Changeable Supportive Title

BJJ Lineage:

 Mitsuyo Maeda
 Carlos Gracie Sr.
 Helio Gracie
 Carlos Gracie Junior
 Roberto “Gordo” Correa
 Gustavo “Guga” Machado
 Justin McQuown

Gustavo “Guga” Machado – President, GM BJJ Association (6th Degree Black Belt)

Gustavo was born August 8, 1974 in Rio De Janeiro, Brasil. At the age of fifteen, friends such as Tinguinha, Gordinho, Soneca, Soca, the late Ryan Gracie and others encouraged Gustavo to start training in Jiu-Jitsu. He began to practice at the Oficina do Corpo Academy under Professor Jean Jaques Machado. Gustavo was soon promoted to the rank of Blue Belt at the age of sixteen. When Professor Jean Jaques Machado left Brazil, Gustavo began to train at the legendary Gracie Barra Academy under Professor Carlos Gracie Jr. Gustavo quickly became a strong competitor, winning and placing in numerous tournaments throughout his study.

At the age of nineteen, Gustavo was awarded his Purple Belt and began teaching under the authority of Professor Carlos Gracie Jr. In 1996 Gustavo received his Brown Belt. In 1998, Gustavo began his journey to relocate to the United States to teach in Virginia. In the year 2000, Gustavo was awarded his Black Belt from Roberto Correa (Gordo), a Gracie Barra Head Instructor.

Gustavo is the Head Instructor and proprietor of Gustavo Machado Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Professor Gustavo is currently a 6th Degree Black Belt under the legendary Roberto “Gordo” Correa (Coral Belt 7th Degree). He has dedicated his life to teaching and spreading the understanding of the technique that he has mastered from his teachers in Brazil. There are many outstanding students at his academy in Virginia Beach, with a few embarking upon careers of their own as BJJ instructors.

 
Justin McQuown – Head Instructor (Black Belt 2nd Degree)

Justin was born in Long Beach, California in 1972. Justin enlisted in the Military at the age of 17 and spent 11 years on Active Duty. After departing the Military in 2000 and after the events of Sept. 11th 2001,  Justin began a 15-year career working for the U.S. government managing high threat security operations and training programs for various military, intelligence and governmental agencies and global counter-terrorism programs. In 2017, Justin was recruited to manage security programs for various global touring artists with Live Nation Global Touring, overseeing security operations on world tours for top acts/artists including Katy Perry, Olivia Rodrigo, Justin Bieber, U2, Madonna, Lady Gaga, Britney Spears and others. Justin currently still advises on entertainment activities regularly and governmental projects from time to time.

His Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu path began in 2000 under Professor Marcelo Alonso (Carlson Gracie Black Belt) in Tacoma, Washington focusing on military defensive tactics and subject control techniques. After Moving to Virginia for his career working with the U.S. Government, Justin began training traditional Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in 2007 with Professor Gustavo Machado in Virginia Beach, Virginia. Justin was awarded his Black Belt by Professor Gustavo Machado in December, 2018 and relocated to Sarasota in late 2020, making the decision to focus his life on teaching and spreading the art of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.

“My mission with GMBJJSRQ is to provide a friendly, welcoming environment where I can help influence other people’s lives with the art of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, the way it has influenced mine. In the words of my mentor and brother Professor Gustavo “Guga” Machado, I want to help create Black Belts both in and out of the GMBJJ organization.”

 

Luan Andrei Albuquerque – Head Instructor (Black Belt 1st Degree)

Luan Andrei is a professonal grappler and a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Black Belt under the legendary Roberto Gordo Correa and Márcio “Pé de Pano” Cruz. Luan has repesented R1NG Team coalition in the sports international circuit Luan has gianed nototriety during his colored belt career, a time when he won tournaments of the International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation (IBJJF) and the Abu Dhabi Jiu-JItsu Pro Tour (AJP).  Most Recently Professor Andrei cemented his debut year in the Professional Division  with a Gold Medal at the IBJJF American National No-Gi Championships.

Luan Andrei was born on December 21, 1992, in Niterói, Brazil, a large city near Rio de Janeiro, however, Andrei grew up in the neighboring town of São Gonçalo.

Martial arts entered Luan’s life during his early teens, more precisely, he was 13 years of age when he first joined a local Thai boxing club. Although that first experience was short-lived, Andrei would return to his striking skills later in life, when he competed in mixed martial arts, years later.

In 2008 a local weights gym opened a jiu-jitsu class and Andrei decided to try it out. The mats turned out to be much more appealing to the young Brazilian than Muay Thai had been in the past. He fell in love with grappling almost immediately under the tuition of coaches Luciano Manão and Hygor Camara.

Although Luan gained an interest in jiu-jitsu’s competitive circuit, he belonged to a very small gym with hardly any aspirations in the local tournament scene. Andrei’s first interaction with a jiu-jitsu athlete was with Rodrigo Barbosa, a black belt under Roberto Corrêa (Gordo) who visited the gym fairly regularly. Luan and Barbosa became close, with Rodrigo helping Andrei with many aspects of his grappling game and in day-to-day life as he became much of a father figure in the absence of Luan’s real dad.

In 2011 Luan joined the airforce. During that period, Rodrigo Barbosa continued incentivizing Andrei to train jiu-jitsu, bringing him to the Gordo Jiu-Jitsu Academy regularly to train at one of Rio de Janeiro’s top grappling teams. Luan was a blue belt when he became a regular student at Gordo’s.

Although a military career offered financial stability, Andrei opted to leave the airforce to pursue a career in jiu-jitsu back in 2014, a decision heavily influenced by the advice of Rodrigo Barbosa.

Luan’s early days as a professional jiu-jitsu athlete meant sleeping at gym and barely earning enough to get by. Seeing Andrei’s daily struggle, Régis Calixto – one of Gordo’s team members – proposed that Luan moved to the United States, to spend some time at Régis’ newly opened academy in Florida.

Traditionally, the Gordo Jiu-Jitsu School and the Márcio Cruz Academy have been on very good terms as both of the team’s leaders, Gordo and Pé de Pano, were teammates developed in the legendary Gracie Barra program of the 1990s. The teams have also competed regularly under the same banner (R1NG). As such, considering Régis Calixto’s gym was just starting and students were scarce, Calixto visited Márcio Cruz’s nearby academy, regularly, where he found a wider variety and more experienced training partners.

When Régis brought Luan to the US, he introduced Andrei to coach Márcio Cruz and the two formed a strong bond. Márcio “Pé de Pano” Cruz became a mentor for Andrei while he developed into one of the top competitors on the US national circuit.

Luan’s good form would earn him a promotion to brown belt (by Cruz) and later, his black belt, awarded by both Pé de Pano and Roberto Gordo on January 3rd, 2021.