Estevan Martinez
Address
Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
Phone
About Us
Estevan Martinez was born on March 28, 1993, in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA, and raised in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
At the age of 14, Estevan decided to apply for his high school’s wrestling team, competing plenty during a 4 year period for said team. Shortly after graduating from high school (2011), one of Martinez’s wrestling buddies asked him to tag along to a jiu-jitsu class at a local club. Although unfamiliar with the sport, Estevan accepted.
After an initial interaction with the sport, and particularly after learning of BJJ’s strong tournament scene, Estevan became increasingly devoted to submission-grappling. Starting out in jiu-jitsu with coaches Kalo and Kale Lopez, Estevan made waves in the local circuit while climbing the rankings of the martial art up until his brown belt.
Even though he allocated all his resources to the sport, Estevan was not achieving the results he aspired for at an international level. The lengthy, expensive trips to compete in California and the fact that he trained in a smaller team were strong reasons for Martinez to decide on making a switch to a bigger training hub. The opportunity to move out of Albuquerque came by in 2017, through one of Estevan’s friends, Mike Medina. Mike trained at the US Headquarters of the ZR Team with 3 athletes greatly admired by Martinez, namely Lucas Rocha, Diego Ramalho, and Gabriel Sousa. Medina offered the young athlete a chance to come to California and train with the team, an proposal accepted by Estevan.
Estevan Martinez trained under Lucas for three years earning my black belt on June 1, 2019, after a bronze medal at the IBJJF World Championships that year.
