Today we’d like to introduce you to Pedro Araujo.
Pedro was born on October 15, 1989 in in Belo Horizonte – state of Minas Gerais, Brazil. As many children before him, Pedro’s initiation in martial arts was made through judo, a sport he played throughout his childhood, competing on a regional and state level.
In 2009, he decided to give mixed martial arts (MMA) a try, influenced by the sport’s boom at the turn of the decade. After 3 months of MMA practice, the gym where he trained cancelled the classes, leading Pedro to pick up on jiu jitsu. He knew very little about grappling, but it was the only martial art left on the time-table for which he was curious about, particularly since a few of the jiu jitsu students also participated in the MMA training.
Pedro’s first jiu jitsu coaches were Marcelo “Uirapuru” and Sérgio Benini at Gracie Barra Belo Horizonte (BH). Araújo stood out from the get-go, conquering numerous important state tournaments with the help of his coaches and Cássio Francis, one of the team’s top black belts.
In 2012, Pedro made use of the excellent network provided by Gracie Barra BH and travelled to Los Angeles to participate in a Romulo Barral training camp ahead of the IBJJF World Championships. Until then, Pedro had divided his time between training and a law degree at the University of Belo Horizonte, though the trip and his win at the World Championship that year, made him re-think his life-plans. He decided then to take jiu jitsu as his full-time occupation, moving to the US where he could be closer to a professional environment.
While in the US, Pedro made Gracie Barra Northridge his home, earning both of following belts (purple and brown) from the team’s leader, Romulo Barral, at the podium of the World Championships. It was also at GB Northridge That Pedro found his interest in coaching, making that a big part of his grappling evolution.
Although he had the full support of teammates such as Christian Bello in the US, on July 2015 unforeseen circumstances drove Pedro away from the sport. While on the verge of quitting jiu jitsu for good, Gracie Barra BH’s founder, Vinícius “Draculino” managed to convince Araújo to return to the sport, opening the doors of his academy in Texas to Araújo.
Pedro’s return to the US was also linked with a new start as a team leader himself at a new Gracie Barra affiliate academy, this time in Heights – Houston TX. The gym was opened in August of 2016.
Main Achievements:
World Champion (2015 brown, 2014 purple, 2012 blue absolute)
World No-Gi Champion (2013 purple)
Pan American Champion (2014 purple)
World Championship Runner-up (2012 blue)
World No-Gi Championship Runner-up (2014 brown)
Abu Dhabi World Pro Runner-up (2014 purple)
World No-Gi Championship 3rd Place (2014 brown)
Abu Dhabi World Pro 3rd Place (2015 brown)
Pan American Championship 3rd Place (2015 brown weight + absolute, 2014 purple absolute)
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
it has not been a smooth road, the challenge of moving to a new city to open a brand-new business was a huge step to overcome. I’ve been away from family and childhood friends since I moved to us in 2012. and leaving the friends I made back in California to move to a city where I knew just a few people was hard. finding the right location, the right real state was very frustrating at first. As my first business the daily operations can be very challenge and hard on your mind and body. working 16 hours a day can be hard and stressful but it’s worth when you see the business growing and the impact on people’s life.
Gracie Barra Heights – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
Gracie Barra Heights is a martial arts studio, specialized in Brazilian jiu jitsu for kids and adults, we also offer fitness classes and striking classes. We are most proud at heights is the passion that we have for what we do.
My motivation is PASSION. I have a deep passion for what I do.
A lot of you don’t know but I didn’t choose to do Jiu Jitsu, or even to teach. I didn’t even know a single Jiu Jitsu movement until 8 years ago.
When I started training Jiu Jitsu, that passion inflamed inside of me, and that’s what made me change my life around Jiu jitsu.
I truly think the WORD behind all of this is BELIEVE!
I truly believe that Jiu Jitsu can change lives, can make people be better at work, at home, etc.
The discipline and commitment that is necessary to train Jiu Jitsu can shine on all other areas of your life.
And what sets me a part is the gym #DONTSETTLEFORAVERAGE , I believe on that and I make that my constant goal in life, to be better, to do more, and that reflects daily at the gym.
What is “success” or “successful” for you?
success for me is have constantly goals and be able to achieve then, if you can set goals, hard ones and be able to achieve then. that would be what I consider success, believe in yourself enough to set hard goals and make then happen. and I believe that’s how I live my life, constantly looking for the next step, for the higher step, to make unattainable things possible. success is the excitement I have every day to wake up and do what I love, I feel I’m successful because the goals that I set, makes me excited to wake up every day and work, harder and harder.
Contact Info:
- Address: 4721 N. Main St, Suite T
- Website: www.gb-heights.com
- Phone: 2818886821
- Email: info@gb-heights.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/gbheights and instagram.com/pedro_araujo
- Facebook: facebook.com/pedroaraujobjj and facebook.com/gbheights
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/gracie-barra-heights-houston-houston
Image Credit:
Irull Photos, Hector Hernandez
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