We had the good fortune of connecting with Daniel Wilkins and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Daniel, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
SuperFly BJJ is not the first business that Jake, Wade or myself have owned, but it is our first venture together. The three of us have been training Brazilian Jiu Jitsu together for years and over that time we would often talk about the little things we would do differently if we had our own school. The concept for SuperFly started about seven years ago but the timing wasn’t right due to our other professional commitments at the time. The thought process for starting SuperFly, at its core, was based on wanting to create a martial arts school that felt safe, inviting, and reflected our style and personalties.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
My background is in media and I started working at our family-owned advertising agency right out of high school. It was supposed to be temporary, but I liked it and decided to stick with it. Twelve years later, as CEO I was able to negotiate an exit event with a private investment group. I stayed in the media industry and opened my own media strategy consultancy in 2013, which I still own today. Somewhere along the way, I got into the non-profit world. My father had Parkinson’s disease and we started a Parkinson’s advocacy charity called the Wilkins Parkinson’s Foundation in 2010. I also have served as the Executive Director of a non-profit call the PVBLIC Foundation since 2012. PVBLIC’s mission is to utilize media, technology and data for social impact, and the majority of our work is in partnership with the United Nations in support of the Sustainable Development Goals globally.

Owning a martial arts school was never something that was on my “10-year-plan”. I got into Brazilian Jiu Jitsu at the urging of a friend, and my intention was simply to give myself something to do after work to stay active. After some time, the idea of competing became enticing and I started to compete. Then, one day, an instructor at our school asked me to cover a class for them and teach. I found that I really liked teaching and the idea of one day potentially owning my own school sounded appealing.

It is interesting the paths our careers can take. I have always been open to new challenges and opportunities that interest me. I am 42 years old, and as I begin to cross what is typically considered the mid-point of a career timeline, I am most focused on how to make the full transition to working 100% on SuperFly BJJ. I foresee teaching BJJ for as long as my body will let me and I look at SuperFly as my early retirement plan to transition out of the other professional things I am involved with.

SuperFly represents the first professional venture I have done that was purely born out of a passion for that work. I love teaching BJJ. Even more, I love the community that Jake, Wade and I have built and how our members support each other in and out of the gym. There is very little that feels like “work” to me at SuperFly, and for the first time in my career I understand the old adage, “Find a job you love doing, and you will never work a day in your life.”

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
My father is my biggest inspiration. I worked for him out of high school and he was instrumental is teaching me about business. He was always my biggest supporter. In Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, all credit needs to go to Roan “Jucao” Carneiro. Roan is our teacher, coach, mentor in all things BJJ, but he is also a dear friend. He has taught me so much about the martial art and the application of its principles in all areas of my life, not just on the mats. Last, but certainly not least, my wife and kids. They are always supporting me and the school. My daughters added ideas for its design, they help clean it, and they put up with all the things that come up on a day-to-day basis when you own your own business.

Website: www.superflybjj.com

Instagram: @superflyjiujitsu

Youtube: @superflybjj

Image Credits
Bryce France

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