We were lucky to catch up with Gleidson Cutis recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Gleidson, thanks for joining us today. Let’s kick things off with your mission – what is it and what’s the story behind why it’s your mission?

Our mission statement is: Train and Help people explore their extraordinary life potential, activating their real identity.

We are a Fitness & Martial Arts facility that have a strong Christian values. In the end of the day is all about people, here we use Fitness and martial arts to help people achieve their personal life goals, but as we build relationship we try to develop a genuinely relationship so that we can share life together. Everyone fighting against something on and off the mats, and most of the time is because we don’t see a real meaning in our way to live. For me as Professor, Business Owner, Coach, Writer everything that I do is with Jesus. I don’t see other way for us to activate our real identity if not understand who created us and what they created us for.
We are trichotomy beings – Body / Soul / Spirit, our body we develop on the mats and in fitness room, our soul which is relate with are emotions also get help from it. But as I connect more with a members I’m trying to help them develop that area more and introduce the Jesus who saved and transformed my life. That’s the only way to work in our spirit is through our creatures.
That’s what moves me daily basis.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I am a guy from brazil, who had a dream to become a professional fighter and one day living in USA and share his knowledge with others. All that come through, but wasn’t that easy. The story is so crazy that I wrote a book called “On the Mat with Christ”, talking about this and many more. I thought for long time be a fighter is all know how to do it. Overtime starting teaching really young I found different pleasure in it, which was helping others with my skills. More then that, when I was be able to understand who I was deeply I figured that I wasn’t a fighter, fighting is just what I choose to do for a living. I got me bachelor degree in Brazil for Physical Education and I thought also be a professor/coach is also part of my identity but all those things is what I’ve decided to do. I struggle with that for a while and see many people today struggling with the same thing. When I understand I’m not a fighter, or coach, or racional animal or amiguinha like the world tells me, life for much easier and better. God says: I am his image and his likeness, have this reveled to my heart change my way to being. I decide that I could do anything, decide to write books, teaching others things not just relate to martial arts and fitness, decide to develop more of me and this is so awesome. Because I really feel I’m able to do anything and it’s the same felling that I want to help people with. For this I had to face many traumas and bad beliefs I had in my life, had to learn about others areas, study others areas and this help me transform and activity my identity for good.
The only thing I looking in life is to impact and contribute for as many life as possible that cross with mine.

I really believe my MESSY LIFE STORY CAN BE A GREATE LIFE MESSAGE, in the end of the day it’s all about people.

We need people, we are relational creatures and be here in USA meeting everyday new people, new languages, new cultures it’s awesome. We are so different, but seems life story’s very similar in many areas.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

When I move to USA 2015, I had work visa for a specific place that I could teach martial arts only for them. 2018 I got divorce in the beginning of the year, April of the same year I travel for Italy to perform a professional fight in Rimini-Italy, when I got back to USA. I got fired from the place I used to teach, no notice. I remover just one phrase “You can no longer work with us anymore” and that’s it, meeting is over. The problem was, My personal life was suck, recently divorce my ex-wife back to Brazil with our daughter, now I got fired. Part of the deal teaching martial arts for this place that I used was, they provide a apartment to live, a car and a salary for teach for them. I got fired now, I don’t have just a job anymore, but also, no more car and no more house, going through divorce and many others personal problems. I saw my life hit the rock bottom, thought about give up life for a second. But, God bring me back. My desire was to die and I felt in my hear if I really want to die that I die for Him. So I did, repent all again and decide to give all to God and follow his way not mine anymore. I move to a friend apartment, live with him for months, never ask from a dollar, eat his food and sleep on his place. He helped me buy another car and start drive for Apps (Uber,, Lift) around the city of San Antonio. Couple months later the investor of the place I used to work invite me over to teach a private class for him, he got to know me more and my love for martial arts and people in general. He saw a lot of potentiometer in me, and onde day drove around with me in San Marcos Area and rent a place and build a gym for me and gave to me. The year of 2018 from the rock bottom, my life turnover the way O never expected.
Christimas of the same year, I was working inside the gym to get ready to open on January of 2019, the best part was I had Carol (she become a girlfriend little before this), today she is my wife. Couple months later she had to go back to Brazil, visa issues and still until today in Brazil. We have been married for couple years now, since then I leading fighteria on my way the best way I can. God send another person that saw what we were doing through fighteria and help me grow te business exponentially to another level. I’m still facing a lot of challenges 4 years far away from my wife and my daughter in Brazil. This is a small portion of it, but knowing how the future will be, I wake up everyday thanking God for all and asking him to show me who is the next person that I have to connect more to talk about his Love. That’s when I believe my messy life can be a message of life. With all of this we keep on moving forward not looking only for what we want, but most of what God asking us for.

Can you talk to us about how your funded your business?

When I open fighteria 07/01/19 I had no idea how it going to be, I knew about my fight business. I was a fighter, but I didn’t know nothing about business in general. Still learning on now days and always will, but the good thing is all of this is to see that if God promises he will do it. Last day in Brazil before move to America, my friend that lead me to Jesus told me: God show me in dream last night, that he will put someone on your life that will change you entire story completely. Today I look back, the first person the open a gym for me when I was on my worse moment was that person, after open the gym and share His love with others he send another person 3 months after I open fighteria. This incredible Christian man, saw what we were doing at fighteria and decide to help me out, this come from his heart, I had no idea. Getting to know me more and more, we become a good friend, one day he donate to me the full amount I need to pay back the first man the open the gym for me and not just that, couple months later he purchase a huge property and build a bigger gym 4x bigger that the first fighteria. Now I need employees to grow the business, I remover look back on the same year we open, more certainly in November we move to a new location. The gym grew exponentially and still now days. I personally baptized couple students and other employee, every time I can I help me with what I have the best which is Jesus. Many other people come to Christ.

Thinking about the capital to start the business, I didn’t have any. I had a promise that I not even was remembered back them. And everything happens just because I still faithful. Many people come close to me for that lifestyle I have and many others decide to walk away for the same reason. Moral of the story for me is: If God told me and show to me what is going to be and how need to be, let people talk. My job in the end of the day is to love people. I’m trying to do this genuinely every day of my life.

I thankful for every single person send in my way to make all of this happens, hope one day do the same for others!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.Fighteriaacademy.com
• Instagram: gleidsonponey / fighteriaacademy
• Facebook: Gleidson Poney / Fighteria Academy
• Youtube: Fighteria Academy