uh no I've never had a problem with
that. I think like probably the one that
like created the most like ruckus on the
internet was I made like a really I
would say like loweffort reel
comparatively about like why jiu-jitsu
is not a spectator sport. And then
everyone like had a really strong
opinion about why jiu-jitsu is not a
spectator sport. And I was like, I don't
care. I'm here for the like laugh. But
uh yeah, but I don't think Yeah. No, I
don't definitely didn't have any
problems yet. Um I think I'm still like
I I like I wouldn't say like I'm like
super popular yet. I think I just hit
like 10,000 followers two weeks ago. So
um the I think the hater rate is like
pretty low right now. But, you know,
maybe maybe in a couple more thousand
people uh followers, we might get
something like uh some haterade. Who
knows?
>> Well, see, the reason I bring that up is
you have such a classy way of doing the
joke that I don't think people are going
to get really upset about it. But I just
can't help but think like I had to wait
until all my students made weight before
I put up a fat joke, which was
essentially this. Uh we took a photo of
the Paris Hilton saying like stop being
poor
uh shirt from like two decades ago and I
was trying to explain to people how hard
it is as a coach when I'm like what's
your weight at? And my shortand is how
fat are you? Because I'm not calling you
fat as a human being. I'm calling you
fat for your division. And that is my
way of saying please watch your weight.
Please make smart decisions. And so what
I did was I eliminated the part that
said stop being poor and just put stop
being fat. And I realized I was like, I
can't even put up this meme until my
students make weight because I don't
necessarily want to target them.
>> And I don't want to be an [ __ ] but a
couple of them were pretty far off
weight that I go, "Oh, stop being fat.
Please, please, please, please."
>> They all make weight. I wait the next
week to put that meme up and I still got
somebody being like, "Coach, was that
me?" And I go,
"No,
but you know what? Don't let it be you
because I'm not trying to make fun of
you specifically. It's just the
frustration of there's nothing else I
can do other than like just looking up
and saying, "Stop being fat." And I I
have a good sensitivity to it cuz I I
like again playing with people and not
being a complete [ __ ]
But without fail, even delaying it,
people were like, "Was that one me?" And
I go, "No, that was was not you." You
know, it's hard to tell somebody who was
only 2 lbs overweight. You were doing it
right. You know, like I was firmly
pleased with your weight cut. It's when
somebody is like, "Oh, coach, I'm like
nine pounds over." And I go, "It's
Wednesday. You compete Saturday."
>> This is somewhat concerning.
>> And part of the reason why six weeks ago
I was like, "Which weight class we
thinking, bud?"
Okay. Okay. So that's that's more of
where I come from on my side. But you
are right and I will tell you this.
I think you did such a great job on why
jiu-jitsu is not going to become a
spectator sport because I have very
strong opinions on that. Like
>> I felt like that was the one video where
I
saw the prompt and thought, I don't know
about that. But because I like you so
much, I was like, well, let's see. Oh,
yeah. These are all valid. Like very
good stuff. But I'm fighting the good
fight when I produce jiu-jitsu shows to
try and make it interesting. And so
>> I'm so used to people with terrible
takes
>> saying why it's not going to be a viable
sport when we saw something like the
Craig Jones Invitational that had
number one that had comparable demos is
a huge number in stats guy to preseason
football that same week.
>> Mhm.
>> In the 18 to34 demo. So I'm like no it
can be spectator friendly. It's just
what is the avenue? What's the means of
it? Is it repeatable is a question. But
I feel like for events like ADCC or
this, like one time a year, we can get
our [ __ ] together. The real key is if
somebody was looking to target that
demo, there was a particular way of
doing it. But I watched your video and I
thought, "Nope, these are funny. They
all check out to me." So, what prompted
you that day to have that? because you
brought up some great points about maybe
it doesn't have to be.
>> Oh god. Okay. Why did I write that? That
one. Yeah. Usually I make reels because
I'm like happy to and I think it's
funny. But once in a while I'll make a
real out of spite. And so this was one
of them that I created out of spite. And
as well as the one about guard pulling,
like why you should pull a guard, right?
