Interview with World Champion and BJJ Inspiration- Crystal Gaxiola

Imagine moving to a new city where you don't know anyone. You are homeless and living out of your car, hoping someone will let you crash on their couch. You have to work 2 to 3 jobs just to get by, and even then you go some days without eating because you can't afford to. You struggle immensely, but it's worth it- because you're doing everything it takes to make your dreams come true.

The story above isn't an imaginary story. This was someone's reality. This is the story of Crystal Gaxiola- a newly awarded brown belt from Atos Jiu Jitsu HQ in San Diego, California. Her jiu jitsu story is beautiful, powerful, and extremely inspirational. Continue reading to find out how she overcame countless barriers to achieve a lifelong dream.

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"It all started when I was 6 years old, my brother wrestled for his school. He would come home and try all the moves he learned on me, and I thought it was so fun. I remember going to a tournament and saw that they had boys my age wrestling and I was watching saying "Hey, I can do that!" I asked my parents if I could join wrestling and the only response I would get was, "No you're a girl, girls don't wrestle." And I know they weren't saying that to be mean or to hurt me, but back then it wasn't as socially acceptable for girls to be in a male dominant sport.

Years later my brother found Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, and he was crazy about it! He would do the same thing he did with wrestling, come home and practice his moves on me. It was then that I decided i wanted to take up a martial art, and at the time I wanted to take up Muay Thai because striking looks super cool and I wanted to fight. So when I turned 18, I moved out of my parents house and after a year of being on my own I decided it was a good time to finally do what I wanted. I walked into the gym and I decided I would give Jiu Jitsu a try instead. As soon as I stepped foot on that mat started learning, I fell in love. Grappling felt so natural to me.

After a couple months of training my brother pushed me to compete. I kept saying to him "I don't feel ready" and his response was "You're not going to feel ready, you just have to go there and fight. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain." I went out and fought at the California State Championship and came back with 2 gold medals. I went on to compete at even bigger tournaments and had amazing results, it was safe to say I caught the competition bug.

I remember competing at the Pan American Championship in 2013 (just a few months into training) and I saw Andre Galvao competing, he was amazing. I also found out he has a wife who was also a very well respected competitor named Angelica Galvao. In my eyes they were the ultimate power couple. I went home, looked them up and saw that they have an academy in San Diego, CA. I watched their videos everyday, I wanted to compete like them. I thought it would be a dream come true to train with them and to be one of the first competitors to earn all of my belts under them, from white to black belt. Then I thought to myself, "what's stopping me?" That’s what lit the spark in me. The only problem was that I didn't know a single person in San Diego, I didn't know where I would stay, and I didn't make very much money or have any financial support. But being the stubborn and crazy person I am, I found a way to make it work anyway. I had a job working at Autozone so I got a transfer to San Diego, packed my car down and never looked back. Luckily I was able to make connections by contacting the gym and found a fighter house to live in on the couch (where I shared the living room with someone else) lol. It wasn’t much but it was the opportunity to start my journey.

From the jump I knew that coming out here wasn’t going to be easy. I honestly had no idea how I was going to make it work, all I knew was that I was ready to work my ass off and do anything I had to do to make this dream come true. But of course I had no idea how hard this would actually be. When I first came to Atos there were two other women here. A brown belt that I never really got to train with, and a 12 year old girl who ended up being one of my best training partners to this day. Being the only female in a class of high level athletes was very hard, none of the guys were really used to training with girls like the way they are now. I would get avoided many of the times and didn't have the confidence to call people out yet. That was something I struggled with for a couple years until our womens' program started growing.

For a while things were really bad, working only one part time job did NOT cut it out here. Like I said I didn't have financial support and I didn't make very much money so there were days I didnt even have money for food. I was home sick but couldnt admit it because everyone would tell me to come back home. And I still wasn't very close to anyone out here.

I ended up dating somebody on the team which I should’ve guessed wouldn't go very well. I found myself focusing on their goals more than my own. I allowed myself to be held back for far too long during this time, but I couldn't see the problem until way down the line.

