12. (Jacob Rodriguez) From Wrestling To Jiu Jitsu, How B-Team’s JayRod Became The Most Exciting Rookie At ADCC

Today, I talk with Jacob Rodriguez, who is also known as JayRod about his explosion onto the scene of the BJJ World. After winning the most stacked ADCC (what many of us refer to as the Olympics of grappling/Jiu Jitsu) North American Trials in history with just one year of training, Jay became one of the hottest names to look out for in BJJ. He and I discuss exactly how he transitioned from wrestling in high school to training Jiu Jitsu with his brother, Nick Rodriquez (NickyRod) to make that happen. He also tells me the story of not being allowed to train with DDS (Danaher Death Squad) in Puerto Rico due to John Danaher wrongly believing Jay had herpes. And if that’s not enough to make this episode a must-listen, I also got to dive into Jay’s dos and don’ts around competing - including never looking at his bracket or studying his opponents before a fight (hint: he has a solution to this). Enjoy taking a deep dive into the mind of this young and accomplished athlete’s (and new business owner, which we discuss in detail!) mind. Normally pretty quiet on social media and in interviews, I definitely felt that I was allowed to see a lot more of Jay than I have before.