But like both of those it was because I
just heard so many arguments about why
jiu-jitsu is not a spectator sport and
why guard pulling is for like
whatever like you know people who are
weak like you know and I just felt like
um I don't know I I just wanted to find
a way to tell people the right answer
but without telling that I'm that I'm
telling them you know the whole like
show not tell situation right like oh
like
>> um if I just argue with somebody they're
like never going to like listen to me,
right? Like this is like, you know,
politics by like whatever. We're like
polarizing and it's because we're like
talking like this and we're constantly
in talking but like no one's listening,
right? So I just can't I know that
people aren't going to listen so you got
to show them. So So that's why we've got
like the circle charts and like the flow
charts and all of that. Uh for for the
spectator sport reel, it was uh it was I
think it was after CJI and it was like
it was because CGI 2 was like
significantly less exciting than CJI 1
and
uh people were complaining about it and
and I was just thinking like the rule
set doesn't doesn't ask you to do
submissions. Craig Jones literally had
to go on Instagram in the middle of the
event to beg people to do submissions
and then people are complaining that
people aren't doing jiu-jitsu. When in
fact you're looking at like the most
elite grapplers in the world controlling
each other in like dominating positions
and you're like, "Oh, that's not
jiu-jitsu. Like it's that's not what
jiu-jitsu is about." It is what
jiu-jitsu is about. Holding someone down
and trying to look for submission and
then as as a person on bottom like
keeping your elbows in and just like not
not letting them do that. that is
jiu-jitsu. That is what it was meant to
be, you know. Also, I I felt like uh I I
was just so like annoyed that people
like like I don't know like what do you
think jiu-jitsu is? It's not it's not
punching or not like it's not their job
to be exciting. I mean, it kind of is a
CGI, but like the rules didn't didn't
really like incentivize that. But like
when we when you think about practicing
jiu-jitsu, like all of us at home, we
are resting in half guard and trying to
free our knee. And that is the most like
that's the best part of our day when we
like free our foot from half guard to
mount. So I just think like I don't know
a little like a bunch of like
hypocritical arguments and I just wanted
to like put my opinion out there and uh
hope that like you know at least it
would be out there even if no one would
listen.
>> Well, it did well. So that meant you had
to probably feel good that other people
felt similar to you. It's just I, you
know, I admit outright that it's such a
sensitive topic to me because I'm like,
dude, we're trying. We're trying. You
know, I executive produce a show called
Subversive and it's like, dude, there
are days when we're trying to give
everybody the open forum to compete in
the best way possible and then sometimes
it just doesn't happen. So, I'm
sympathetic to those organizations where
I also tell athletes, do what you need
to do to win.
on the microphone. I'm going to do what
I need to do to try to make it exciting,
but if it's not exciting, you know,
sometimes stuff doesn't work. But do
what you need to do to win. And in the
CJI format, especially for a quintet,
which I still think is one of the most
fun formats to compete in, sometimes
they're going to game the system to win
and they're going to do certain things
and I totally get that. I still feel
like it's on the commentary team. I feel
like it's in the production and how
you're communicating it that part of
that synthesizes.
And I did say out loud to some of the
people out there, I like the people
involved on the commentary, but it felt
like they were doing three different
commentary gigs. There was no cohesion
together. And individually, they're
fine. And you know, BMAC's a huge friend
of ours. We love him. But there was no
connection. And when you're trying to do
that narrative, you need harmony. And so
then on the communicative side for the
TV audience, maybe it's not hitting, but
that day one of the Craig Jones
Invitational was rough. And we were
rooting for them, especially when the
first one was awesome, but we did learn
a few things that maybe 15 minutes is a
lot of time with the breaks in. So
there's a lot to learn, but I felt like,
okay, there's an audience that wants to
see this. So really what we're trying to
tell somebody is there's a format that's
better. And I keep saying, "Show me the
one." And every format has its strengths
and weaknesses. And I think it's more
about recognizing if you watch IBJJF,
here are the strengths and weaknesses.
If you watch EBI, here are the strengths
and weaknesses. And hopefully trying to
rally your base around that rather than
just saying, "Ah, Craig Jones is trash."
Because guess what? Day two for Craig
Jones was very compelling. So, it is a
lot of difficult things there. But,
yeah, I did see a lot of people getting
upset as well. And I I thought you did a
great job on that. I thought that was uh
was there. But, like I said, I was
definitely like I get on pins and
needles when I'm like,
"We're trying. We're trying so hard."
And then I saw your stuff and I was
like, "Oh, this is funny." Okay, great.
But I do that's the only time I've seen
one of your videos that I thought
I wonder what she's gonna say. Okay.
>> Yeah. I I I yeah I definitely have the
most like negative comments on that reel
for sure but it's also like that's I
mean I don't want negative comments like
I don't like seek them out but I know
it's good for the algorithm so I just
just let them happen you know but uh
yeah
>> that's a great attitude by the way that
that is it I I tell myself all the time
whenever I see people doing uh notes on
commentary if I'm on the mic I'm like I
don't care but say whatever you want to
say, but we do a bit where because I'm a
comedian by nature,
if they [ __ ] on us, they forget the
golden rule of being a heckler in a
comedy club, which is I have the
microphone.
