FXBG Neighbors Podcast
Fredericksburg Neighbors Podcast
FXBG Neighbors Podcast
EP #40 Grappling with Success: Nexus American Jiu Jitsu's Community Journey
Martial arts enthusiasts and aspiring entrepreneurs alike will find inspiration in my conversation with Gannon Lang, founder of Nexus American Jiu Jitsu in Fredericksburg. From humble beginnings as a soccer player seeking something new, Gannon's 11-year journey in Jiu Jitsu transformed into a thriving business with 200 members and over 300 five-star Google reviews in just two years.
Gannon dispels common misconceptions about Jiu Jitsu, particularly the confusion with MMA. At Nexus, there are no strikes – making it considerably safer than most people imagine. What began as a "Fight Club" atmosphere a decade ago has evolved into a welcoming community for practitioners of all ages, starting from just four years old. Parents will appreciate learning how Jiu Jitsu builds extraordinary confidence and mental toughness in children, preparing them for future success beyond the mat.
The conversation takes a fascinating turn when Gannon explains the distinction between Brazilian and American Jiu Jitsu – a hot topic in martial arts circles. Nexus embraces the more relaxed "American" approach, creating a culture reminiscent of surfing or skateboarding rather than rigid militaristic training. This philosophy extends to his ambitious vision: making Fredericksburg a worldwide destination for Jiu Jitsu enthusiasts. For entrepreneurs in any field, Gannon offers hard-won wisdom about building the right team and the critical mindset shift from practitioner to business owner. Follow Nexus American Jiu Jitsu on Instagram @Nexus_AJJ or visit NexusAJJ.com to learn more about this growing Fredericksburg success story.
Gannon Lang
Nexus American Jiu Jitsu
nexusajj.com
+1 540-870-0080
NexusAJJ@gmail.com
This is the Fredericksburg Neighbors Podcast, the place where local businesses and neighbors come together. Here's your host, Dori Stewart.
Speaker 2:Welcome back to another episode of the Fredericksburg Neighbors Podcast, where we share the stories of our favorite local brands. I'm excited to introduce you to my guest today. His name is Gannon Lang, with Nexus American Jiu Jitsu. Gannon, welcome to the podcast.
Speaker 3:Good morning, Dory. Thank you so much for having me.
Speaker 2:Well, I'm excited to dive in and learn a little bit more about you and your business. So let's start there. Share with the listeners a little bit about your business business.
Speaker 3:So let's start there. Share with the listeners a little bit about your business, for sure. So, like you said, my name is Gannon from Nexus American Jiu Jitsu. I have been training Jiu Jitsu as of last month, about 11 years now. So Nexus is about two years old. We have about 200 members, we have a little bit over 300 five-star Google reviews and we are growing every day. So we are right next to American Family Fitness, right off of exit 126.
Speaker 2:Oh, amazing, Amazing. Okay, so thank you for sharing that. Let me I'm curious how did you get into this? Share with us a little bit about your journey. I'm curious.
Speaker 3:How did you get into this? Share with us a little bit about your journey, for sure. So I went to Riverbend High School. I was born and raised in Fredericksburg, virginia, saw Hill for people who live around that area. So I started Jiu Jitsu when I was 17 years old I'm 28 now so I was training soccer actually at the time and I was just looking for a different sport to get into. That was a little bit easier for me. I had to try very hard to be even decent at soccer. I played for FSCI Phoenix for people who may know them locally so when I got into Jiu Jitsu it kind of took over my life. So when I got into Jiu Jitsu it kind of took over my life.
Speaker 3:I am kind of one of those people that if I get interested in something I really chase it 100%. So everything else kind of ceased to exist. I did not end up going, or I actually went to UMW for about a year. I ended up dropping out of UMW because I kind of knew what I wanted to do with my future. Knew what I wanted to do with my future. So, yeah, Jiu Jitsu was just one of those martial arts and sports for me that I could really put my all into and kind of create a business around it. So I've been teaching and training now for, I would say, the last six or seven years. It did take some time to kind of get people to trust me and teaching them this martial art, but it's kind of becoming larger and larger, especially over the last couple of years, with the UFC kind of adopting it and Joe Rogan adopting it and all of those good things. So yeah, that's a little background on how I got into it.
Speaker 2:Amazing. So you said that when you tried it, that it kind of consumed, you took over your life. So what was it? Tell us a little bit about that. What was it that had that much appeal for you?
