I began my BJJ training at Sleeping Storm, an academy that offered instruction in all kinds of martial arts that was local to my home outside London. I trained there for six months under Ricardo Da Silva (then a Purple Belt), but decided if I was going to pursue jiujitsu more seriously, I would need to find myself a full-time academy. As a result, I moved up to London to begin training at the Roger Gracie Academy in Ladbroke Grove and spent several months sleeping on the floor at a friend's house and training every day. After three months at Ladbroke Grove, I received my Blue Belt from Roger Gracie in April 2006.
For much of the next two years, I occupied himself by training at the academy and assisting with the Kids classes that were operating at the academy HQ, as well as helping with any odd jobs that presented themselves. The Kids classes unfortunately wound down after the instructor moved on from the academy, and so for a while I was back to just training and doing my best to improve. I received my Purple Belt from Roger Gracie in June 2008 after my second attempt at the World Championships at Blue Belt. Shortly after that, I took up a full-time position as a receptionist at the academy, which finally gave me access to an income that would allow me to take my already-active competition schedule to the next level.
In October 2009, I left my job and am now living at the Roger Gracie Academy in Ladbroke Grove whilst pursuing a career as a full-time Brazilian Jiu-jitsu instructor. Finally, at the beginning of February 2010, I received my Brown Belt from Roger Gracie after winning the European Championships for the second time.
I would like to think I am one of the most active competitors in the world, having won over 40 gold medals in my relatively short competition career and taken part in over 250 competitive grappling matches, winning a significant majority. I hold a number of titles, both national and international, and continue to compete on a local and world level on an almost-weekly basis.
My most notable achievement to date was winning the Abu Dhabi Pro European Qualifiers in Barcelona, where I defeated a Black Belt and a Brown Belt in back-to-back fights to take Gold and qualify for an all-expenses-paid trip to the World Professional Jiu-jitsu Cup in Abu Dhabi. Although I was knocked out of that competition by a world-class Brown Belt from the United States, it was still a tremendous opportunity to compete in the same division as greats of the sport such as Marcelo Garcia, Michael Langhi & Claudio Calasans, and one that I hope to repeat in the near future. I have also won both the CBJJ and CBJJE European titles in my weight, as well as capturing the CBJJE Purple Belt Absolute title and medalling at the Pan-American Gi and No-Gi Competitions. Whilst a World medal still eludes me, that is one thing that I am hoping to put right in the near future.