>> So,
I'm gonna do a joke and I don't care if
I hurt feelings because you're probably
being a dick.
>> I agree.
>> So, let me ask this. Right about now, we
get into origin story. So, we always
like to ask people on this show where
jiu-jitsu found them. So, I'm genuinely
curious where jiu-jitsu found you in
your life. Were you playing other sports
before it? And kind of like how does it
insert its way into your world?
>> Oh, um I I so I played bon from high
school to college. I played like pretty
competitively. like definitely like not
um okay let's say like like I would like
win regionals but then like when it got
to state it was like it got pretty hard
right so that's like the level of bon I
played all all the way through college
and that's like how I made most of my
friends and I felt like those were like
probably my closest friends besides the
people that I like actually live with
those are the people like I hung out
with like grad food with all that stuff
um I moved to DC for a journalism
internship and uh I tried to join
Bmonton but There was no Bmon here. Like
you would have to drive uh like an hour
to get to a Bmon court and then like if
your racket broke you had to drive
another hour to a different place to get
your racket rerung. It was just like a
huge hassle. I didn't have a car but
what there was was jiu-jitsu across the
street from my apartment where I moved
right like literally across the street
like walked three minutes was there. Um
so you know I didn't know anything about
jiu-jitsu. My like I had one friend who
did it and he was like oh my back hurts
from because of jiu-jitsu. And I was
like oh okay like so it must be hard.
So, I like I went in the studio and it
was my first day of work and it was also
my first day of jiu-jitsu. And uh as
soon as I started jiu-jitsu, I was like,
"Oh, like this is fun. I like that I'm
fighting for my life." Um I like that
someone is sweating on top of me and I
can't tell if it's my sweat or their
sweat. And I just liked like losing
myself in that process. Um and I still
like it. That's that's like I still like
the exact same thing about it now. Um,
and so then I uh just did jiu-jitsu for
the next seven years and now I'm here.
Um, I got my jiu-jitsu Instagram when I
got my purple belt. I felt like that was
the appropriate time to get a jiu-jitsu
Instagram with the jiu-jitsu Instagram
handle and it was Baron Bozo at that
time. So the the humor was already like,
you know, manifested. And then uh yeah,
the funny stuff didn't come until like
probably after Brown Bell. Yeah.
>> I think this is so funny to me that you
have a responsible way of handling this.
You're like mm- mm- I have not earned my
punjiubu based name. I have to really
earn that. And then part two is no no
comedy does not happen for me until I
get my brown belt. like the the
structure and the respect you have for
the art is amazing that you have broken
it up like this cuz I got to tell you
literally started a podcast
for MMA and jiu-jitsu as a white belt
bold
didn't care but also my thought process
this part of the reason why I asked you
like up top you know what did you feel
was missing for us my co-host Kevin uh
Kevin Phillips
and I we recognized there was no late
night comedy in jiu-jitsu and MMA. There
were people trying to be funny, but I
actually worked on the Tonight Show. So,
I have a sense of how late night shows
work. I know how to do monologues. Go
for it.
>> Wait, sorry. Tonight Show like John
Stewart tonight show.
>> No, I wish. Uh, I worked for Jay Leno.
No, sorry. Jay Leno, Conan O'Brien,
end of Conan O'Brien, Jay Leno, end of
Jay Leno. So that Tonight Show for NBC.
>> Nice. Okay.
>> And I worked as an audience guy, which
meant I was in charge of producing uh an
audience
387
each night upwards to 440
every day, free tickets.
And our job, I mean, it was pretty easy
because they they're big shows and would
attract 3.5 million people to 5 million
a night.
>> And people want to come on their
vacations or they're in town or they
want to see a guest.
>> But while I was doing that,
>> after the first year, I got it
downpacked and then I started submitting
jokes and Jay would read some of my
jokes and I was very pleased. You get
paid extra dollars for jokes. But the
problem is is that you're filling in for
the crevices, the little small cracks
where the very talented writers are
maybe not hitting that one or two jokes
or you have a different approach.
>> So it's not like I got like a million
jokes on. I got like
>> really a a nominal amount. But like
hearing your jokes on national TV,
amazing. So, from the get-go, I was
like, well, that's going to be our niche
is nobody else at that time especially
could say they've worked for a late
night show and brings like almost jokes,
monologue jokes, and the way we do
interviews to be that format.
So, hearing you say like, "Oh, I got to
wait and do this." It's because you have
a respect for the sport and that you're
like you want to have the credibility.
And I just find it funny that in my
journey it was like nah I don't care.
