Mendes Bros. Academy Grand Opening
by Gabriel Alconcel
COSTA MESA, California — On Sunday, July 1st, 2012 at 1:00 pm, the Mendes Bros. officially opened up their own academy in Orange County, California. The brothers named their school, “Art of Jiu Jitsu Academy.”
Rafael and Guilherme Mendes are Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belts from Team Atos under Ramon Lemos. The brothers began training over ten years ago in their hometown of Rio Claro, a tiny town located in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
Over the years, the brothers have held an incredible track record on the competition circuit. Rafael is a 6x world champion (all belts) and a 2x ADCC champion. Guilherme is a 7x world champion at various belt levels.
The two are also the only brothers to claim the highly coveted world title in the same year at the black belt level.
After teaching numerous seminars all over the world for the last few years, the Mendes brothers finally decided to settle down and host the inaugural day of their academy with a free seminar and free tacos and acai bowls.
In attendance for the Grand Opening included pro surfers, Joel Tudor and Makua Rothman and top black belts such as Andre Galvao, and Kid Peligro. UFC legend, BJ Penn was present as well. The brothers had nothing but appreciation for RVCA founder, Pat Tenore, who was also in attendance.
Besides the numerous people present, BJJ standouts such as Rolando Samson, Alyssa Mia Wilson, Mike Carbudillo, and the Ruotolo twins also came out to show their support.
The training options at the academy include over 6,400 square feet of mat area, two separate mat rooms, laundry service, a conditioning area, a private parking lot, and the Mendes Bros official store.
OTM and Lucky Gi congratulate the Mendes Bros on the opening of Art of Jiu Jitsu Academy and wishes them continued success!