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Bruno Bastos

Bruno Bastos put his name on one Texas jiu-jitsu organization, then founded Team LEAD because affiliates' wins kept being credited to him as their coach.

Biography

Bruno Bastos built two jiu-jitsu organizations from a base in Midland, Texas, and put his name on only one of them. He is a Brazilian fifth-degree black belt who received his black belt from his longtime coach, Wendell Alexander. The Bruno Bastos Association came first. Two years later he created Team LEAD BJJ, because students of affiliated academies were winning tournaments and he was the one being complimented on how well "my students" were doing, though he was not actually their coach. From Neury Gomes to a fifth-degree black belt Born Bruno Bastos Cruz on March 27, 1980, Bastos started training in 1990, at age ten, under Neury Gomes, before a brief spell with Aílson Brites. From 1993 he trained under Wendell Alexander, who remained his coach through to black belt in January 2001. That promotion followed a grappling tournament in which Bastos defeated a number of world-class black belts. His lineage runs from Luiz França through Oswaldo Fadda and Sebastião Ricardo to Alexander, and finally to him. On January 17, 2015, during a seminar weekend at his academy in Midland, Bastos was promoted to fourth-degree black belt by Professor Marcelo Pereira. In a statement posted at the time, Bastos called it a big, special moment and noted that he was about to mark twenty-five years in jiu-jitsu. He has since reached fifth degree. Nova União, and a move to Texas Fighting in the super-heavyweight division — 100.5 kilograms, about 221 pounds — with half guard his favorite position, Bastos competed for Nova União, a two-time world champion team, as one of its main representatives. His results through 2013 included CBJJO Brazilian Cup gold in 2002, 2004, 2005 and 2007 — with 2002 and 2005 as doubles, taking both his weight class and the absolute division — titles at the 2008 CBJJE World Championship and Brazilian Nationals, IBJJF gold at the 2008 Rio Open and the 2010 American Nationals and NY Open, and third-place finishes at the 2010 IBJJF World Championship and at the No-Gi Worlds in both 2010 and 2013. Alongside that competitive career, Bastos started teaching in the United States in 2010, first in Dallas, before moving to Midland, Texas in the fall of 2012. There he took over a fledgling academy called RhinoBJJ and began building what would later become the Bruno Bastos Association's headquarters. A team not named after him Bastos separated from Nova União in 2014 to found that Association. Much of this account of the years since — including Bastos's own explanation of what came next — comes from a single outlet, BJJ Heroes, which hosts both his fighter profile and a 2019 interview. In that interview, Bastos explained why, in 2016, he started a second organization, Team LEAD BJJ — an acronym for "Live Everyday to Achieve your Dreams": "I created the Team LEAD BJJ back in 2016 because I wanted something that wasn't about my name." Independent schools joined LEAD while keeping their own identities — Dennis Jiu-Jitsu Club, run by Edenilson Lima, was first, followed by the Pablo Silva BJJ team — and by 2019 the network had affiliates in Brazil, the United States, Bulgaria, Australia and Mexico. The team's World Championship camp was usually held at its Midland headquarters. By the time of the interview, LEAD had won consecutive team titles at IBJJF Opens on home turf and taken 22 medals at the 2019 Pan American Championship. The Bastos family According to the biography on his personal website, first posted in 2013, Bastos lived in Midland with his wife, Petya Bastos, a judo black belt and world champion. Jiu-jitsu also runs through the wider Bastos family: six relatives train and compete, four of them black belts — Fernanda, André, Ricardo and Bianca Bastos — alongside Thiago and Felipe Bastos. Arte Suave and Projeto Atos Bastos has also put jiu-jitsu to community use. In 2005 he founded Arte Suave, using BJJ to help keep children away from drugs, and he was involved in creating Projeto Atos, which started with him and a handful of other Nova União students who had come together through their evangelical church. Masters gold, and two ways to count a career As a Masters competitor, Bastos kept adding to his record: five IBJJF No-Gi World Championship gold medals — weight class and absolute in 2012, plus 2015, 2016 and 2018 — and IBJJF Masters World Championship gold in the gi in 2013 and 2020, the second of which included decision wins over Roberto Abreu and Victor Barreto on December 17, 2020. He also tested himself outside the Masters brackets: at the 2017 ADCC World Championship, fighting in the +99kg division, he lost to Vinicius Magalhães by submission. The match database Digitsu lists 52 matches under his name from 2004 to 2021, with 11 wins and 41 losses — a very different picture from the medal count above. The two sources keep different kinds of records: BJJ Heroes lists where he placed at tournaments, while Digitsu logs the individual matches its database has captured.