Like from the very first day I kind of
recognized I was like hey listen some of
these guys who are good black belts
can't talk. So at least if I'm not a
black belt I talk good
>> but okay I mean like that's not fair to
yourself. Like you did have the
credibility like you worked on the
Tonight Show. You worked for Conan
O'Brien and Jay. Like literally like I
don't know how many people could like
possibly say that. When I was going
through my like college depressive
episode, I also tried to look for jobs
on like different late night shows cuz I
was like, "Oh, like this is like the
only thing that brings me joy in my
life." So very cool. Very, very cool.
I'm sorry I'm pointing my pen at you. I
just I just think it's really cool. You
have to understand the first second you
picked up the pin, it was the most
relatable thing I had where I go, "No,
no, this person like be you and I always
will get along because my wife will tell
you if you are walking somewhere and
somebody's like, "Do you have a pen?"
She goes, "You are always the first to
go. I got you." And it's not some shitty
pen. It is a very specific seven
point
>> fine pen. And she's like, "People don't
get a shitty pen to write something with
with you. You'll literally walk them
through. You're like, I might have
gotten this at the dollar store, but it
is a great pen, great bang for its buck.
Comparable to the Uniball pen that I do
love to write on." So, she's like, "No,
no, no. You're a pen nerd." So, there is
no worried about pointing at me. I I
very much appreciate you doing it.
>> To be fair for the camera. Well, the pen
I'm pointing at pointing at you is a
Snoopy pen. So, it is a good pen. And
the other pen I have that I need for
different colors is a dunk pen. Where is
>> Oh my god.
>> So just you know it's a nice it's a nice
pen pointing. But to your point about um
uh like waiting to have credibility, I
feel like like you did have credibility
even though you were a white build and
they didn't have like real life
experience in grappling like you you had
everything else which is what I feel
like you know 99% of jiu-jitsu struggles
with which is like actual delivery and
being able to be like like a like a real
person on camera. Um, so yeah, I don't
know. Like I feel like I waited because
I just I really just felt like I didn't
have enough stories or experience. Like
I didn't have like the jokes in me. I
didn't have like those like events that
happened to me. And and now that they
have and like so many times, you know,
after like I don't know, I think I
competed like over 300 matches before
before Black Belt, you know, and like by
that time I was like, "Oh, I think what
I have to say is true because I
experienced it 300 times and probably
everyone else has also experienced it
like a certain amount of times.
Well, thank you. That's very nice of
you. And I'm I'm sure uh the me of old
can appreciate somebody coming in and be
like, "No, no, I I I'll just tell you
this. I I knew what I was getting into,
and I knew being bold was going to be
the way to go." But I also knew I was
like, "The only way you get experience
is by doing it." So, I said the worst
thing that could happen is somebody
thinks I'm not good at it. And guess
what? The internet's going to do that
whether you're good at it or not. It's
just do you vibe with this person? Does
it make sense to you? And everybody has
a different way of doing it. But the way
I've always said it is I was like, we'll
always be the professional people even
though we talk like idiots. So we'll
always have a style and a presentation
that will make us unique and stand out.
>> So that's been our little like caveat.
>> But it's been very fun to have a journey
where people have been like, Raph, I
like one of the first times I compete
because I didn't compete for years.
This dude comes up to me and I was just
talking with him and I go, "Oh yeah,
dude, this is so crazy." He goes, "I
find it so fascinating that you're
competing now, Raph." And I go, "I'm
sorry, what?" Like, this is the dude who
I just finished competing with. And he's
like, "Oh yeah, dude. I've been a
follower for the show for years. You
said for years you weren't competing and
now I saw you were competing against
me." And I go, "Dude, that was like five
years ago." Like,
>> oh, this is a long time fan. Oh, Jesus.
Okay. But you forget these things
because you just put them out to the
ether and then you forget you're
creating connections with people and all
that sort of stuff. So it is a very very
fun experiment. I want to come back to
this which is you mentioned that you
started you found your way in. The next
question we always like to ask people is
when did you fall in love with the
sport? So when did you fall in love with
it in a way that becomes more than just
a hobby? Because not only you creating
content for it, you teach it. Um, you're
working at a gym for it. You You're
behind the scenes in big ways. So, what
made you fall in love with this sport?
>> Oh, no. This is okay. This is like the
kind of question that a mentor coach
would ask you like, you know, like a
sports performance coach, you know,
they'd be like, "What is your why?"
Like, "Why do you really do the sport?"
And like, you know, "What are your three
values?" And like, "What are you going
to do when you compete?" You have to
like live up to those three values,
right? I do not have an answer for this.
When did I fall in love with the sport?
