Growth Mindset is hands down the best jiu-jitsu gym I've ever trained at bar none…read more
I've been training for seven years and have trained at a lot of different gyms during that time. Every gym says they're a family, every gym says they care about their students, but Growth Mindset is the first place where I truly felt that was real.
The difference starts with Mark. What sets him apart isn't just his knowledge of jiu-jitsu--it's the genuine care he has for every single person who walks through those doors. There is no hierarchy, no ego, no favorites. Whether it's your first class or you've been training for years, he treats everyone with the same respect and invests in everyone equally.
I remember after one of my very first classes, I stayed talking with Mark and a few of the members for over an hour and a half. It wasn't small talk--it was one of the most genuine conversations I'd had in a long time. I left that night knowing I didn't want to settle for training anywhere else.
Around the time I signed up, I had just been laid off from my job. I was stressed out of my mind wondering how I was going to pay my bills and what my next step in life was going to be. Looking back, the one thing that kept me grounded during that time was walking through the doors of Growth Mindset. No matter how bad my day had been, the moment I stepped on those mats I felt like I was home. I wasn't just another membership I was family.
That first month I was also preparing for a HYROX competition, so I could only make it to class three times out of the whole month. Most gyms would've just said, "That's on you." Instead, Mark prorated my membership and credited me toward the following month. He didn't have to do that. There was no policy requiring it. He simply did it because he genuinely cares about people. That small act told me everything I needed to know about the kind of man he is.
The culture he's built is something that's incredibly rare these days, there is absolutely zero ego.
Mark is always asking for feedback from the students. He wants to know what we're feeling, what makes sense, and what doesn't. He's humble enough to know that coaching is about helping people learn, not about proving he's the smartest person in the room.
When I was preparing for my most recent competition, Mark did something no coach had ever done for me before. He sat down with me and watched footage from my previous tournaments. We broke down every mistake I made, why it happened, how to prevent it, and even developed techniques that better fit my style of jiu-jitsu. Every other gym I've trained at would've simply told me, "Train harder." Mark actually taught me how to get better.
I ended up placing fourth in that competition. Instead of focusing on the fact that I didn't win a medal, Mark immediately pointed out how much I had improved. He celebrated the things I'd done well, highlighted the progress I'd made, and gave me a clear plan to keep growing. That's what great coaching looks like.
The amount of work this man puts in is unbelievable. While preparing me for my tournament, he was also coaching another teammate for his competition, hard sparring almost every day, organizing cross-training sessions at other gyms, and somehow still preparing for his own tournament. I've never seen someone work that hard, day after day, without complaining once. Even while training harder than 99% of instructors out there, he stays humble. He'll still remind us that he's human, still learning, and still growing right alongside us.
That humility is what makes him so special.
Mark and Sabrina have built something truly exceptional. They've created more than a gym they've built a community where people genuinely care about one another. I can honestly say this gym helped carry me through one of the hardest periods of my life, and I'll never forget that.
I hope one day I can be half the man Mark is. I'm incredibly proud to call him not only my coach, but also family.
Thank you, Mark and Sabrina, for everything you've done for me and for this community. What you've built is something truly special. Love you guys!