Sources for this profile

  • BJJ Heroes, "Bruno Bastos" fighter profile (BJJ Fighter Database)(opens in a new tab)

    • Bastos currently holds a 5th-degree black belt, the rank awarded to him by Wendell Alexander.

      Where in the source: Opening sentence: "5th-degree"

      Accessed:

    • Bastos's full name is Bruno Bastos Cruz, and his lineage runs Luiz França > Oswaldo Fadda > Sebastião Ricardo > Wendell Alexander > Bruno Bastos.

      Where in the source: Profile fields: full name and "Lineage"

      Accessed:

    • Bastos was born 27 March 1980 and began jiu-jitsu in 1990 at age 10 under Neury Gomes, training with him for about a year and a half.

      Where in the source: Biography section, first paragraph: "March, 1980"

      Accessed:

    • Six of Bastos's family members also train and compete in BJJ; four hold black belts — Fernanda, André, Ricardo and Bianca Bastos — alongside Thiago and Felipe Bastos.

      Where in the source: Biography section: "family members"

      Accessed:

    • Bastos was one of the main representatives of two-time world champion team Nova União before separating from the team in 2014 to found the Bruno Bastos Association.

      Where in the source: Opening paragraph: "separated from"

      Accessed:

    • BJJ Heroes' fighter database lists Bastos's team/association as "Bruno Bastos Association / LEAD".

      Where in the source: Profile field "Team/Association"

      Accessed:

    • In 2005 Bastos founded Arte Suave, an organization using jiu-jitsu to keep children away from drugs.

      Where in the source: Biography section: "Arte Suave"

      Accessed:

    • Bastos also helped start "Projeto Atos" together with fellow Nova União students he met through their evangelical church.

      Where in the source: Biography section: "Projeto Atos"

      Accessed:

    • Bastos's principal Nova União-era titles (through 2013) include CBJJO Brazilian Cup gold in 2002, 2004, 2005 and 2007 (with 2002 and 2005 as weight-and-absolute doubles), the 2008 CBJJE World Championship and Brazilian Nationals, and IBJJF gold at the 2008 Rio Open and the 2010 American Nationals and NY Open, plus third place at the 2010 IBJJF World Championship and No-Gi Worlds (2010, 2013).

      Where in the source: The first of the two achievement tables, with the "** Weight and absolute" legend

      Accessed:

    • In the Masters division Bastos won IBJJF No-Gi World Championship gold five times (weight and absolute in 2012, plus 2015, 2016 and 2018) and IBJJF Masters World Championship (gi) gold in 2013.

      Where in the source: Achievements table marked "(Masters)", and the legend below it

      Accessed:

    • Bastos won IBJJF Masters World Championship (gi) gold again in 2020.

      Where in the source: Achievements table marked "(Masters)", first row

      Accessed:

    • Bastos competes in the Super Pesado (super-heavyweight, 100.5kg/221lbs) weight division, with half guard as his favorite position.

      Where in the source: Profile fields: "Super Pesado" division and favorite technique

      Accessed:

    • Bastos holds a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt, awarded by Wendell Alexander.

      Where in the source: Opening sentence: "Master Wendell"

      Accessed:

  • Digitsu, "Bruno Bastos BJJ Record, Stats & Bio"(opens in a new tab)

    • After a brief spell with Aílson Brites, Bastos began training under Wendell Alexander in 1993, the coach who carried him all the way to black belt.