I don't know. I guess like like my my
real answer is like like from the first
day I was like this is amazing. And
every single day I experienced the exact
same thing over again which is just like
you know someone is trying to do
something horrible to me. I'm trying to
do something horrible to them and we're
both sweaty and we don't think about
anything else and we're problem solving
which is like you know whatever like
cerebral like tickles the intellectual
whatever. And I feel like those things
combined make jiu-jitsu just like the
perfect activity and it's very addictive
and probably like like maybe I'm just
like chemically addicted to it, you
know? Um I really need to think of a
better answer to this because I know
that people are going to ask me this in
the future, but I cannot give you like a
like a um what like like an internal
validation kind of situation. I I I
could not tell you why I compete or why
I make reals besides like it's fun and I
feel like I'm like getting better at it
every day and that just makes me want to
do it more.
>> I have to tell you, I appreciate that
just as much as anybody being like, I
knew exactly when. Like I find that very
funny. It's honest. It's just you
telling me, Raph, I don't know why my
brain do what it do, but it do. though I
I can get that.
>> I do.
>> The thing that fascinates me is I do
always appreciate people who
>> they can't explain the why or the magic,
but they just know they're a part of it.
So, there was a part that you just
eventually got to where you said, "Nah,
I love whatever this is." despite all of
its crazy, despite all of its
unorganizedness
and all of its chaos, there's something
appealing to that. So now, you know,
you've made your way all the way to a
black belt and being an instructor. What
is like the best thing that you feel
that you've learned along that journey?
because you know obviously you have a
great perspective on
what this sport is and the the foables
that make it funny but like what do you
feel like you've learned the most in
that journey thus far?
>> Oh this is a serious question
I have a I have a serious answer for it.
So, you know, like all the self-help
like, you know, things and uh podcasts,
they'll tell you this one thing that I
feel like is very true, which is like
you are created by your behavior and you
need to think of like what you want to
be, not what you not like who you are
now, right? And like once you like have
an idea of like who you actually want to
be, then you're going to start to have
behaviors that match up with that future
version of yourself and and then like
you're just going to slowly become that
person, right? And so like that's why I
feel like I don't have an answer to uh
like when was that like one point that I
started loving jiu-jitsu because I feel
like it just like like I was like, "Oh,
I'm going to be a black belt one day."
Like I just decided, right? Like the
first literally the first day I was
like, "Oh, I'll just just do this
forever." And then like I like every day
you just like do more and then you just
become more like a black belt and then
like one day you're a black belt, right?
I feel like um yeah, so like you know
not everything is like that. You can't
just like uh do something over and over
and hope that you're going to get
better. But I do feel like if you have
if you have a goal, you know, you have
to think of yourself like, okay, this
I'm not a good person to ask this
because I'm not a world champion, but
like you know, the advice from a mental
performance coach would be, you know, if
you want to be a world champion, you
need to think of yourself as a world
champion already. And then you need to
act as if you're a world champion, which
means you're going to be training like
one, you're going to be eating like one,
you're going to be talking about
yourself like one, right? And then and
then uh slowly like all of those habits
and behaviors will add up and then
you're going to be you're going to you
know eventually like at least be like
mentally ready to embrace that like role
when when it comes right and if it
doesn't come then you're going to be
like pretty good at jiu-jitsu anyway
right so I think that's like what I've
taken away uh and I uh I try to despite
like a lot of like self-deprecation on
like social media like they're usually
pretty light-hearted but I would say
like I try to talk about myself
positively and I try to surround myself
with people who like talk about me
positively to to me and to other people
cuz I feel like that also like changes
how you see yourself and the and the the
uh the better you see yourself the more
that you're going to like live up to
that.
>> I find this so fascinating. I'm going to
have to shoot
Steve a note. But like how did I get
more to the mental stuff than he does?
I'm like no that's his department. I'm
going to have to tell him later. I'm
like, for a show that has taken interest
in you from BJJ Mental Models to come on
the grappling hour and be like, whoa,
hold on,
hold on. This is breaking me. I don't
know. I a real answer. I'm like, no, no,
no. I just I'm fascinated because you do
have so much in you and the way that you
do your comedy and the the observations
that you make are so specific that it's
like that's come from years of doing
this like you ingesting this and finding
that love and that passion that maybe
you don't think about it or the why or
anything like that. But even in your
explanation of like what you've learned,
you've accumulated so much stuff that
you have these goals or these things
where you're saying like, "Oh, I'm not a
world champion yet." But it's like, I
don't know, man. If I was belting people
for content on their videos,
black belt, black belting content. Like
I've just recently floated the idea of
starting to do a podcast belting system
and being like my child Nikki Rod you're
a you're a blue belt but a one stripe
blue belt.
