Tom DeBlass teaches an evening class at his Ocean County BJJ academy.
In 2005, Tom DeBlass was a special education teacher. He quit his teaching job and opened his first school in an industrial park after he was promoted to brown belt.
He put a note on the door because he couldn't afford a sign. Most would be deterred by such a small start. The determination was made by DeBlass.
He needed to learn what worked and what didn't quickly.
He makes $500,000 annually, 11 times his original salary, as the owner-operator of his BJJ academy in Forked River, New Jersey, which sells BJJ instruction videos and gives seminars.
The UFC Macao event will take place on November 10 in Macau. The photo was taken by Josh Hedges of Zuffa.
DeBlass is a two-time Ring of Combat champion and has competed in the UFC and Bellator. He's a 3x North American trial champion, 2x Pan American champion, 2x No-Gi world champion, and a Brown belt national champion.
He has the largest non-Brazilian association and is a third degree black belt. A total of 5,000 students attend his academies.
He didn't expect it to be this way.
Tom DeBlass teaches an evening class at his Ocean County BJJ academy.
He had a penchant for fighting since he was a child. He had his first concussion when he was five years old. He is unafraid to speak his mind on social media.
The ones on the inside have always been the toughest. He has been open about his battles with depression, anger, and suicidal thoughts. He has gotten an income from martial arts. It made him feel better.
He stresses that he is not special or unique.
Tom DeBlass teaches an evening class at his Ocean County BJJ academy.
He says his success is due to extreme resilience. Two years have passed since he hasn't spent a dime on advertising. DeBlass said that word of mouth works best. His plan was to be open about his weaknesses.
Over the past five years, he has amassed 300,000 Facebook andInstagram followers. He had almost 20,000 of them six years ago. He took a decade to become himself. He didn't start lecturing until 2015. It's always late. I only won the brown belt. He said that he won everything.
You can do it if you are disciplined.
Tom DeBlass shows a technique to his students at his academy.
A white belt who had just fallen in love with BJJ exhibited the passion and vigor of a white belt when I entered the academy. It is a feeling unfamiliar to many long time instructors.
That's not DeBlass. Every founder should be careful to cross his t's and dot his I's, that's why he treats his business the same.
It doesn't matter what academy you're in. As long as you care about every student that comes through the door, you give your attention to everyone who walks through that door.
You saw me today and I was passionate. I have been doing this for a long time and I bring the same energy to the mats every day. The people are looking for someone to be their best friend. I have to serve them and if I don't, they'll go somewhere else.
Rivera posed for a photo at Dante's Cafe in New Jersey.
His book How You Bear It was the top seller on Amazon's MMA biographies last year.
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