Gordon Ryan, the biggest current star in Grappling has had an amazing run in the past few years. The 24 year old has won everything there is to win in No Gi grappling: 3x ADCC world champion, EBI champ, black belt 2x gold at IBJJF No Gi Pans and Worlds, and this year double gold at ADCC, and defeating a who’s who list of BJJ legends in superfights (Palhares, Gonzaga, Oleynik etc…) This had never been done before.

There have been rumors that he would transition to MMA, just like his teammate Garry Tonon.

As a result of his numerous accomplishments, Ryan has been able to make a very good living from winning pro grappling competitions with prize money, sales from his BJJ fanatics instructionals, sponsorships, instagram (245K followers), seminars and privates.

Gordon is probably the highest paid pro athlete in BJJ and he doesn’t even have his own BJJ academy yet.

At age 24, Ryan has won everything there is to win in No Gi grappling so what is next ?

He shared the news on his IG, that he just treated himself to a huge 1million dollar home and new truck:

How fortunate am i? Today i bought my 1st house. Take this as bragging or as inspiration. I dont care. I started my professional career (professional being defined as me being able to live by myself and pay all my bills) in mid 2016. Less than 4 years later i bought a brand new, just built, 965k dollar home and a brand new truck that will last me 965k miles 😂.

@danaherjohn tells us to always think in 5 year cycles. Being professional for 4 years has brought me to a point far beyond where id ever thought id be in grappling. When my parents got divorced 3 years ago i was just starting my career and didnt have much money. When our house was sold i knew it was an opportunity to get closer to renzos in the city. Me and the boys were driving 1000 miles a week, 25 hours a week, and spending 2500$ a month on travel to the city (gas, tolls, and parking).
Since i was early on in my career i didnt have enough money to buy a house i wanted near the city, so we decided to move into the city. I didnt think id like it but i gave it a shot. Now, we needed 3 bedrooms. 1 for me obviously, one for big gord (hes my best friend and will live with me until hes gone),and one for all his extra furniture and stuff he was bringing from the house, + a storage unit. Everywhere i looked in midtown or even uptown near the gym was 10k+ a month. My ultimate goal was to save for a house and for investments so i wanted to keep rent around 3k a month and be less than 45 minutes from training. We ended up settling for an apartment 40-45 minutes away in harlem on west 151st street for 4200 a month (there wasnt anything big enough/cheap enough in the time we had available).

In just a few years i went from living with my parents, to living in harlem, to buying a million dollar house to support my entire family. We have myself, big g, sonnyy, and soon nicky living here full time with the possibility of a few team mates as well. I am a living example of the AMERICAN DREAM. I came from next to nothing and i now have everything. Always remember this doesnt happen over night and it is in NO WAY easy. It takes harder work than you think youre capable of some days. But you sure as sh*t arent gonna accomplish anything sitting around feeling sorry for yourself. “Most people drastically overestimate what they can do in a year and drastically underestimate what they can do in 10”. And always remember king ryan fans (and haters😘) , i didn’t do this alone!

Every seminar, every dvd, every teeshirt, every positive review, every little thing you do to support me day in and day out doesnt go unnoticed. I am your servant and i will continue to not only entertain, but to push the sport forward beyond limits so not only i, but generations to come can support not only themselves, their kids and their grand kids. We are gonna change this sport and then we’re gonna change the world. Much love from the Ryan family ❤👑 ps- when the house is set up me and sonny will give you tours 😎