We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Josh Guerra. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Josh below.
Josh, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Let’s kick things off with your mission – what is it and what’s the story behind why it’s your mission?
The name of my Jiu Jitsu Academy is Refuge Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and we got the name from the Bible in the book of psalms. Specifically psalm 91:2 “I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.””
We took a leap of faith to open the academy and my wife and I believe it was what God was calling to us. More than to just to teach Jiu Jitsu but to change lives. We want to make a positive impact on people’s lives through our passion. That’s our mission, to be a light in our community, to impact lives in a positive way and to do be a place where everyone feels welcome and a part of something!
Josh, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
I started Jiu Jitsu when I 10 years old because I was being bullied in school for being overweight. I wanted to lose weight and build up my self esteem and feel comfortable in my own skin.
From the moment I started training I knew jiu jitsu is what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. I was 10 years old and remember telling my mom that I wanted to do this full time one day. I wanted to be a professional competitor and make a living with Jiu Jitsu. When I was 16 years old I began helping teaching kids Jiu Jitsu and immediately fell in love with teaching and giving back. That’s when I knew I not only wanted to be a professional athlete but I wanted to have my own Jiu Jitsu academy one day and make an impact on people through my passion just like Jiu Jitsu did for me.
Jiu Jitsu taught me about respect, discipline, hard work, and developing a strong work ethic. I built some of my strongest relationships through Jiu Jitsu and even met my wife in the academy we were training at. Jiu Jitsu was more than just a place to train but the place I felt the most comfortable and had all my best friends in that one place.
In 2017 I was working a job I wasn’t happy with while also training Jiu Jitsu and teaching Jiu Jitsu 5-6 days a week and my wife had just found out she was going to be laid off and we found out she was pregnant. We prayed and prayed over what the right decision was for us and we took a leap of faith and felt God was calling us to pursue my dream of opening our own academy. I quit my job and in April of 2018 we open Refuge BJJ in North Phoenix.
In 2022 we moved from our first location to our new 5,000 sq ft facility and are closing in on 300 students.
My goal is more than just to teach Jiu Jitsu but to help change people’s lives. I want them to feel part of a family. I want to help people, plain and simple. God has blessed me with many opportunities to be where I am today and I want to give back and help others like help was given to me.
We offer classes kids as young as 4 years old and run classes 6 days per week. We have the #1 youth team in North Phoenix as well! Weather you want Jiu Jitsu for fitness or competition we offer it all.
Do you have any stories of times when you almost missed payroll or any other near death experiences for your business?
In 2022 when the pandemic hit we were forced to closed our doors for May and June. We began offering virtual classes to try and keep memberships but ultimately weren’t from almost 200 students to a total of less than 60 paying members. People who generously offered to keep paying In support of what we were doing.
In July we opened back up full steam ahead and didn’t require students to wear to masks when training and by the grace of God we grew exponentially. We surpassed the amount of students we had before closing.
What people don’t know is that there was many times we didn’t know if we would reopen. We thought it was the end. Our dream coming to an end. It was devastating, my life’s work, my dream about to die. We prayed and prayed and had faith that whatever was meant to happen would happen. And here we are stronger than ever. God is good!
What’s been the best source of new clients for you?
The best source of generating new clients for us is word of mouth, and competition. We have so many students that come in because they saw someone in the area wearing our gear like t shirts or hoodies. We get people come in who saw our competition results and left their team to be a part of ours.
My goal is to show everyday how much I love what I do. I believe if people see how passionate I am about my art then they’ll fall in love with Jiu Jitsu. It all starts with the coach. I work to build relationships with my students, get to know them and see how our gym can make an impact for them. We aim to make people feel wanted, and a part of something more.
Contact Info:
- Website: RefugeBJJ.com
- Instagram: Refuge_bjj
- Facebook: Refuge BJJ