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Russell G. Redenbaugh

American investor who began jiu-jitsu in his fifties, won masters division gold and became a black belt after losing his sight as a teenager.

Biography

Russell G. Redenbaugh is an American investor and Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt who began training in his fifties. Blind since his teens, he competed against sighted opponents, taking masters division gold at blue and purple belt before earning his black belt in 2010. Alongside his own training, he mentored a younger practitioner and supported projects that included jiu-jitsu-based self-defense for schoolchildren. Born in Salt Lake City, Utah, in 1945, Redenbaugh lost his sight and several fingers in a model-rocket explosion in 1962, when he was sixteen. In a 2024 Wharton interview, he recalled deciding to participate in the sighted world and to find work in which results could be measured clearly. He completed a master's degree with honors at Wharton in 1969, then joined the investment firm Cooke & Bieler, where he eventually became chief investment officer. His public service included fifteen years on the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. Jiu-jitsu entered his life through fitness training. His trainer, Steve Maxwell, encouraged him to try it at Maxercise. A few months into practice, Redenbaugh entered an internal tournament. Recalling it in a Gracie Magazine profile, he said fear of serious injury almost made him withdraw. He went on to compete locally and internationally. He explained that participation mattered beyond winning: he wanted people facing adversity to see that they could still act. On August 30, 2003, at the International Master and Senior Championship in Rio de Janeiro's Tijuca Tênis Clube, he defeated Saulo Dias. The Gracie report describes him reaching mount, a position astride an opponent's torso, on his way to the Senior 3 title. IBJJF's results identify the division as blue-belt middleweight and also record a bronze in the open class, where different weights compete together. Both appear under Master 4 in the federation's archive. He returned to the Master International at purple belt in 2004 and 2005. In each year, IBJJF lists him first at middleweight and second in the open class, with the divisions labeled Master 6. He also took purple-belt middleweight bronze in the Master 4 division at the 2004 Pan Championship. These results preceded his black-belt promotion and belonged to the sport's masters categories. A 2015 WealthManagement.com profile reported that his opponents in the three championship years had been sighted. His training continued after those results. The 2007 Gracie profile described an uninterrupted fifty-minute session with Regis Lebre at Maxercise. In March 2010, Graciemag announced his promotion to black belt, reporting that it carried the approval of Eduardo Rocha and Royler Gracie. In a statement published by MMA Underground in 2017, Phil Migliarese looked back on nearly twenty years with Redenbaugh. He described the challenge of teaching his first blind student as something that required him to rethink his instruction. Tony Pacenski's recollection shows what that learning looked like to a training partner. He met Redenbaugh at Maxercise when he himself was sixteen and remembered sparring with him and watching him learn techniques by feeling them. Their relationship extended beyond practice. Pacenski described Redenbaugh as an early mentor who asked questions that helped him consider his choices about school, work and life. When Pacenski moved from Philadelphia to California for instructor training, he credited their conversations and a recommendation letter from Redenbaugh with encouraging the move. Redenbaugh also backed teaching through the foundation he launched in 2002. Its funding model was to help projects get started, establish results and attract further support. WealthManagement.com's 2015 account described a jiu-jitsu-based self-defense program for grade-school children in Massachusetts among its projects. It also reported a donation of computers to an orphanage in India, whose staff subsequently established a school for blind students called the Russell School. He discussed his experience publicly in a 2013 TED talk and published the memoir Shift the Narrative in 2017. By his 2024 Wharton interview, he described himself as retired and was writing the newsletter Blind Vision: Uncommon Economic Insights. Asked about jiu-jitsu, he spoke about attention and patience: remaining in the present, keeping focused and waiting for an opponent to make a mistake.

Sources for this profile

  • Richard Rys, Life Lessons: Take Charge of Your Own Narrative, Wharton Magazine, Fall/Winter 2024.(opens in a new tab)

    • Redenbaugh recalls deciding after his loss of sight to participate in the sighted world and pursue a career in which results could be measured clearly.

      Where in the source: Interview after the childhood memory — «results are quantifiable».

      Accessed:

    • In his 2024 Wharton interview, Redenbaugh described jiu-jitsu as teaching attention to the present and patience: staying focused and waiting for an opponent's mistake.

      Where in the source: Jiu-jitsu answer after fishing — «stay focused».

      Accessed:

    • By his 2024 Wharton interview, Redenbaugh described himself as retired and was writing the newsletter Blind Vision: Uncommon Economic Insights.

