Run an MMA Gym with Its Owner

About this experience

See both sides of a busy MMA gym: the mat and the front desk. You will take the morning class, then help Andre coach a beginner session, learning how he keeps new members safe and coming back.

Midday is all business: membership software, pricing, churn, insurance, coach pay and the math of running a fight team that rarely pays for itself. Andre shares real numbers and the mistakes he made in his first two years.

Your day

1. 9:00 AM

   Morning class

   Train in the all-levels class to see the curriculum from a student’s side.

   1 hr 30 min

2. 10:30 AM

   Assistant coach a class

   Help Andre run a beginner class, correcting technique and keeping partners paired well.

   1 hr 30 min

3. 12:00 PM

   Lunch

   Lunch with Andre and one of his coaches.

   1 hr

4. 1:00 PM

   Front desk and memberships

   Handle trial sign-ups, see the membership dashboard and walk through pricing and churn.

   1 hr 30 min

5. 2:30 PM

   Fight team meeting

   Sit in as coaches plan matchmaking and camps for the team’s upcoming bouts.

What’s included

• Class access and loaner gear
• Lunch
• Gym operations checklist and pricing worksheet

Good to know

• Training is light contact only; no sparring is required, and you can observe any drill instead.
• All guests sign a liability waiver and must be 18+.
• Bring athletic wear without zippers or pockets, flip-flops for off the mat and a water bottle.

Your curator

Andre SilvaBJJ black belt, 9 years as a gym owner

Andre Silva earned his Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt in São Paulo and fought professionally for six years before opening his gym. It now has about 400 members and a small amateur and pro fight team. He still teaches the 6 AM fundamentals class himself.