Avi, brother and father (left to right).
Avi Rubin is just 19 years old and already he’s made a name for himself in Gracie Barra. This behind-the-scenes “mover and shaker” hasn’t made his name through the art of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, but rather through the business of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.
Don’t get me wrong, Rubin does train. He’s a blue belt with 3 stripes and has been training since 2005. At one point, his whole family got into it. His brother and sister started training at GB Lake Forest with Professor Marcio Feitosa when it first opened, “They were numbers 13 and 14 on the line. My dad and I joined and we were 25 and 26. That’s how original we are. My mom trained for a little while. She made Master Carlos, Marcio and Piu Piu (Marco Joca) dinner one night and they made her come train because they loved her food so much and hoped she’d cook for them all the time!”
Rubin got into BJJ because of his brother and sister’s involvement in it, “My 10 year old sister came home one night and put me in a Guillotine. I had to tap! I didn’t know what else to do because I couldn’t get out of it. The next day, I went to GB Lake Forest with her and signed up. I couldn’t let a 10 year old girl beat me up.”
Rubin has been a big supporter of GB America. He’s brought in numerous friends and families to train, “I can’t even remember or count how many people I’ve gotten into BJJ…maybe 25 or 30. The best thing about GB is that they’re everywhere. So, no matter who I know or where they live, they’ve been able to find a GB location close to them. It’s so cool to be able to share the BJJ lifestyle with all my friends and have them be able to train at whatever GB they want.”
Rubin has always been into apparel and fashion and when GB became a big part of his life, he decided that he wanted to lend a hand in something that he was so passionate about. He and Marco Joca were already friends on the mats and he knew that Joca was the head of apparel for GB, so he asked him if they needed help. Rubin started selling clothes at tournaments. He then began to help develop systems and policies for GB Wear, like establishing a universal look.
Almost two short years later, Rubin is now a manager for the GB Corporate Management Team and is also responsible for communications within GB, “I work with Marcio (Feitosa), Flavio (Almeida) and Marco (Joca) and I do a lot of advertising for all GB schools around the world. I work about 45 hours a week and also attend Irvine Valley College for a Business Management Communications degree.”
Not bad for a 19 year old. Rubin says he couldn’t dream of a better job, “I feel like I haven’t gone to work a day in my life working for GB. I always wonder what I can do next for them. It’s so exciting to me. I feel like I can make an impact on GB. Being only 19 makes it so much better – I can’t believe I’m doing all this at my age.”
Rubin was brought up in a very family-oriented home. He says that his family is really important to him and that he has the same feeling working for and training with GB, “it’s my life. I’m still me at the end of the day, but everything I do and say has been influenced by Master Carlos, Marcio, Flavio, and Marco. I look up to them so much. They are my extended family. They are very important people in my life.”
Rubin has big dreams like all 19 year olds, except he’s already working diligently on the path to his, “I’ve had the realization that I enjoy working at GB and they enjoy having me there. It’s going to be a long-term relationship. I’m going to continue to grow as GB grows and I’ve decided that I want to open a GB school someday. I want to share the BJJ lifestyle with others”.