Marco Vinicius Mendes Brito, commonly known as Marco Mendes, is a professional jiu-jitsu athlete and a black belt under Javier Gomez and Isaque Bahiense, who also worked extensively with Livio Ribeiro. Despite being Brazilian, Marco Mendes first made waves in the sport while competing in the North American competitive circuit, particularly in the International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation circuit (IBJJF), where he conquered numerous titles. Marco Mendes was born on January 25, 2003, in Brazil's capital city of Brasília (DF) but grew up 1000 km further north in the state of Piaui, more specifically in Teresina. Despite not having any idea of what jiu-jitsu was, 11-year-old Mendes decided to join his older brother in a trial class as his sibling was curious to learn the Arte Suave. Marco was not particularly fond of this martial art from the get-go but stuck to it to appease his brother and with time started enjoying the training. Mendes' first steps on the mats were taken at a social project under the guidance of a purple belt who was affiliated with the local team, Quartel-General (QG) da Luta. Marco trained at this satellite academy for nearly 2 years and later became a student of the QGL headquarters under Major Oliveira. By the time he earned his orange belt, Marco was already following a full-time training schedule and aspired for grappling to be his profession. It was also around this time that he started being taught by one of Major's top students, Livio Ribeiro. When he was 15 years old, Marco visited the United States alongside Livio, his coach. Ribeiro had a relationship with team Ares and through him Mendes attended the team's camp ahead of the IBJJF World Championships. It was while training with Ares that Mendes met and befriended Javier Gomez, a person that would be fundamental in his career. Marco returned to the US the following year and spent a longer time in the country in preparation for the Pan American & World tournaments. During his stay in North America, Mendes interacted extensively with Mr. Javier Gomez and his family, to the point that the Gomez family requested to adopt the young Brazilian. Although the 16yo was taken aback at first, Mendes accepted the adoption proposal, moving to California with Javier. Gomez, an accomplished jiu-jitsu black belt, also became Marco's instructor from then on. Training with his new family from 2019 onwards, Marco joined the Aspire To Inspire jiu-jitsu association, a brand founded by Javier Gomez. Although Marco was regarded as a product of the Dream Art team for much of his colored belt career, this bond only occurred due to Javier's relationship with the team as he helped DA & its leader, Isaque Bahiense settle in Houston, Texas, facilitating the connection between the squad and Mendes, particularly through training camps ahead of major tournaments. On June 3, 2022, Marco Mendes was promoted to black belt by Javier Gomez & Isaque Bahiense, while standing on the #1 step of the IBJJF World Championship podium. Your email address will not be published. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() );