The Grappling Monthly Podcast
The Grappling Monthly Podcast
Podcast Description
SEASON 1 EPISODE 3 DROPS April 8, 2025
The Grappling Monthly Podcast celebrates the art, the community, and the culture of grappling. Join host Sébastien Maniatopoulos as he chats with guests from around the grappling world. Learn about each guest’s personal grappling journey, and their views on the current state and future of grappling, the business side of the grappling arts, cross-training, nutrition, and much more!
Podcast Insights
Content Themes
The podcast covers a variety of themes related to grappling, including personal journeys into jiu-jitsu, cross-training methods, holistic nutrition, and the business aspects of grappling. For example, episodes explore how jiu-jitsu fosters community connections, training experiences in varied environments, and building successful programs for students.
Grappling Monthly is an independent editorial media brand covering the culture, people, and business of Brazilian jiu-jitsu and the grappling arts. Based in Los Angeles, the brand produces in-depth conversations with the coaches, gym owners, competitors, and practitioners shaping the sport.
The Grappling Monthly Podcast is the flagship property. A weekly long-form interview series hosted by Sébastien Maniatopoulos, a BJJ black belt establishing roots in the Southern California grappling community.
The brand’s editorial focus is on the human stories behind the art: how academies are built, how practitioners evolve, how the culture of jiu-jitsu intersects with identity, business, and community.
Grappling Monthly publishes across YouTube, Instagram, Substack, and major podcast platforms. Past guests include Robert Drysdale, Ricardo “Franjinha” Miller, Alberto Crane, Chris Haueter, Bruno Fernandes, Tinguinha Mariano, and Keith Krikorian.
Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt Pierre-Olivier Leclerc on 12 years at Tristar in Montreal, nogi competition, teaching, and training at 33 with 75 in mind. He walked into Tristar Gym as a white belt at 21 and never left. He now teaches at three Montreal academies and actively competes in no gi jiu-jitsu in major competitions.
In this episode:
– What an edge in nogi grappling used to cost, and what replaced it now the information is free
– Making a living in BJJ: part time work, seminars, and a market with far more black belts in it
– How he builds a class, mixing systematized position work with constraints and situational rounds – Training volume at 33, and why he treats rehab as sport science rather than softness
– Scouting, IBJJF, and why he stopped pulling guard
– The word sacrifice, and why he will not use it about himself Recorded on site at Mizu Studios in Montreal, Quebec.
Guest
Pierre-Olivier Leclerc
Instagram: www.instagram.com/@leclercbjj #
BJJ #NoGi #GrapplingMonthly #bjjlifestyle #jiujitsu
About Grappling Monthly
Grappling Monthly is an independent editorial media brand covering the culture, people, and business of Brazilian jiu-jitsu and the grappling arts. Based in Los Angeles, the brand produces in-depth conversations with the coaches, gym owners, competitors, and practitioners shaping the sport.
The Grappling Monthly Podcast is the flagship property. A weekly long-form interview series hosted by Sébastien Maniatopoulos, a BJJ black belt establishing roots in the Southern California grappling community. The brand’s editorial focus is on the human stories behind the art: how academies are built, how practitioners evolve, how the culture of jiu-jitsu intersects with identity, business, and community.
Grappling Monthly publishes across YouTube, Instagram, Substack, and major podcast platforms. Subscribe and turn on notifications.
IG and TikTok: @grapplingmonthly
For sponsorships and collaborations: [email protected]
Disclaimer
This podcast’s information is provided for general reference and was obtained from publicly accessible sources. The Podcast Collaborative neither produces nor verifies the content, accuracy, or suitability of this podcast. Views and opinions belong solely to the podcast creators and guests.
For a complete disclaimer, please see our Full Disclaimer on the archive page. The Podcast Collaborative bears no responsibility for the podcast’s themes, language, or overall content. Listener discretion is advised. Read our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy for more details.