Long before Eddie Bravo became one of the most influential figures in modern Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, his ambitions were pointed in a completely different direction.

When Bravo moved to Hollywood in 1991 at just 21 years old, his focus was music. Martial arts were never part of the plan.
But as he recently explained on The Adam Carolla Show, Jiu-Jitsu entered his life for a surprisingly simple reason:

I started doing martial arts like in the early 90s just to stay in shape, just so I wouldn’t be a fat rockstar.

The motivation came from watching legendary guitarist Yngwie Malmsteen struggle with weight during the height of his fame:

There was this guitar player, famous guitar player named Yngwie Malmsteen…

There was a period where he got really fat.
I thought if I’m going to be playing arenas and stadiums, I don’t want to be fat.

So I started doing martial arts.

During that time, he crossed paths with Joe Rogan, who was training before becoming a household name.
The two formed a friendship, with Rogan even encouraging Bravo to try stand-up comedy.

Everything changed in 2003 at the ADCC World Championships.
Competing as a brown belt, Bravo shocked the grappling world by submitting Royler Gracie, who had never been scored on in ADCC competition:

No one ever had even scored a point against him. He won it three times in a row.

Returning to Los Angeles, friends urged him to act immediately.
At the time, Bravo was working as a writer on The Man Show, an experience he described as miserable.

Still believing music was his ultimate goal, he made a pivotal decision:

I thought, okay, cool job. I teach people how to k*ll and protect themselves until I get that record deal.

And the rest, well, was 10th Planet history.

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