>> I'm seeing some good notes here. You got
over a hundred episodes my son you get a
stripe today. Like I think that's the
world that we play in. I just feel like
it is always funny to me when I see your
answer could not be more you in a way
that is both funny and honest and I
think that's great. So A+ on that. I do
have to ask some questions here because
I'm looking behind you and I've seen
these online and I have laughed my ass
off. But tell me about these these
little things that you have made and
where they come from, how you came up
with that idea, cuz they are the most
adorable little additions I have seen in
terms of merch. Please tell me more
about them.
>> Okay, logistically, where do these come
from? These Okay, first of all, these
are Baron Bolo plushies. It's a It's a
bear and a bowl of acai. you know, it's
a clay on the ward barolo for anyone who
doesn't get it. Um, on the back we've
got like nutrition facts about the Baron
Bolo. You know,
100% fun, 10% function, neck pain, 30%
back pain, whatever. You know, you got
you get it. Okay. Baro. All right. Where
do they come from? They come from China.
I I got I uh I designed them and then
like I had a company or like a
manufacturer in China like make them and
then I got like you know a couple
hundred of them shipped to my house and
now I'm selling them. Um and why did I
make them? I'm I'm a big like plushy
person. I'm all about like you need to
embrace like every part of yourself,
right? So like while I you know I want
to be like a great black ball. I want to
be a good athlete, you know, all those
things. I also like want to like connect
to my like childhood self, right? Which
means like if I love Pokemon, I'm going
to tell everybody that I love Pokemon.
And if you want to trade Pokemon with
me, let me know. Pokemon Arus and
Shining Pearl. I I have almost like the
complete decks right now. Let me show
you some of my plushies.
>> Oh, please. Yes, cuz I saw the fox back
there and I wanted to know more about
that.
>> Yeah, there's a fox. Okay, just a tiny a
tiny tour. Wait, wait, wait, wait. See,
there's a another uh shelf of plushies.
Um here, this is a exclusive peak. I
tried to make an um platypus plushy.
Oops. Oops. Platypus.
Oh, this. It's got like shark a shark
tattoo, right? It's it's very like
jiu-jitsu.
>> Um even even like I don't know if this
is better or worse. This is a crab ride
plushy. Also just a prototype. Um yeah.
Anyway, so like my entire house looks
like this. there just like a million
plushies because I love plushies and I
wanted to make my own and I was like
there's no market for jiu-jitsu plushies
and there like maybe there's a reason
maybe like people don't actually want
jiu-jitsu plushies. I watch Shark Tank
sometimes. Mark Cuban says he's like if
you found a niche that you feel like has
never been explored and you Google it
and it doesn't exist. It might not exist
because a million people tried it and it
actually didn't work. And so like you
know it could be like this is not
something that people want but I have I
don't know it's gotten like pretty good
reception. So, if you want a jiu-jitsu
plushy
made, designed by me, manufactured by
Chinese factories, um,
buttscooterjisu.com.
But scooterjitsu.com. The bear comes
out. It has a ghee on it and it's a it's
a I don't know. It's a basai.
>> Okay. Okay. Questions. Okay. First of
all, thank you for sharing all that.
Second of all,
>> oh my god. It's like the attention to
detail is great. Does the bear have
stitches on the top of its head?
>> It does. Yes. Wait. Wait.
>> It It trains very hard, so it has
stitches.
>> Okay. I love that. But like, tell me for
you. It sounds like Pokemon was a thing
because that that plata one and I don't
want to get anybody sued here
>> and I don't know my Pokemon as well as
most people but like that's the most not
zyduck zuck I've ever seen in my life.
And I
>> I'm like it's for sure it's a it's a
Maiduck. Yep. That's what that is. So
when I'm looking at this, you said it
almost worked to me that's pretty damn
close. So like what's not working about
it?
>> So it's a little big first of all as a
plush. Second is that platypuses, you
know, in general don't have very long
arms. So this is not actually an oval
plat, right? This is like a this is like
a shitty Americana situation happening.
And I just I could not get the
manufacturers to get an internal
rotation on this elbow and like to get
this like leg over. So, um it's also
expensive to make plushies. You have to
make them in like a, you know, a bulk
and then you have to be able to sell
that bulk. So, like inventory is always
a problem. You know, as you can see, I
have a lot of plushies left. So, if
anyone wants plushy, please, please, you
know, support support your local athlete
content creator. Um uh yes, it does look
like a a side, I guess. Um, should I say
that out loud? Um,
>> no. I say, see, if I say it, it's
different. So,
>> it's very different. If you say it, it's
like you thought it, but you know what?
