Bruno Bastos Announces His Retirement
After decades dedicated to high-performance BJJ, the black-belt, Bruno Bastos has announced his retirement from competing in the adult division. An ADCC veteran and IBJJF champion, the head of Lead BJJ is wrapping up his competitive career at the age of 40.
Bastos’s journey in the sport started when he was only ten years old. He took his first steps at a dojo near his home at the time, in Rio de Janeiro. As a black-belt competitor, Bruno has earned gold medals from the Pan American, No-Gi Worlds and Brazilian Nationals Tournaments.
Leadership, trust, and persistence will all be remembrances of Bruno’s legacy, as well as, his accomplished titles.
Bruno’s farewell letter:
“First of all, I’m in peace with myself. I didn’t make this decision due to a loss or anything that would make me give up on the sport I love. Everything I’ve gone through in this journey until now has been exciting to me.
I’m only saying a “goodbye” to the professional competitions in the adult division. I’ll continue to train and compete in the Masters’ division and participate at BJJ super fights against legends of the sport, because fighting is a part of me, and it expresses who I am. Life is an eternal competition.
Now it’s time to make my students better than I ever was, take care of my new gym, and propagate BJJ throughout the world even further. It’s a moment in which I’d be closer to my family. They have followed all of my progress to become a professional and I want to give them back. I’m extremely grateful to jiu-jitsu for who I am.
My journey has been amazing as an athlete and I’m proud of my achievements. I’m a medalist at the BJJ Worlds in gi and no-gi. I fought the best in this sport and I have victories and defeats. I’ll carry the memories forever.
I’m about to turn 40 years old, and I have 30 years of jiu-jitsu. I have just turned 19 years as a black-belt, and recently I received my fifth degree. Yup, I got farther than I imagined when I was younger.
My story as an athlete is already built. I’m ready to write more chapters as an instructor, and a human being, who helped improve the lives of many people all over the world. Thank you, jiu-jitsu!”