      Where in the source: Introduction — «Blind Vision»; retirement answer — «I am retired».

      Accessed:

  • Luca Atalla, The astronaut fighter / O lutador astronauta, Gracie Magazine, 2007, printed pp. 56–59.(opens in a new tab)

    • Redenbaugh completed a master's degree with honors at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School in 1969.

      Where in the source: The astronaut fighter, PDF page 1 — «masters with honors».

      Accessed:

    • His physical trainer Steve Maxwell encouraged Redenbaugh to begin jiu-jitsu at the Maxercise gym.

      Where in the source: The astronaut fighter, PDF page 2 — «Steve Maxwell».

      Accessed:

    • In 2007, Redenbaugh was training with Regis Lebre at Maxercise; the profile describes a fifty-minute uninterrupted session.

      Where in the source: The astronaut fighter, PDF page 2 — «50 uninterrupted minutes».

      Accessed:

    • Redenbaugh recalled being frightened of serious injury in an internal tournament a few months after starting training, and almost withdrawing.

      Where in the source: The astronaut fighter, PDF page 2 — «internal competition».

      Accessed:

    • Redenbaugh explained that competing meant more to him than winning: he wanted others to see that they could act despite adversity.

      Where in the source: The astronaut fighter, PDF page 2 — «something greater than myself».

      Accessed:

    • At the International Master and Senior Jiu-Jitsu Championship at Tijuca Tênis Clube in Rio de Janeiro on 30 August 2003, Redenbaugh defeated Saulo Dias, reaching mount, and won the Senior 3 category.

      Where in the source: The astronaut fighter, PDF page 2 — «Saulo Dias».

      Accessed:

  • Wikipedia, Russell Redenbaugh, revision shown as 2 September 2026.(opens in a new tab)

    • Russell G. Redenbaugh was born in 1945 in Salt Lake City, Utah.

      Where in the source: Early life and education — «1945».

      Accessed:

  • Graciemag, Russell Redenbaugh black-belt promotion announcement, 19 March 2010.(opens in a new tab)

    • Redenbaugh is American.

      Where in the source: Biographical paragraph identifying him as «americano».

      Accessed:

    • Graciemag's March 2010 promotion report states that Redenbaugh's black belt carried the approval of Eduardo Rocha and Royler Gracie.

      Where in the source: Promotion paragraph — «com o aval».

      Accessed:

  • Diana Britton, Advisors With Heart Awards 2015: Russell Redenbaugh, WealthManagement.com, 26 May 2015.(opens in a new tab)

    • In 1962, at sixteen, Redenbaugh lost his sight and several fingers in an explosion while building a model rocket.

      Where in the source: Opening accident account — «In 1962».

      Accessed:

    • Redenbaugh competed against sighted opponents in his championship division wins in 2003, 2004 and 2005.

      Where in the source: Career-and-sport paragraph — «sighted opponents».

      Accessed:

    • Redenbaugh launched the Russell Redenbaugh Foundation in 2002. It supplied seed funding so projects could establish results and attract further supporters.

      Where in the source: Foundation launch paragraph — «seed money».

      Accessed:

    • Among the foundation's projects was a jiu-jitsu-based self-defense program for grade-school children in Massachusetts.

      Where in the source: Foundation examples — «grade school children».

      Accessed:

    • The foundation donated computers to an orphanage in India. The 2015 profile reports that staff subsequently established a school for blind students called the Russell School.

      Where in the source: Foundation examples — «The Russell School».

      Accessed:

  • Santangel's Review, Russell Redenbaugh speaker biography, undated.(opens in a new tab)

    • After graduation, Redenbaugh joined investment firm Cooke & Bieler and eventually became its chief investment officer.

      Where in the source: Career paragraph — «chief investment officer».

      Accessed:

    • Redenbaugh took up Brazilian jiu-jitsu in his fifties to improve his fitness, then began entering local competitions.

      Where in the source: Training paragraph — «physical fitness».

      Accessed:

  • Thomas Vincent, Dedication to a Better Society, Wharton Magazine, 8 October 2020.(opens in a new tab)

    • Redenbaugh served for fifteen years on the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights.

      Where in the source: National/International Recipients — «15 years».

      Accessed:

    • Wharton reported in 2020 that Redenbaugh shared his experience in a 2013 TED talk and published his memoir Shift the Narrative in 2017.

