In one of those “you can’t make this up” moments from the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu world, a blue belt named Jesse Miller has decided to take a shortcut on the long road to black belt — by promoting himself from blue to purple in just three months… and then opening his own gym.

The story surfaced on Reddit and quickly caught fire in the BJJ community after Brad Montgomery, a respected instructor, called out his former student on Facebook.

“This is extremely unfortunate. I promoted Jesse Miller to blue belt approximately three months ago. He has been running a gym in Lebanon that was affiliated with Fusion, and that affiliation is effectively terminated. I expect every single individual under my banner to hold themselves to a higher standard.” – Brad Montgomery

Self-promotion in BJJ is considered one of the biggest taboos in the sport — right up there with faking competition results or lying about your lineage. Rank isn’t just a piece of colored fabric; it’s a public statement about your skill, time on the mats, and the trust of your instructor. Skipping the process disrespects everyone who earned it the hard way.

And Jesse Miller is far from the first to try it. The sport has seen its fair share of “fake black belts” and suspiciously fast promotions:

• Jeremy Varney was famously outed in 2015 after wearing a black belt and running a school without legitimate credentials, only to be exposed during a roll where his skills didn’t match his rank.

• In 2019, a coach in Canada was caught wearing a brown belt despite never officially being promoted past blue. The news spread like wildfire after visiting black belts recorded his matches.

• Even in MMA, there have been fighters claiming ranks they didn’t earn — with embarrassing footage later revealing glaring technical gaps.

The internet is merciless with such stories, and BJJ social media thrives on exposing them.

In Miller’s case, he not only misrepresented his rank, but also tried to leverage it to attract students to his gym in Lebanon, Missouri. With his affiliation now revoked, he’s left running an unrecognized academy with a stain on his name that will follow him for years.

The moral of the story? In Jiu-Jitsu, there are no shortcuts. You can’t buy time on the mats, and you definitely can’t Photoshop your way to legitimacy. If you’re in the Lebanon area and see this “purple belt” running a school — think twice before stepping through the door.

Credit to Brad Montgomery for bringing the story to light.

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