Speaker 3:Totally so. I think number one would be the community. The community in Jiu Jiu Jitsu is very, very tight-knit. We say it lovingly, but it's a cult. Definitely, if you meet someone across the world and they do jiu jitsu as well, you automatically have that connection with them. You can, you can break bread with them. Um, so the community is definitely a big piece for me. Um, I was also, you know, coming up in soccer. It's a team sport. Jiu jitsu is, it has team aspects, but it's not a team sport, it's one-on-one. So it was always just a situation of I wanted a sport where everything was on me, I succeed and fail on my own, so that it had that aspect to it. And also, jiu jitsu is so deep there. There are, you know, multiple ways to train it. You can kind of go towards the sport jiu jitsu route, the self-defense route or the MMA route. I went more towards the sport Jiu Jitsu route, so it just had a very deep pool of techniques that I could explore.
Speaker 2:Interesting, interesting. I did not know there was such a community aspect to it, so that's very interesting. I love that. So tell me, are there any myths or misconceptions that you hear often about your business?
Speaker 3:thing that people think. When they think Jiu Jitsu is MMA, they think that we're beating each other up. They think that we're punching, kicking, kneeing, elbowing each other. There are no strikes whatsoever. No strikes are thrown in in Nexus American Jiu Jitsu at all. Um, it is very safe. It is very rare that you're seeing um injuries. It is one of those sports where, yes, it is a fighting sport, uh, or a combat sport Rather. You will get injuries over time, but I'm about 11 years in and there are only a very small handful of injuries that I would even mention. So it is a lot more beginner friendly than people would think. We don't throw people to the wolves, even though that is a common thing in the industry previously.
Speaker 3:When I first started Jiu Jitsu 10, 11 years ago, it was a fight club. It's exactly what people would think, but nowadays it's more of a business it actually does. The community cares about new people getting into it in a positive way rather than jumping them into the gang.
Speaker 2:Interesting and so I'm curious what age do kids typically like? What age is it recommended kids you know kind of enter into it?
Speaker 3:That's a great question. So out of our 200-ish people, I would say over 100 of them are kids and I would say our kids and teens program is where we really shine in the area. Our kids' classes see upwards of 40 kids on the mats at times. So I would say a great. We accept four and older. So we have a four to six-year-old age group, we have a seven to 12-year-old age group and then we have the teens class and then it goes into the adult class as well. There are specific people shout out to Braxis and Aries Scarberry like they are two of my students that we do allow them to train with the adults. But that is because they can handle that level of training. They've been training for like basically a decade and they're they're teenage or one of them's a teenager, one of them is a little bit younger but some can hang in in those those classes as well. But to answer your question a little bit more succinctly, four years old is a great time to get your ball.
Speaker 2:Interesting. So talk to me a little bit about the benefits of Jiu Jitsu. So you know, there's the physical aspect, you've touched on the community. But talk to us. You know, maybe, maybe, if parents are listening and and they're thinking about enrolling their kids, what are some of the benefits?
Speaker 3:I would say, uh, for kids specifically and parents, like if I'm speaking to a parent trying to get them to understand the benefits of Jiu Jitsu, what I would tell them is this is a sport unlike any other that it is going to teach them not only how to defend themselves. It will also teach them that community aspect, like we already went over, and it will also teach them a kind of mental toughness that you don't experience in other sports, because a lot of other sports are team based, so it doesn't really get them to rely on themselves as well. So it really really pushes them to rely on themselves, have a lot of confidence. We see a lot of people that start at younger ages. By the time that they're a teenager, they are so much more confident than their peers. They are more interested in starting their own business, more interested in really really upgrading their life. So I think it just sets your kids up with a bit of mental fortitude that you won't find with other sports.
Speaker 2:That's a huge benefit. You know, giving kids that confidence and independence, yeah, I love that. That's that's, that's a huge, huge benefit. So thank you for sharing that Absolutely. And so tell me, what should parents look for in finding a gym, or maybe what sets your gym apart?
Speaker 3:For sure, and I think we can answer both of those, because we are unique in the fact that we support cross training. So all of the people that train with us, if they would like to go and taste test another gym, we invite that comparison. So I think that when parents are looking at their area even if they're not in Fredericksburg, for example I would suggest going to multiple schools, kind of getting a taste test. If they're a good gym, they will allow you to have a free class, a free week, something like that. So that is pretty common in the industry that their front end offer is a free class or a free week. I would definitely taste test your local area. Speak to the owner, see if they have multiple instructors. It is a little bit unique.
