Brazil is home to the most beautiful beaches in the world, the best acai you can find, and the birthplace of jiu-jitsu. Here are some of my takeaways from spending the past week here.

I have been in Brazil for five days now. I spent the first three days in São Paulo (kind of like the NYC of Brazil), flew to Rio de Janeiro on the fourth day, and have been living the Carioca lifestyle ever since. I still have a lot to do and experience here, but I wanted to give an update on some of my main takeaways from my experiences in Brazil so far. For the most part I am going to try and keep these related to jiu-jitsu, but if you have seen any pictures from the beaches in Rio then you know I have a LOT to talk about, so I will add a couple non-jiu-jitsu takeaways towards the end.

1. Melqui Galvão Jiu-Jitsu’s New Facility Is A Game Changer

I have to start out by talking about Melqui Galvão Jiu-Jitsu’s new facility in Jundaí, São Paulo. This facility is incredible. When construction is finished it will consist of two stories, two mat spaces, a hostel area for visitors, dormitory for professional athletes, special mat space for privates/instructions, weightlifting area, sauna, and more.

Melqui Galvão has described his new vision for this facility as being a college for professional jiu-jitsu athletes. The facilities will be used to help bring athletes up to speed on everything it takes to succeed in sport jiu-jitsu. That includes high level training, strategic training, marketing classes, English classes, recovery, and basically anything else you'd  think of. 

Melqui has already produced two IBJJF World Champions in Mica Galvão and Fabricio Andrey plus one ADCC Champion in Diogo ‘Baby Shark’ Reis. I am excited to see new stars rise up in the coming years from this academy! Check out more of the team's new facility here.

2. IBJJF Euros Is Going To Be Exciting

Alright I know what you are thinking, “what the hell does IBJJF Euros have to do with your trip to Brazil?” And to that I say… fair point. Basically part of the reason we are down here is to start getting some footage ahead of the IBJJF Europeans that will take place in Paris, France from January 23-29. Call me a romantic, but watching high level athletes training in the gi has me excited for the start of the gi season.

As I sit in my hotel room looking out over Fort Copacabana, the salty-sweet ocean air rustling my hair with sand still between my toes, it would feel wrong for me to not talk about the first major gi competition of the season. This is where jiu-jitsu started, so you have to talk some about the gi. Where else can you walk five minutes from the beach and take a picture with a Carlson Gracie statue? No where.

But, if you need to get excited yourself, here is a training highlight of Mica Galvão to get you juiced up.

3. You Need To Visit Liberdade, São Paulo

Liberdade is a Japanese neighborhood in São Paulo. Brazil has one of the highest Japanese populations of any country outside of Japan and this is prevalent in Liberdade. The streets feature Japanese architecture, endless markets and shops, and some of the best Japanese cuisine you are going to find. If you are into anime, this place will be a fever dream for you. There is tons of merchandise, clothing, weaponry, and basically anything else to make an anime fan go bonkers. 

If anime isn’t your cup of tea, don’t worry there is still tons to enjoy. The streets of Liberdade are packed with people and overall it is just an area with an incredible energy and lively atmosphere. The markets are loaded with all kinds of interesting trinkets and whatnot, plus there is enough going on that you could be browsing merchant stands for hours. 

We browsed some markets, Baby Shark leveraged his Instagram account to get a deal on a One Piece shirt, then it was time for Hokage to fuel back up with some ramen. 

The ramen in Liberdade is by far the best ramen I have ever had in my life. I opted for the shinya tonkotsu (mainly because that is what Fabricio ordered and I was intimidated to place my own order in Portuguese). The name of the place we went is Ikkousha, and I would definitely recommend it. It is Hokage approved.

There are tons of amazing places to visit in São Paulo, but Liberdade should be towards the top of your list. Get a sneak peek into the area with Baby Shark Cam.

4. I Need To Get Jacked (And Maybe Mix In A Salad)

The people in Rio are jacked. No other way to say it. Clothing is scarce and chiseled bodies are abundant. As a guy who recently bumped up from medium-heavy to heavyweight, exploring the beaches in Ipanema and Copacabana has made me realize that it is time for me to mix in some salads and start hitting some pull ups. In order to achieve this I am going to start doing 100 push ups every night (and some more in my free time) and you all can hold me to that! Message me on Instagram to keep my accountable: @ogtreyrobinson.

Here is a photo of me flexing on a balcony we can eventually use as a ‘before’ pic.

5. Rio de Janeiro Has The Best Açaí

Alright this one is going to cause some controversy. Whatever you do, please DO NOT share this with anyone from Manaus. The Amazonas capitol stakes claim to having the REAL acai, and I know they will not take lightly to what I am about to say. They are also incredibly good at jiu-jitsu, so the last thing I need is a bunch of Manauaras rubbing my face on the mat. Actually just skip over this section and don’t even read it at all. Act like you didn’t see anything.

Every place I have been in Brazil, they have told me that their city has the best açai. This leads me to believe that Brazilians take a lot of pride in their city’s açaí and I can’t blame them. If my hometown of Columbus, Kansas had anything as good as that sweet, sweet deep purple delicacy then I would be proud of it too. So, I want to caveat this by saying that who am I to judge who really has the best açaí? I am just some gringo with an underdeveloped pallet who puts Heinz 57 sauce on his steak. Basically my judgment on this matter means nothing.

With that being said, I love Bibi Sucos. It is just the best. The açaí in Rio is very sweet and basically tastes like an ice cream treat. I prefer mine with paçoca, honey, and banana. Mica Galvão and his family were kind enough to offer me some of the real açaí that they brought from Manaus to São Paulo with them. It has a much more earthy taste and is definitely much healthier for you, but this gringo needs some sugar in his açaí (although this won’t help much with my fourth bullet).

That wraps up my five takeaways from my first five days in Brazil. Up next I will be filming at the Rio Open, so keep your eyes peeled for a vlog dropping soon where we'll cover that. I hope you enjoyed hearing a bit about my experiences in Brazil so far, but it is getting late and I need to go bang out some push ups. 

I will leave you with this slow motion video of Baby Shark going banana lands with some nunchucks in Liberdade.