Today we’d like to introduce you to Thiago Thomaz.
Thiago, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
Success Is Rarely a Straight Line
Good evening everyone,
People often look at success and assume it was planned.
Mine wasn’t.
I was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, but I grew up in Fortaleza, in the northeast of the country, where the ocean was part of everyday life. Some of my earliest memories are of trying to surf. I was too young, the current was too strong, and I almost drowned more than once because I was too stubborn to quit.
Looking back, I realize that persistence has been the one constant throughout my life.
When I was thirteen, my parents divorced. Suddenly our family looked very different. It was my mother, my two sisters, and me. By the time I was seventeen, my mother was pregnant again, and whether I was ready or not, I became the man of the house.
I loved surfing. In fact, I was about to became a professional surfer at eighteen. But passion doesn’t always pay the bills. I knew I had to help support my family.
My first real job was as a host at Pizza Hut. I loved working. I loved earning my own money. After only a few months, I was promoted into management.
Then something happened that completely changed my life.
One evening, some customers noticed me while I was working. The next day they invited me to meet them at a clothing store. I showed up wearing jeans, flip-flops, a tank top, and a terrible surfer’s sunburn.
I had no idea they were one of my hometown top fashion producers, professional models, and designer.
After taking measurements, the designer looked at me and said something I’ll never forget:
“You’re not pretty, but you’re perfect.”
He wasn’t talking about my face. He was talking about proportions. That day they hired me for my very first modeling job.
For a young kid who had never imagined that world, they offered me what felt like an unbelievable amount of money. I remember walking home and handing every dollar to my mother.
That became our tradition.
No matter how much I earned, the money went home.
A year later, I became the first male model from Fortaleza signed by Ford Models São Paulo. Suddenly I was sharing runways and backstage with some of the biggest names in fashion, including Adriana Lima and Gisele Bündchen.
Life looked glamorous from the outside.
But behind the scenes it was castings every day, sharing apartments, constant rejection, and uncertainty.
Then, in August 2001, I received what I thought was my dream opportunity.
I was booked to work in New York City that December.
A month later, September 11th happened.
Every booking disappeared overnight.
Dreams can change in a single day.
Not long after, my friend Seikiti Shimon called from Pittsburgh and said, “If you have a visa, I think I can get you a job cleaning movie theaters.”
He bought me a $1,300 plane ticket.
After buying two soccer jerseys he had asked me to bring from Brazil, I landed in America with only thirty dollars in my pocket… and a debt for the plane ticket.
On my first day, one employee quit.
There were no more days off.
For the next year and a half, my world was a movie theater.
But I never saw that job as being beneath me.
I saw it as the next step.
Eventually I enrolled in English classes, became a student, returned to modeling internationally, and, most importantly, found Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu again.
Jiu-Jitsu changed my life.
It gave me discipline.
It gave me confidence.
It gave me purpose.
Even while modeling internationally—including working in Milan for Ralph Lauren—I realized something important.
What everyone else called my dream job wasn’t my dream anymore.
At twenty-four years old, I walked away from a successful modeling career.
People thought I was crazy.
But sometimes success isn’t climbing higher.
Sometimes success is having the courage to climb a different mountain.
Later I built a career in the shipbuilding industry and eventually became International Commercial Manager of one of the largest shipyards in Latin America.
Carrier wise , I had made it.
Then another economic crisis hit.
Everything changed again.
I returned to Brazil, helped finish one last yacht, and when the opportunity came, I moved back to America—not for money, not for status—but to follow what had become my true passion.
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.
Today, when people ask me how I went from surfer… to model… to movie theater cleaner… to executive… to academy owner…
My answer is simple.
I never chased titles.
I chased opportunities.
I was literally leaving inside my car in a parking lot while trying to start my first academy , today we have two locations and around 300 students .
I never believed any job was too small.
I never let success define me.
And I never let failure stop me.
Life isn’t about having the perfect plan.
It’s about being prepared when opportunity arrives.
Sometimes the greatest opportunity walks into your life wearing a suit.
Sometimes it arrives wearing a janitor’s uniform.
Either way, your work ethic should remain exactly the same.
Because your future is built by what you do when nobody is watching.
Thank you.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
I believe to be lonely many times while trying to discovered another country , been financially broken many times
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
Becoming a Husband and Father , winning IBJJF Pan ams championship and most import teach world class Brazilian jiu jitsu , building strong individuals and competitors in a welcoming family environment.
My goal and Method educates through Jiu-Jitsu. Emphasizing that character development and virtue cultivation come before physical fighting our Methodology typically refers to structured, educational training systems used in sports coaching—most notably in youth martial arts like Jiu-Jitsu, high-performance development programs, or structured training frameworks. Our youth program is our biggest pride
What has been the most important lesson you’ve learned along your journey?
be thankful, stay positive , have a plan , remain faithful don’t quit .
Pricing:
- 199.00 little warriors (3 to 6 years old) 3x week Tuesday -Wednesday – Thursday 5:00 pm
- 249.00 Winners ( 7 to 13 years old ) 5 x week Monday trough Friday 5:30 pm
- 199.00 The base ( adults beginners ) 4 x week
- 229.00 Unlimited 7 x week
Contact Info:
- Website: https://hoajiujitsu.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hoajiujitsu/?hl=en