Speaker 3:Where we kind of set ourselves apart is I do not teach all the classes. We have about 27 classes every single week between adults and kids. I teach two of them. So I have about eight instructors between actual licensed instructors and then assistant instructors as well. So we try to make sure that we have multiple people on the mats for any situation that could arise.
Speaker 3:Like I said, we do have 40 kids on the mat at times, so it becomes kind of a crowding situation or more of a hurting situation, I guess you could say. So what I would say if I were a parent looking for a place to put my child into Jiu Jitsu? I would speak to the instructor, I would definitely do the taste test, take their free trial and try to get a conversation with the owner, because everything kind of trickles down from the top. If you don't have a strong leader in the owner position, then everything else is going to be very disorganized, very hard for you to get information quickly and things like that. So try to find a Jiu Jitsu gym that is run like a business, not just someone who threw mats down and is hoping and praying that they're going to find members.
Speaker 2:That's really really good advice. Thank you for that. And so, speaking of business, what advice would you give an entrepreneur who is thinking about you know, kind of doing what you did and taking their passion and turning it into a business? Do you have any advice?
Speaker 3:Oh, I do yes.
Speaker 2:And.
Speaker 3:I learned this the hard way. I am a very independent person. I do things on my own and to a fault, I moved out of my parents' house when I was 17 and they did nothing wrong whatsoever and we have a great relationship. So I just say that to say, if I were talking to a young entrepreneur just getting started in your early twenties or late teens or whatever the case may be, you are the total of the people that are around you. So I hire quickly and I fire even quicker. I would say I think getting the correct team around you is what is really going to put rocket fuel behind your rocket.
Speaker 3:When I tried to do the small gym previously to opening this facility and just doing private lessons, doing everything myself I like, financially I didn't gain as much. Spiritually I didn't gain as much, and friendship wise I didn't gain as much at all. So I think that getting a good group of people around you to do the work for you in some senses and also be kind of that puppet master, so to speak, you have to work on your business. You can't be working in your business. One of the things that I would say if you're specifically going to open a Jiu Jitsu gym. Accept that you are not going to train as much as you once did. You are now a business owner. It is a completely different role.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's really good advice and I have talked to so many entrepreneurs who are really really good at what they do and they go out and they start a business and they don't realize that they are now going to be running a business and not necessarily doing that thing that they used to love doing day to day. So that's really great advice. Thank you for that. Thank you. So is there anything that you wish the listeners knew about your business?
Speaker 3:Yeah for sure. So I think, something that I didn't exactly talk about before, which I I have a bad habit of this. I really need to highlight this more in these types of things. So the real reason that I started Nexus American Jiu-Jitsu and the real vision behind it was I wanted Fredericksburg, my hometown, to be a destination for Jiu-Jitsu people. I wanted people to say instead of, oh, I really want to go to San Diego and train Jiu-Jitsu, oh, I really want to go to Houston and train Jiu-Jitsu. I want people to say that same thing about Fredericksburg. I don't see why not. So the backstory behind that I got invited back in 2020 to a sponsored fighter's house from a world champion named Keenan Cornelius.
Speaker 3:Notice, we are Nexus American Jiu Jitsu, not Nexus Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, which is a very it is a hot topic in the jiu-jitsu world. So the whole difference between Brazilian and American jiu-jitsu from our point of view is the culture is much more relaxed. It is similar to a surfing, skateboarding culture rather than a militaristic culture. So if people are looking for something that is kind of high and tight, we might not be the place for you. However, we do have rules and we have regulations and things like that, but what I was looking for from my previous gyms that I did not receive was just a little bit less of structure, like I wanted to be able to paint on my own canvas rather than my instructor painting on my canvas for me. So I think that was something that I wanted to be able to paint on my own canvas, rather than my instructor painting on my canvas for me. So I think that was something that I wanted to share a little bit more about.
Speaker 2:Thank you for that Very interesting. So if the listeners want to learn more from you or visit you, tell us how to find you.
Speaker 3:Absolutely so. The best place to find us would probably be either on Instagram or on our website, so at Nexus underscore AJJ or Nexus AJJcom. Both of those would be great places where you can kind of see a little bit more about what we're about and also get just more general information.
Speaker 2:Amazing Gannon, thank you so much for joining me on the podcast today and sharing your business with us.
Speaker 3:Absolutely. Thank you so much for having me. This was awesome.
Speaker 1:Thank you for listening to the Fredericksburg Neighbors Podcast. To nominate your favorite local businesses to be featured on the show, go to fxbgneighborspodcastcom. That's fxbgneighborspodcastcom, or call 540-534-4618.