      Where in the source: National/International Recipients — «2017 publication».

      Accessed:

  • IBJJF, Master International Jiu-Jitsu IBJJF Championship 2003, official archived results.(opens in a new tab)

    • IBJJF's 2003 Master International results list Redenbaugh first at male blue-belt middleweight and third in the open class, representing Saulo Ribeiro; the archive labels both divisions Master 4.

      Where in the source: Athletes results — Master 4 / Blue / Male / Middle and Open Class.

      Accessed:

  • IBJJF, Master International Jiu-Jitsu IBJJF Championship 2004, official archived results.(opens in a new tab)

    • IBJJF's 2004 Master International results list Redenbaugh first at male purple-belt middleweight and second in the open class, representing Maxercise; both archive headings read Master 6.

      Where in the source: Athletes results — Master 6 / Purple / Male / Middle and Open Class.

      Accessed:

  • IBJJF, Master International Jiu-Jitsu IBJJF Championship 2005, official archived results.(opens in a new tab)

    • IBJJF's 2005 Master International results list Redenbaugh first at male purple-belt middleweight and second in the open class, representing Gracie Humaita; both archive headings read Master 6.

      Where in the source: Athletes results — Master 6 / Purple / Male / Middle and Open Class.

      Accessed:

  • IBJJF, Pan Jiu-Jitsu IBJJF Championship 2004, official archived results.(opens in a new tab)

    • Redenbaugh placed third at male purple-belt middleweight in the 2004 Pan Championship, representing Maxercise; the archive heading reads Master 4.

      Where in the source: Athletes results — Master 4 / Purple / Male / Middle.

      Accessed:

  • Graciemag, Russell Redenbaugh: much more than a black belt, 19 March 2010.(opens in a new tab)

    • Redenbaugh became a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt in 2010.

      Where in the source: Promotion announcement — «black belt».

      Accessed:

  • Nic, Blind, one-handed Jiu-Jitsu student becomes world champion, MMA Underground, 28 May 2017.(opens in a new tab)

    • In a statement reproduced by MMA Underground in 2017, Phil Migliarese described nearly twenty years of work with Redenbaugh and said teaching his first blind student required him to rethink how he taught.

      Where in the source: Phil Migliarese quotation — «teach differently».

      Accessed:

  • Tony Pacenski, Russell Redenbaugh Living His Narrative, Elite Training Center, undated page.(opens in a new tab)

    • Tony Pacenski recalls meeting Redenbaugh at Maxercise when Pacenski was sixteen, sparring with him, and watching him learn techniques through feeling rather than seeing them.

      Where in the source: Pacenski's first recollection — «He could feel them».

      Accessed:

    • Pacenski describes Redenbaugh as an early mentor whose questions helped him think through school, work and life. He credits those conversations and Redenbaugh's recommendation letter with encouraging his move from Philadelphia to California for instructor training.

      Where in the source: Pacenski's mentorship recollection — «letter of recommendation».

      Accessed:

Competition results

Recorded tournament results, newest first
YearEventResultDivision
2005Master International Jiu-Jitsu IBJJF ChampionshipSource: ibjjf.comMaster 6 / Men / Purple belt / MiddleweightVerifiedGoldMaster 6 / Men / Purple belt / MiddleweightVerified
2005Master International Jiu-Jitsu IBJJF ChampionshipSource: ibjjf.comMaster 6 / Men / Purple belt / Open classVerifiedSilverMaster 6 / Men / Purple belt / Open classVerified
2004Master International Jiu-Jitsu IBJJF ChampionshipSource: ibjjf.comMaster 6 / Men / Purple belt / MiddleweightVerifiedGoldMaster 6 / Men / Purple belt / MiddleweightVerified
2004Master International Jiu-Jitsu IBJJF ChampionshipSource: ibjjf.comMaster 6 / Men / Purple belt / Open classVerifiedSilverMaster 6 / Men / Purple belt / Open classVerified
2003Master International Jiu-Jitsu IBJJF ChampionshipSource: ibjjf.comMaster 4 / Men / Blue belt / MiddleweightGiVerifiedGoldMaster 4 / Men / Blue belt / MiddleweightGiVerified
2003Master International Jiu-Jitsu IBJJF ChampionshipSource: ibjjf.comMaster 4 / Men / Blue belt / Open classGiVerifiedBronzeMaster 4 / Men / Blue belt / Open classGiVerified

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