Age- 15

State- Columbus, OH

Belt- Yellow

School- Mat Lab BJJ

Instructor- Travis Haynes

Instagram- @miamariejiujitsu

Goals

My goal is to one day go as far as I can in BJJ getting my coral/red belt. I want to always have BJJ in my life, become an official coach and one day have my own gym.

Journey

My journey with martial arts had first started when I was 10 years of age. I was severely bullied in elementary school at the time and started dealing with anxiety. I lost all of my confidence and struggled to make connections with new people. I had tried to do Krav Maga, boxing, and Muay Thai but none of them really gave me confidence like Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu did. After 3 years my mom found Mat Lab. At first, I was hesitant because I didn’t want to start fresh at a new team with new people. I decided I would go and try a class and I immediately fell in love with the art and the team. Everyone was so welcoming and my professor took me in like I was his own kid at the gym.

BJJ helped me to regain that confidence and control my anxiety better because everyone had their own individual path, no one had the same one and I wasn’t judged or made fun of for that. It quickly became my safe place, my happy place, and just like another home for me.