What You Need To Know About Atos BJJ

Last updated on 20.12.2021 by

From the moment Atos BJJ came onto the scene they were a powerhouse in the Jiu Jitsu competition scene. The gym is home to some of the best grapplers in the world and they have repeatedly proved their prowess.

Here is what you need to know about Atos BJJ and how they became a world-class Jiu Jitsu affiliation. We’ll go over how the two founders met and decided to create one of the world’s premiere BJJ teams.

The History of Atos BJJ

The story of how Atos BJJ was established starts with two grapplers that were looking for a new home academy: André Galvão and Ramon Lemos.

Galvão was a young champion who needed a new academy after the collapse of his coach Fernando Tererê’s academy. Lemos was also looking for another academy after leaving his previous academy Nova Uniao

Both would make the move to train at the Brasa Academy in Sao Paulo in 2007. Once the two met each other at Brasa Academy, Galvão and Lemos instantly became great friends.

The rapid decline of Brasa Academy

Brasa Academy early on had the makings of a super gym. Along with Galvão and Lemos, the best grapplers from Alliance, including the Vieira brothers that would go on to create the Jiu Jitsu team Checkmat, joined Brasa Academy after Alliance’s implosion. 

Unfortunately, Brasa Academy didn’t have good structure or leadership, so many athletes left the school. This led to Ramon asking his friend André to open an academy with him.

The two teamed up to create their own school with a highly competitive atmosphere and founded it on strong Christian values.

Atos BJJ is created

Galvão and Lemos moved to San Diego and made the city the headquarters for their new Jiu Jitsu academy. They would call their school Atos BJJ.

Atos is the Portuguese word for Acts, which is a book in the New Testament of the Bible and one of the favorite books of the two grapplers. Immediately after creating the gym, André and Ricardo would recruit a world class team to join them, including the Mendes brothers Gulherme and Rafael Mendes. The two Mendes brothers were the team’s first black belts.

Atos BJJ’s immediate success

Just two months after the Atos was created, leader André Galvão would make the team’s presence known in the competition scene by winning his second World BJJ Championship at black belt.

From that first world championship win, Atos BJJ would quickly reach the top of the Jiu Jitsu world. In each of their first 4 years of existence, a member of the team would win a BJJ world championship. 

André began his historic run at the ADCC Championships when he won double gold in 2011 and is still the reigning ADCC Superfight Champion as of December 2021.

Those early championship wins would rocket Atos BJJ into the upper echelon of elite Jiu Jitsu teams. Their success would take them from a successful Jiu Jitsu school to a full on affiliation.

Every year since their founding, the team has created world champions and opened new schools across the world; this upward trend seems to have no end in sight.

Atos BJJ’s Top Competitors

Atos BJJ has created so many top BJJ competitors that you could write an entire article covering them. Here are just a few of Atos BJJ’s top competitors:

André Galvão

You cannot do a write up of top Atos competitors without mentioning their co-founder André Galvão. André is no doubt one of the greatest BJJ competitors of all time.

A five time IBJJF World Champion at black belt and a two time ADCC World Champion. He is also one of the leaders of the team and without André, there would be no Atos BJJ.

The Mendes Brothers

Guilherme and Rafael Mendes’ time as BJJ competitors helped put Atos BJJ on the map. During their years as the competitors, the brothers won a combined 10 BJJ World Champions. Credited for their innovative games that helped revolutionize modern Jiu Jitsu. 

The brothers went on to form their own academy, but they played a significant role in the growth of Atos.

Lucas “Hulk” Barbosa

Lucas “Hulk” Barbosa is a four time No Gi World champion and a one time BJJ world champion. He has been one of Atos BJJ’s top athletes winning 4 No Gi world titles and world title in the Gi. Hulk is known for being insanely athletic and for his prowess at pressure passing.

Kaynan Duarte

Kaynan Duarte is one of the young rising stars of Atos BJJ. At just twenty one years old, Kaynan won the 99+ kilos division at the 2021 IBJJF Worlds. He will look to add a second ADCC title to his resume in 2022.

Josh Hinger

Josh Hinger is among one of the best masters level BJJ athletes that are competing today. In his career, Hinger has won 3 No-Gi world titles. He has been a fixture on the Pro BJJ circuit for years and looks like he will continue to be.

Ruotolo Brothers

The twins are Tye and Cade Ruotolo are the newest young prodigies to come out of Atos BJJ. During their teens, the boys were already world-class Jiu Jitsu competitors with skills well beyond their years. Now that they’re 18, Cade and Tye are no doubt going to become all-time great Jiu Jitsu athletes.

FAQs

What does Atos mean?

Atos is Portuguese for the word Acts, which is a book in the new testament of the bible. Both  Galvão and Lemos are deeply religious, which is why they decided on the name Atos.

Where is Atos BJJ headquarters?

Atos BJJ is headquartered in San Diego, California.

Who is the founder of Atos?

André Galvão and Ramon Lemos founded Atos.

When was Atos founded?

Atos BJJ was founded in 2008.

How many Atos affiliate schools are there?

There are currently Atos affiliate schools in nineteen different countries around the world.

Atos BJJ today

Since being created by André and Ricardo in 2008, Atos BJJ has grown into a Jiu Jitsu empire. Developing numerous world champion grapplers and becoming one of the fastest growing Jiu Jitsu affiliations in the world.
There are currently Atos affiliate schools in nineteen countries around the world and counting. Galvão and Lemos have created a very special team that will continue to grow and be incredibly successful.