Today we’d like to introduce you to Valor Boyer.
Hi Valor, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I started training Jiu Jitsu in 2013. I really enjoyed it, and I competed locally early on and knew I wanted to take it seriously, but I didn’t have the vision of how to make it possible.
Shortly after I became a Brown Belt, the rank right before Black Belt, I was close to opening a gym in 2019. Before I signed the lease I realized three things: 1) My competitive career would take a back seat for an extended period of time, 2) I needed to sharpen my own technical ability, and 3) I didn’t want to wonder “what if” I pursued my competitive goals while I had the chance.
I turned down the lease and started working Uber and Lyft in order to set my own schedule and train as much as possible, I drove 90 mins to train at a competition focused gym ran by some of the best minds in the sport. Eventually I built up enough private lesson clientele that I was able to quit uber and lyft.
As a Brown Belt I won the Pan Ams and European Championships with no points scored against me and all but 1 submission finishes (strangleholds and joint locks which force your opponent to quit) I also took 3rd at the World Championships. I was the number #1 ranked brown belt in the world for my weight class and #4 overall in the IBJJF (the largest governing body in jiu jitsu)
I then was promoted to Black Belt and became a National Champion, continued competing and traveling all over the world. I took 3rd at the Brazilian Nationals, Europeans, and got flown out to Abu Dhabi to compete in a superfight where I won Performance of the Night. I was ranked between number 2 and number 6 in the world in my weight class as a black belt.
I decided to open my gym, Valor Grappling Club in Aston PA, and put my career on hiatus. I’ve now been open for about a month and a half and have close to 50 students. It’s been a very interesting journey, I’m excited to continue this new chapter of my life and hope to help as many people as I can through Jiu Jitsu.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Definitely not an easy path, besides the financial sacrifices, the impact on my body from training as intensely and consistently as I had to, and the emotional toll of being a full time athlete missing out on time with friends, family, and my fiance; I also dealt with a serious car accident.
Around the time I started training full time and focusing on competing, I got rear ended at a red light by an intoxicated driver. The concussion symptoms stole close to a year of my training / competition career from me, right as I was starting the new venture. The self doubt and day to day mental anguish was intense.
Luckily the symptoms eventually cleared up and I made a full recovery, but that period of my life made me incredibly grateful for every training session I was able to have from there on.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I’m a Jiu Jitsu Black Belt and run a Jiu Jitsu gym called Valor Grappling Club.
We’d love to hear about any fond memories you have from when you were growing up?
Nothing too specific but growing up in Brooklyn, NY in the early 2000’s was very fun. My family had very little money, but the neighborhood was memorable for the fact that you had kids of all ages out on the block at all times interacting with each other and looking out for one another. Long nights of basketball, handball, manhunt, home run derby. It was great.
Pricing:
- $155-$165 / month for unlimited classes. Very average price range for jiu jitsu gyms.
- $30 drop in rate
- Free trials for new prospective students.
- Free open mats on Saturday 12pm, everyone is welcome.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://ValorGrapplingClub.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/valorgrapplingclub?igsh=bmNwM3ZlZ3ZqeWtn&utm_source=qr
- Facebook: https://Facebook.com/Valorgrapplingclub
