Andrea Baggio
Andrea Baggio developed Milanimal from shared mats into a teaching community while helping build Italy’s competition scene.
Biography
Sources for this profile
BJJ Heroes, Andrea Baggio(opens in a new tab)
Andrea Baggio was born on 6 June 1978 in Milan.
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He earned an engineering degree at Politecnico di Milano before making jiu-jitsu his full-time profession.
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Federico Tisi awarded him his black belt in January 2008 after his European brown-belt title.
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The reference profile dates his full-time teaching at Milanimal to his purple-belt period.
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100ma, Intervista a Andrea Baggio(opens in a new tab)
He began judo at a neighbourhood gym, first with Fulvio Aragozzini and later Beppe Vismara.
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In his 100ma interview, Baggio recalled meeting Gustavo Fernandez Triviño at a Federico Tisi seminar in 2002 and beginning regular jiu-jitsu while continuing judo.
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He considered the friendships formed through jiu-jitsu his greatest reward and described his practice evolving from enthusiastic hobby to teaching work.
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He admired ordinary practitioners who trained consistently, regardless of belt, and wanted to learn from everyone.
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Milanimal, Andrea Baggio(opens in a new tab)
Baggio says he opened his dedicated jiu-jitsu academy in Milan in 2004.
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He directs Milanimal’s training programmes and remains involved in daily teaching, training and student support in Milan.
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His private teaching offers individual, paired and small-group sessions covering fundamentals, advanced study and competition strategy.
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IBJJF, European Championship 2008(opens in a new tab)
He won Master 1 men’s brown-belt featherweight at the 2008 European Championship, representing Italian Connection.
Where in the source: Master1/Brown/Male/Feather entire table:1AndreaBaggio,2SandroGnoatto,3EmersonMartins; nextLight.
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IBJJF, European Championship 2009(opens in a new tab)
He took bronze in Master 1 men’s black-belt featherweight at the 2009 European Championship for Italian Connection.
Where in the source: Master1/Black/Male/Feather entire table:1FlavioFerreira,2MarioDelgado,3AntonioCicconi and AndreaBaggio; nextLight.
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Manolo El Chupacabra, 5 Domande ad Andrea Baggio, 18 November 2010(opens in a new tab)
The first Milano Challenge took place in 2009; Baggio was organizing its second edition when interviewed in November 2010.
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He wanted Milano Challenge to follow IBJJF standards, protect athletes and give Italian competitors a professional setting in which to perform.
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He was particularly proud of introducing advance online registration instead of collecting entry fees on competition day.
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He had worked as a UFC commentator for Sky but expected sport jiu-jitsu to develop an identity increasingly independent of MMA.
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Andrea Baggio, Milanimal blog(opens in a new tab)
His November 2012 training diary describes white-belt modules progressing from controlling positions to guard passing, alongside more advanced competition material and side-control submission combinations.
Where in the source: Full Training Week #10 entry, 17 November 2012.
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Grappling Italia, Intervista ad Andrea Baggio, 16 November 2016(opens in a new tab)
He described becoming a professional gradually: small group lessons developed into daily mat time, which made teaching feel like his work.
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By 2016 Milanimal had moved through two locations before settling in Via Muratori; Baggio treated presentation, lesson content and instructor conduct as parts of the same standard.
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For Milano Challenge, preparations began six months ahead with the venue, then promotion, sponsors, mats and referees; Marco Bancone led much of the work with at least a dozen others.
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He believed jiu-jitsu’s martial-art, sport and lifestyle dimensions could coexist, rejecting a rigid old-school versus new-school division.
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For a first competition, he urged commitment and advised each student to discuss readiness with their teacher.
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Philoinvestor, Andrea Baggio of MILANIMAL, 25 October 2022(opens in a new tab)
He recalled teaching free classes for two years, then working through modest premises and inexpensive private lessons to keep teaching.
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He began searching for his own premises in 2006 and opened the space in 2015.
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In 2022, he reported 600 members across two gyms and a planned third, describing a community-based network of small, sport-focused gyms.
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He said pandemic restrictions meant ten months of gym closure and sixteen months without jiu-jitsu, while salaries and premises costs continued.
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By 2022 he had shared Milano Challenge operations with the Italian federation, retaining local support while concentrating on his company.
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He described free classes in youth detention and welcoming disadvantaged young people into training alongside other students.
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He said his own training had become enjoyable beyond performance, without worrying about tapping to a lower belt.
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Luke, Jiu-Jitsu Wasn’t Built to Stay the Same, 13 September 2025(opens in a new tab)
A 2025 UGS profile describes Milanimal, co-run with Neide, as a welcoming community space extending beyond classes through its café and shared culture.
Where in the source: Milanimal community section.
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Baggio emphasized keeping women and older students involved and adapting teaching to different bodies, goals and learning needs.
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He described using UGS to reshape sessions, feedback and opportunities for student exploration without replacing the entire curriculum.
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Luke, EP.5 Full Interview with Andrea Baggio, 13 September 2025(opens in a new tab)
He recalled discovering jiu-jitsu at a martial-arts gathering in Los Angeles in 1998, then selling his motorcycle to train in Brazil in summer 1999.
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On returning from Brazil, he recruited friends from judo and trained on mats assembled and removed each session; the group became Milanimal in 2004.
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He encouraged students to open their own academies rather than building a network around himself, seeing good neighbouring schools as beneficial to jiu-jitsu.
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A wrestling class in the United States made him question the warm-up, demonstration and sparring sequence he had inherited from judo and jiu-jitsu.
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He uses bounded training scenarios: students explore solutions toward clear goals, with technical explanation and corrections following their attempts.
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He described adapting this approach for children, beginners, competitors and private lessons while keeping dedicated UGS classes.
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Architecture and travel influenced the academy’s design: wood, plants, colour and distinct spaces helped create the relaxed atmosphere he wanted.
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