Rodrigo Pinheiro
Address
San Antonio, Texas, United States
Phone
About Us
Rodrigo Pinheiro was born on July 12, 1981 in Manaus, capital city of the state of Amazonas – Brazil.
Jiu jitsu entered Rodrigo’s life at the age of 9, with instructors Ulisses Paixão and Faustino Neto (also known as “Mestre Pina”). Pinheiro stayed alongside Ulisses Paixão throughout his lower belts career, going from white to black belt under the illustrious coach’s umbrella.
After he achieved the rank of black belt, Pinheiro moved to Rio de Janeiro, where he joined the world famous Gracie Humaitá team – training at their Tijuca branch academy, a work supervised by Saulo Ribeiro, who awarded Rodrigo’s first black belt degree (primeiro grau).
Rodrigo’s relationship with the United States of America started back in 1999, when he first visited the country to compete at the Pan American Championship. He returned a few times under similar circumstances over the years, until 2006, when a good friend by known as “Marrinha” invited Pinheiro to move to the US.
Once in North America, Pinheiro established his academy in San Antonio, Texas by 2007, being one of the first jiu jitsu gyms in the region.