It's how it came back to you. So,
>> yeah. Well, so I'm not going to sell the
pot. Like, that's that's a prototype.
And I feel like uh it's not it's
probably not realistic for me to like
start a blush a plushy small business.
And it's also like a lot of work and a
lot of time, but uh yeah, it does exist
there. Um, and uh, yeah, that's that's I
have a I have an own sticker if anybody
wants an sticker.
>> See? Okay. Sorry, got my brain thinking.
>> Maybe they can't make it yet, right?
>> Uhhuh.
>> I think Puss is a great children's book
character.
So,
>> just saying like you might be starting
this right now. You don't have to get a
show on air to create the next Pokemon.
You could just do a line of books about
these things as you're creating them.
Cuz that Baron bolo, it's pretty cute.
And I want to know how he got in that
acai cuz like we talking a poo situation
here where he was just attracted to the
honey and he's like, "Oh no, I fell in."
like like I need to know more about
these guys and I'm wondering like
creativity like there's some
possibilities of you with that pen
putting stuff there and then the
manufacturers will probably start to
come if
>> they're seeing visuals of like I guess
they really like this over. I'm just
happy that you're able to make this
happen because
>> it's taking the love you had as a child
>> and finding a way to embrace that for
yourself and give it to new people and
new generations. So like you clearly
have collected plushies for a long time.
Do you know what your first plushie was?
>> Uh yeah, that's like probably the most
personal question that you can ask me. I
don't even want to share that. Like
>> Okay. It was a It was a bear and it was
like a clown like a clown bear and it
name is Parsley. I still have it in my
like childhood home. But yeah. Yeah.
Yeah.
>> I didn't think that would be the one
that crossed the line
>> in my many years of doing this. There's
never been a moment where I felt like I
crossed the line more. I was like, Raph,
that's a personal question. And no, I
will not answer what my number one was.
But if you must know, it was a bear in a
cloud. It's my rose bud.
>> Uh, okay. Well, I the reason I asked
this now is because I like seeing the
entrepreneurial spirit. I love seeing
those. I loved that. I've seen them on
your your Instagram and I thought they
were so cute and you're doing a great
job of finding new avenues to get people
excited and to really like foster that
creativity in jiu-jitsu. like it's not
just a video thing. It's now creating
merch. As somebody who sells their own
merch, I know this hustle. I know how
crazy it can be. And a lot of the times
for us on the merch side for imposttor
syndrome, I was always like, who's going
to buy this stuff?
>> Like,
>> nobody's out there clamoring to do it.
And then lo and behold, people are like,
I'll take a couple. I'll take this. I'll
take that. So, it's just a constant
reminder of like, oh, people want to
show they support you. That's cool. But
like, believe you me, for years, the
reason why we didn't have merch is
because it was like, nobody's begging to
have one of these things. And then you
find that your friends are like, "Dude,
I love your show. I want to get a
shirt." And you're like, "Should
probably make shirts, right?
>> Fine."
>> Yours is just a cute thing that I'm
like, "Dude, that's a big business. So,
like, let's not let Pokemon make all the
money. How about you make some money,
too?" You know what I'm saying?
>> Yeah. It's a tricky situation for sure.
Like a lot of people, they always say
they want to support you because I think
they genuinely do. But then like once
you make the product, sometimes it kind
of like depends on what the product is,
like how much they're willing to like
actually like monetary monetarily
support you. So like being able to like
gauge actual interest and like convert
that to sales. I feel like it's been
Yeah, definitely like learned a lot.
>> Nice. And I feel like you also you do
seminars and I feel like some people
have books Chris Wick boo. But like they
sell that over in the corner like that
is your book. You can have that as your
extra merch whenever you go do that. So
uh I think that's a that's a cool thing
to do.
>> Uh Beatatric, we have hit our so
normally when we do that I always ask
people to close the show if they want to
give any shoutouts or give any thanks to
sponsors or anything like that. So, I'm
going to put the camera on you. Anybody
you want to thank or give a shout out
to, all on you right now.
>> Okay. Um,
first shout out. Okay. I teach at Kogan
Academy. It's in Arlington, Virginia. If
anybody wants to train here. Um, we're
right here. We've got judo, jiu-jitsu,
Muay Thai, and yoga. And also a full
stock of plushies at the gym. Um, we
have two women's open mats on Friday and
Sunday. It's one of the best, like most
competitive, largest women open mats
ongoing. um twice a week, every week for
eternity hopefully. But it's it's been
going on for three three years and it's
it it will continue to be going on if
you come to visit Arlington Virginia at
Kan Academy. K O G A I O N. Um what did
you ask? Sponsors. Sponsors. Um I guess
if we're going to shout out sponsors
like BJ Mental Models has been
sponsoring me for probably
at least three or four years now.
