Meet the 2017 BJJ Globetrotters sponsored travelers!
Earlier this year, BJJ Globetrotters received a crazy amount of applications for sponsorship from people all over the world. Everyone had interesting stories and it was not an easy task to narrow it down. But eventually a decision was made – introducing the BJJ Globetrotters sponsored athletes!
Adam Miles-Woodland, Wife Dee, Daughter Lilly and Son Kobe
The Miles-Woodland family from Australia are on a pretty cool trip around the USA. Adam is a purple belt, Dee is a blue belt, Lilly a yellow belt and Kobe a grey belt. They are travelling most of the west coast before heading to Vegas at the end of August. Both parents will compete at the IBJJF Worlds Masters. Then the family will make their way to New York and road trip back to the west coast, training along the whole way over a period of 4 months. The aim is to visit all the clubs and affiliations that will let them in the door before flying to Hawaii and spending a week to 2 weeks there training before flying back to Australia.
Blog: https://bjjglobetrotters.com/author/jitzwithwoodys/
Dirk McComas
Dirk and his wife decided that they wanted to travel instead of settling down. So they bought a camper and hit the road as full-time RVers! They travel the country, stopping in different cities, seeing the sights, visiting old friends, and always trying to train in at least one gym wherever they are. Dirk is developing a YouTube channel/podcast about his travels and the different gyms he trains at, along with discussions/interviews with the instructors and students.
Blog: https://bjjglobetrotters.com/author/bjjdrifter/
Oli Wilson
Oli is a purple belt with the first stop on his trip being London. From there, he’ll travel to the Netherlands, then Germany (short stopover in Munich), and the Czech Republic. Italy and Croatia are next on the list. As gym in Dubrovnik has caught his attention and he’ll train there for about a week. After this, he’ll hop over to Greece and train in Athens, then go island hop around looking for places and people to train with. Next planned stop at this stage is Spain, where I’ll spend a month or more travelling up and down the country training and surfing. He also wants to visit Paris but is keen to visit some of the smaller French cities and in particular the south of France. From there, it’s back to Germany to train at a friends home academy in Hannover, and then in Munich and Cologne. After this Oli’s itinerary is a bit less certain but it’s looking like Norway and Sweden, then Iceland if money allows and Scotland and Ireland. So it’s a really busy European trip for Oli!
Blog: https://bjjglobetrotters.com/author/oliwilson/
Mike Barr
Mike will be hitting the road in his 97 Jeep Cherokee on an extended USA Road Trip. The plan is to start in New York, travel south towards Maryland, then across to Dallas for a quick stop to train with his older brother at BTT North Dallas. This will mark the farthest west he’s been in the US. So it’s the best time to make the most of it and explore! The options are to cut north to see a friend in Portland, keep going west through New Mexico, Arizona, or head straight to California and see the Pacific.
Blog: https://bjjglobetrotters.com/author/mikebarr/
Jamie Lang and Katherine
Jamie and Katherine are both white belts from New Zealand who have booked a one way ticket to Europe. They will spend the majority of their time in Europe, Asia and hopefully make it to Canada and the States.
Blog: https://bjjglobetrotters.com/author/jamieandkathenz/
Robert Coaker
Robert is an Australian white belt who is heading on a trip that starts in Montreal. While in Canada, he’ll also explore Vancouver and Seattle. After Canada, it’s off to stay in Japan for two months where he will train at Carpe Diem BJJ and Kodokan Judo. Robert will then spend a month doing BJJ at 10th Planet in Seoul and move on to Tiger Muay Thai in Phuket before one month in Goa. Kathmandu and Moscow are then next on the list before Europe, South Africa and Brazil for three months. Robert will then make as many small trips as possible to other South American countries. After South America, he’ll then make his way to Atlanta before ending back in Montreal where this adventure began!
Blog: https://bjjglobetrotters.com/author/robc/
Nick Lanspa
Nick is a purple belt from the USA who plans to spend one month in twelve different countries. The trip begins in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia before travelling to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam to train for the next month. Phnom Penh, Cambodia and Bangkok, Thailand are next on the list. The rest of Nick’s year of travel consists of a month in Serbia, Lisbon, Portugal, Prague, Bulgaria, Argentina, Chile, and Peru. While in each destination he will explore surrounding areas as much as possible within the month long stay.
Blog: https://bjjglobetrotters.com/author/nick_lanspa/
Marcus and Alessia
This couple begin travelling and training in USA, with their main destinations being New York and San Diego. They will then move to South America, spending most of their time in Colombia, Peru, Brazil, Chile and Argentina. The last leg of the trip will be in Asia with the itinerary currently consisting of Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Nepal, Japan and China.
Blog: https://bjjglobetrotters.com/author/marcuspt8/
Alex Cox
Alex has a great plan – travelling in a van, training Jiu Jitsu and adventuring! The van awaits his arrival back in England (he currently resides in Northern Ireland). The journey starts training between North Shore Jiu Jitsu in Newquay Cornwall, places in Plymouth, Gracie-Barra Taunton and gyms in Bristol. Then it’s off to mainland Europe to explore any and all gyms that will have him and his friends along with the cultures and cities that accompany them! Then it’s off to South East Asia, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, California, Central America and South America. It’s sounds like a crazy trip around the globe!
Amanda & James Averis
James and Amanda are an Australian couple planning a European trip. They will start in Amsterdam and stay there for 3 or so days. Then the plan is to visit a friend in Dendermonde, travel around Belgium for a few days and Paris for a night or two before flying to Lisbon. Once arriving in Portugal, they have a little over a month to make their way from Lisbon to Split, Croatia and everywhere in between. The planned route plan goes through Spain, the south of France and through Italy before arriving in Split where there is a flight to London waiting. After spending a couple of days in London, they will fly to Dublin and start to travel around Ireland for 10 days (Amanda’s home country), before making the long journey back to Sydney!