Featured Travellers: Marcus and Alessia – BJJ Globetrotters
“Don’t be afraid to put everything else on hold for a bit and do something you’ll love. It’s easier and less scary than you think.”
Marcus Tan
Marcus and Alessia – BJJ Globetrotters
Age:
29 and 32
Belt:
Brown belt and blue belt
Profession: We both have been working in Marketing/Social Media, but are both hoping to make a change in our careers soon (e.g. Alessia has recently received her 500hrs Yoga Teacher certification and is hoping to pursue that).
How many years in BJJ:
Marcus 8 years, Alessia 2 years
Other martial arts:
M: Some kickboxing a long time ago.
A: No previous experience. I was always more into dancing and yoga and would have never thought that I would fall in love with a martial art.
Where do you live: Most recently London, now we are on the road kind of permanently and we aren’t sure where we will settle down yet.
Where are you originally from:
Australia and Italy
Other fun or curious information you would like to share:
Marcus: It’s not my first time travelling the world with a gi. I previously cycled 4,000km across Europe from Sweden to Romania carrying my gear on my bike, got badly injured in Hungary while training, and then after travelled across Asia training BJJ.
Alessia: I was the lead singer of a band during my time living in Beijing, I can speak 5 languages including Mandarin and I am a Yoga teacher and love dancing salsa
Marcus and Alessia – BJJ Globetrotters
Tell us what inspired you to travel and train?
To be honest we were simply a bit fed up with the grind and the weather in London and wanted a change. Training with the guys at Roger Gracie Farringdon was one of the things we loved the most about London, so we decided to hit the road and keep training as much as possible, visit the motherland of BJJ and meet some of our grappling heroes on the way.
Tell us about your most recent travel and your upcoming travel – where have you been and where are you going?
We’ve been to NYC, San Diego, LA, San Francisco, Colombia, Peru and Brazil so far, training everywhere we can find a gym, or sometimes some impromptu rolling just the two of us if we can’t. We’ve been trying to balance training hard with taking time to explore the country we’re in and experience the culture, which can be a bit difficult/tiring to manage at times.
We are currently in beautiful Rio and planning on staying in Brazil till the end of November when our visas run out. Next year we would love to go to Japan, Bali and the Phillipines to train and chill if we still have money left!
What are the things you enjoy about travelling?
Just waking up and thinking ‘I could be at a desk right now’ and feeling immense relief. We’re able to train as much as we want, because even if we are tired, we don’t have to go to work the next day!
Also we love just having the time and freedom to do what to we want, without a set routine, enjoying the little things like being outside sipping coffee in the sun and not worrying about a million little things other than what time is training.
Can you give us some examples of experiences you had that makes it worth travelling and training?
Training at Atos HQ in San Diego and at Renzo Gracie’s in NYC were definitely two of the highlights of our trip. To be able to train alongside BJJ legends and to experience some of the passion and commitment they put into their students was really inspirational and we can’t wait to go back someday. High altitude training in Peru was also an interesting experience – just walking up the stairs can kick your ass, so it adds a new element of challenge to training but vastly improved our cardio.
Marcus and Alessia – BJJ Globetrotters
What has so far been the most surprising experience for you when travelling?
Safety in South America (especially Colombia and Brazil) was a really pleasant surprise, after all the overcautious warnings we heard from family and friends before leaving on the trip. Also, we knew the BJJ community is very friendly worldwide but people turned out to be even nicer than we had expected – we’ve met some incredible people at almost every gym we’ve visited, who had gone out of their way for us on several occasions.
Are you a budget traveller – and if so how do you plan for a cheap trip?
We are definitely travelling on budget! First advice, if you’re headed to South America, many things are cheaper at home than buying locally – contact lenses, supplements (protein and pre-workout etc), but most other things you can pick up on the way.
Secondly, get a travel credit/debit card cause you really don’t want to be charged every time you take money out. Before leaving the UK we got the Barclaycard platinum travel card which has no fees on foreign transaction or withdrawals (for now). Lastly, if you’re staying in one place for a while, get an Airbnb with a kitchen and most importantly a washing machine – it’s often cheaper than hostel dorms or hotels and you can save more money cooking simple meals at home rather than eating out all the time and save yourself a ton of hassle with your daily gi washing!
If you were to pass on travel advice to your fellow Globetrotters, what would it be?
Pack light and get used to wearing the same things over and over! If you’re lugging around a gi or two plus rash guards and all the rest, you’re not going to have much space for ‘normal clothes’. Besides that, the most important thing is just to go – don’t be afraid to put everything else on hold for a bit and do something you’ll love. It’s easier and less scary than you think.