I would find myself having a really hard time finding the time to train when I had to work 2, sometimes even 3 jobs at a time just to get by.

And for a while I was living out of my car, wondering where I was going to sleep that night, praying someone would let me sleep on their couch. I would shower at the local gym, and get ready for work there. At this point I still had no idea how I was doing it, but I knew I couldn't quit. I had something more to prove than just titles. I wanted to be an example and prove that no matter where you come from, no matter how little money or support you have, and especially regardless of being a female, you can bring your dreams to life if you work hard enough.

Then for a while I dug myself out of that hole and things were looking up. In 2017 training is going great, I've now earned my blue and purple belt under Andre Galvao and my dream is slowly coming true. I recently found a church I love, I had a good job, a nice place I was renting, and a good car, life was good. Then one day I was training and had one of the most traumatic experiences of my life. My elbow popped out of the socket and I tore all of the ligaments and the tendon in my arm. I had absolutely no use of my hand or arm and I was in the hospital for 5 days after surgery. The day I got out of the hospital I found out I was getting laid off work, prior to that I had lost my car, and now I couldn't afford to pay rent and I physically wasn't capable of working anywhere else. That was one of the darkest times of my life.

I didn't understand why this was happening to me, I couldn't even wash or comb my own hair anymore. I started questioning my life and what i was doing with it. I was completely out of training for 9 months. But I still showed up to the academy to watch and be around it all, I ended up finding another job, and my friends I've made over the years showed so much support and really helped with my living situation. Then it hit me. This was my chance to start over, this was my chance to build a life on a solid foundation, I had a new found faith stronger than ever. It wasn't bad luck on my part, this is my chance to show the world that no storm lasts forever, and you can make it out of any situation.

The next year I came back with a different mindset for competition and training in general. I realized how lucky I am to even be able to do this sport at all. To be healthy and able to do what I love is a very big blessing. I wasnt stressing over big titles and all, I was just happy to be out there competing against the best! And wouldn't you know it, I came back and won all my major titles. I won the 2018 No GI World Championship at purple. 2018 American National Championship Gi and No Gi, 2019 Pan American Championship, 2019 World Championship and then got my brownbelt on the podium.

From the beginning one of my goals was to be one of the best female competitors in the world, its still a big goal of mine. But I started with simple goals first like getting all of my belts under Andre Galvao. I knew I could achieve that if I didn't quit. And what happens when you train with the best? You compete like them too! So naturally the competition goal comes to life by working my ass off with them on the mats.

As far as brown belt, I'm still having some troubles so I'm just trying to get back to training hard and competing against the best at this level now. I’d like to start traveling more for fights as well, and soon enough get a passport so I can do Europeans, Asian Open, and Brazilian nationals too. In the long run I’d like to start traveling to teach seminars and help women across the country and across seas. My ultimate goal is to one day have an academy and a womens competition team of my own. I’d love to help females that have to drive and desire to be a top bjj competitor, and give them the guidance that I didn't really have but be able to offer it to them through the trials I’ve been through and experience I’ve gained along this journey.

So to all women who want to take their jiu jitsu to the next level, please do not give up. We all have the power within us, you just have to be honest with yourself about how badly you want it and how hard you are willing to work for it. Even if you are going through a rough patch or an injury, do not give up hope. The time will pass anyway and it will go by a lot faster than you think, even though in the moment it might feel like an eternity. You will look back and thank yourself for not giving up. It’s not going to be easy, it’s not supposed to be. But I promise you it will be worth it. If you train hard, stay healthy, and love what you do.. Everything will fall into place."

-Crystal G

Crystal's story is very touching and inspiring. This girl has been through every obstacle imaginable and never lost sight of her goals. She is a true inspiration and BJJ idol! Her story shows that through hard work and persistence, anything is possible... it's just a matter of how bad you want it.

Thank you all for taking the time to read Queen Cobra BJJ, and thank you so much for sharing your story Crystal! Oss!