Latvian-American BJJJ brown belt Andris Brunovskis is one of the best competitors on the North American BJJ scene. He has just won the gold at brown belt at this year’s Pan. In this interview with BJJ eastern Europe, he talks about his BJJ journey, his time as one of Lloyd Irvin’s medal chasers, his move to Atos Sand Diego, his Latvian roots and more:  

Hi Andris, can you please introduce yourself to the BJJ Community of Eastern Europe? 

My name is Andris Auseklis Brunovskis.   I’m a 23-year-old brown belt from San Diego. I train at Atos Jiu-Jitsu under Andre Galvao.  My main titles include blue belt juvenile world champion (2008), purple belt world champion (2010), and just recently I won the 2014 Pan American championship as a brown belt.
Please tell us about how you started training
My BJJ journey started in 2006 when I started training in Cleveland, Ohio under Darren Branch at Evolution. I was 16 years old at that time, and had heard of this academy through word of mouth. From the first time that I stepped onto the mat, I realized that I was destined for this. I ate, slept and dreamed jiu-jitsu. I was still in high school, and while my classmates were off doing the usual high school stuff, I was deeply immersed in jiu-jitsu. I attended as many classes as possible. Darren Branch was very pivotal in my first few years of Jiu-jitsu. I was passionate about learning as much as possible, and he took a lot of time giving me private sessions and helping me to progress. After a move to Sacramento, I had the privilege of training at Cassio Werneck’s academy. I learned a great deal in a short amount of time. Cassio’s teaching style was amazing and I learned so much while there. It was the summer that I trained at Cassio’s that I earned my title as juvenile blue belt world champion.

While training in Sacramento, I met Keenan Cornelius, who was a green belt at the time. We became good friends and have remained so since. For my first four years of training I was traveling back and forth between Cleveland and Sacramento. During a tournament in Ohio, I met Lloyd Irvin and J.T Torres. I spoke briefly to Lloyd, telling him him about my goals and aspirations of being a champion. I was offered the opportunity to train on Team Lloyd Irvin. Within a weeks’ time I moved to Maryland, where I had the opportunity of training full-time.

Gold, 2014 Pan

How was it for you at Lloyd Irvin’s academy?

It was really a surreal experience to have my life totally change in such a short period of time. I went from working as a busboy and training once a day to training full-time with guys like Mike Fowler, Dj Jackson and J.T Torres. During my stay in Maryland, I stayed in touch with Keenan Cornelius and it wasn’t long before he made the trip down to Maryland as well. About 6 or 7 full-time jiu-jitsu guys and I lived in a fighter house known as the Jungle. It was the ultimate jiu-jitsu dream. We would eat, sleep, and train. It wasn’t easy, but it was a great experience for all of us. Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end, and the team was completely broken up. Overnight, everyone left town.

What did you after the breakup of the team and how did you end up at Atos?

Most of my teammates moved to San Diego to train at Atos Jiu-jitsu. I promised myself I’d join them there in due time. At the time, I was left with no money and no academy to train at. I was in essence without a home. It was a very hopeless time for me. As fate would have it, one of my old friends helped me get a job teaching in Austin Texas, where got to teach at Gracie Humita Austin for about a month. Everyone there was extremely kind and welcoming to me. From there, I traveled to Sacramento, where my family lives. I stayed there for about 6 months, just saving up money. One of the most devastating times for me was watching Pans and Worlds go by and seeing all my friends competing while I was at home. The long break from full-time training really took a toll on my jiu-jitsu. However, I just kept grinding and saving money and by the end of this past summer, I finally accomplished my goal. I had moved to San Diego and I was reunited with all my old training partners at Atos jiu-jitsu. I’ve been training hard, competing, and living the jiu-jitsu dream ever since.
You are a frequent competitor had a great 2013/2014 season so far with a gold at the Pan in your weight class. Tell us about your training regimen for comps

My success is triggered from hard work. I just train as much as possible. Anyone can train jiu-jitsu; jiu-jitsu is fun.  However, it takes a champion to train on those days when your body and spirit are broken down, and all you want to do is lie in bed.  In preparation for Pans, I’d do a hard training session in the morning and again at night.  I was also on a VERY strict diet.  I think that I daydreamed about food more than I did about jiu-jitsu.

How would you describe your BJJ style?

I would describe my BJJ style as funky and dangerous.

Please tell us about your Latvian roots. Do you follow the growth of BJJ in Latvia? Do you plan to go visit one day?

Both of my parents are full-blooded Latvians.  We were all taught Latvian as kids, but I do not remember very much.  Their parents moved to the United States after WWII.   I’ve never been to Latvia but feel a close tie with the culture.  I am extremely curious about the jiu-jitsu scene out there and am hoping to get an opportunity to teach a seminar there in the near future.  I’m considering opening an academy there once I’m done competing. I’d like to help Latvia become a strong force in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.

What is next for you and your team in 2014?

Well, now that Pans is over, we’re all gearing for World Championships.  I’m going to train harder then ever for this upcoming Worlds.

Tell us about the daily trainings at Atos San Diego. How is it different from other academies that you’ve trained at?

Daily training at Atos consists of techniques, drilling, and rolling. Training at Atos differs from other academies I’ve trained at in a few ways.  For one thing, Andre Galvao is such an amazing instructor.   He has such a wealth of knowledge that he’s willing to share with us.  I feel like my mind gets blown every time he teaches classes.  The other thing that separates Atos from other academies I’ve trained at is the talent pool.  I get to train with guys like Michael Liera, Rolando Samson, Louis Bernard-Desrosiers, Angelo Barden, Nisar Loynab, Mike Carbullido, Mike Perez, and Pete O’Neal every day and that’s only to name a few.  This is not to take away from other academies, but it is rare to have so much talent in one space at the same time.  Even the blue belts here are killers.  Everyone has their own unique style they bring to the table, which helps prepare one for tournaments.

If you want to thank somebody or sponsors, feel free

I wanna thank my coaches, Andre Galvao, Guto Campos and Tony Passos and also, all of my teammates.  You are only as good as the people you train with and all of my teammates have made me so much better.  Last but not least, a thank you to my sponsors, Prana and Jiujiteiro.

Thanks Andris and all the best!