      Where in the source: Early-life section: "Aílson Brites" ... "In 1993, Bastos"

      Accessed:

    • Digitsu's match database records Bastos defeating both Roberto Abreu and Victor Barreto by decision at the 2020 IBJJF World Master Championship on 17 December 2020.

      Where in the source: Matchup history, the "2020 Dec 17" rows: "Roberto Abreu" and "Victor Barreto"

      Accessed:

    • Bastos competed at the 2017 ADCC World Championship in the +99kg division and lost to Vinicius Magalhães by submission.

      Where in the source: Matchup history, 2017 row: "Vinicius Magalhães"

      Accessed:

    • Digitsu's database credits Bastos with 52 recorded matches from 2004 to 2021 (11 wins, 41 losses), spanning his time with Nova União, the Bruno Bastos Association and LEAD Team.

      Where in the source: "11-41-0" ... "52 recorded matches"

      Accessed:

  • FUJI Sports, Team FUJI athlete bio "Bruno Bastos", dated 14 August 2024(opens in a new tab)

    • Bastos received his black belt in January 2001, following a grappling tournament in which he defeated a number of world-class black belts.

      Where in the source: BIOGRAPHY paragraph: "January of 2001"

      Accessed:

    • Bastos is Brazilian by nationality: his FUJI Sports athlete bio describes him as a former member of Brazil's national grappling team.

      Where in the source: BIOGRAPHY paragraph: "Brazilian National Grappling Team"

      Accessed:

  • Bruno Bastos Jiu-Jitsu (Bastos's personal site), "Professor Bruno Bastos receives his 4th degree after nearly 25 years of jiu-jitsu, 14 years as a black belt. From GracieMag.com", posted 13 February 2015(opens in a new tab)

    • On 17 January 2015, Bastos was promoted to 4th-degree black belt by Professor Marcelo Pereira during a seminar weekend at his academy in Midland, Texas; Bastos said in his own statement that it was a big, special moment and that he would soon mark 25 years in jiu-jitsu.

      Where in the source: "Jan. 17" ... "Marcelo Pereira" ... "seminar weekend" ... Bastos's statement: "Very special moment" ... "completing 25 years"

      Accessed:

  • Bruno Bastos Jiu-Jitsu (Bastos's personal site), "Bio" page, posted 23 January 2013(opens in a new tab)

    • The biography on Bastos's personal website, posted in January 2013, says he lived in Midland, Texas, with his wife, Petya Bastos, a judo black belt and world champion.

      Where in the source: Last paragraph: "Petya Bastos"

      Accessed:

    • Bastos began instructing in the US in Dallas, Texas from 2010 to 2012, then moved to Midland, Texas in fall 2012, where he took over a small academy called RhinoBJJ and built it into the headquarters of the Bruno Bastos Association.

      Where in the source: "2010-2012" ... "RhinoBJJ"

      Accessed:

  • BJJ Heroes, "Bruno Bastos and BJJs New Big Player – LEAD Team" (interview), 14 May 2019(opens in a new tab)

    • Bastos told BJJ Heroes that he created Team LEAD BJJ in 2016 because he wanted something that wasn't about his name: students of affiliated academies were winning tournaments, and he was being complimented on how well "my students" were doing when he was not in fact their coach. LEAD is an acronym for "Live Everyday to Achieve your Dreams."

      Where in the source: Bastos's quote: "I created the Team LEAD BJJ" ... "compliments"; the acronym: "side note"

      Accessed:

    • LEAD grew as independent schools joined while keeping their own names — Dennis Jiu-Jitsu Club (Edenilson Lima) joined first, followed by the Pablo Silva BJJ team — and by 2019 the network had affiliates in Brazil, the USA, Bulgaria, Australia and Mexico; in 2019 the team's World Championship camp was usually based at its headquarters in Midland, Texas.

      Where in the source: "Edenilson Lima" ... "names on the market" ... "Brasil, USA" ... "Championship camp"

      Accessed:

    • By 2019 LEAD BJJ had won consecutive team titles at IBJJF Opens and earned 22 medals at that year's Pan American Championship.

      Where in the source: "home turf" ... "22 medals"

      Accessed:

Lineage

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