Gaidama as well, three or four years. I
feel like they've been really consistent
people and I've also like gotten to know
them over that that course of time. I
feel like they present as like very um
just like very like humble like
hardworking like small businesses and
like watching them grow has been
amazing. And I feel like I really feel
like as an athlete like having like
grown with them and also like created
content with them throughout. So um
shout out to those two. And I think I
think that's probably it. Yeah, but
scooters jiu-jitsu is my is my brand.
You can follow buttscooterjisu on
Instagram and also buttscooterjitsu.com
for plushies such as these.
>> Beatric, I have to thank you so much for
your time. You are doing great things. I
cannot emphasize that enough. We need
more joy in this world and I feel like
your videos are always a constant amount
of joy and I can't tell you to make more
because it's a lot of work. But like
every time I see it, I just know
something good is coming and it's so
nice to have things like that in our
community that is oversaturated with
dumb bro humor. So, I appreciate it. I
hope to continue to see more of it. I'm
pretty sure I will. But I'm also hoping
one day I kind of see some footage of
you doing standup because
just itch that once you get it out of
your system or next thing you know we're
watching your comedy special on Hulu.
Who knows? Who's to say? But
>> bare minimum
>> bare minimum the the the YouTube space
for long form content long form
jiu-jitsu content among female athletes
is very small right now. So that would
be the next space. And if you see that
happening, you should be like, "Oh,
maybe she'll just stand up one day."
>> You know, you're not wrong. I I think it
is coming. And we invite it because uh
I'll tell you this much. They there's
plenty of dude hosts. Oh, we could we
could use a few more ladies getting on
the microphone and uh giving more
spotlights to other ladies as only they
can because you mentioned having two
women's open mats. That's awesome. Like
>> it's great because the best way that you
uh handle the problem is you just create
the avenue where they can go and you say
like, "Hey, everybody's safe here. We do
it like this. We don't have dumb goons
trying to kill you guys. It's just
ladies trying to kill each other." And
that's just as cool whenever they're
that competitive because I don't know if
you've ever seen a really good female
competitor audience, but they can be
even more incredibly technical and
vicious at the same time, which is a
high difficult hat to hit. But I
appreciate your time. I'm going to close
this off and then I'm going to say bye
to you off air. But my thanks to you,
Beatatrice. Continue doing the great
work that you do.
>> Thank you. Thank you for having me. This
was a really fun conversation.
>> Likewise. All right, ladies and gents,
that's going to do it for us here at the
Grappling Hour. Thank you so much for
watching. We love and appreciate you
guys. A couple quick reminders. First
and foremost, like, comment, subscribe.
I told you at the very beginning of the
show. If you had something to put in the
comments section, cool. But if you
didn't, I have a thing, a prompt for
you. What is the first plushie you have
bought or bought for somebody else? I
don't have a ton of plushies, but when I
was a kid, my parents would always get
like stuffed animals. I loved winning
stuffed animals whenever I went to a
carnival. I've given some away to some
ladies over the years.
Some I shouldn't
should have kept those. But nonetheless,
I'd love to hear what your favorite
plushy is. So like, comment, subscribe.
You can also head on over to
patreon.com/grappling.
Check out your boy. Five bucks a month,
30 days before anybody else with any of
these interviews. and extra bonus
content for those who pay a few extra
dollars and support the show. It means a
lot. Additionally, you can also get some
comment.
You can get some love for your comments.
Those words weren't right. You can also
get some merch. Go to rapparza.com/merch
grappling hourgeear. But I mean,
honestly, go to butt scooter. Like, like
you want to get Look how adorable this
[ __ ] is. Look at that. Look at it. It's
cute.
Normally, this is where I plug my stuff.
Go get hers. That's way cooler than a
t-shirt this week. We'll plug it for
other people, but like that. Go get that
today. And last but not least, you can
join us on Discord to continue the
conversations we have around the show.
And if you did want to get a shirt, you
can go to rapo.com/mar.
But but scooter jiu-jitsu, go there, get
one of those plushies. They're super
cute, and it's a good way of telling a
content creator who gives you content
for free that you like their stuff. You
cheat bastards. Support people in
jiu-jitsu so that they can continue
doing what they like doing. All right,
guys. That's going to do it for us here
at the Grappling Hour. Thank you so much
for watching. We appreciate you guys.
It's been a great day for grappling.
We'll see you back on the mats.
Perfect.
Hey, hey, hey.
