Life & Work with Jake Jo and Daniel Wilkins

Jake Jo and Daniel Wilkins

Jake and I have been talking about opening a school together for years. We would always talk about how unnecessarily “macho” many of the schools were, how they pushed their students to compete, or got upset when their students cross-trained at other gyms. We didn’t like how many schools were heavy-handed with their membership agreements. All three of us came up through a very competitive school that emphasized competition-level training, which we love but recognize is not for everyone. When we thought about the school we wanted to have, we wanted to create one that felt welcoming to the casually curious student, the self-defense focused student, and the student who is serious about competing. I think you can cater to all three and so far, we have been successful in doing just that. The name SuperFly was an attempt to swing the opposite direction of the “macho” school environments that I mentioned earlier. The three of us are kids of the 80’s and 90’s, so we picked a color and design aesthetic that reflects that. Our school has a lot of bright colors, florescent uplighting, great music, its clean and safe, and most importantly, it is fun. Wade was hugely instrumental in the design concept for SuperFly and literally brought it to life for us. We believe the benefits of learning a martial art like Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu extends beyond what may or may not happen in a physical altercation. We see students come in who are shy and timid that find confidence and self-assurance that they then take into their everyday lives. We have students who have lost a significant amount of weight and now are healthier and happier. BJJ is hard to learn, for sure, but sometimes the biggest benefits come from things that are difficult to do and we try our best to make it as fun as possible in the process. We joke, we play 80’s music, and we support each other on and off the mats. It truly is a community and a family.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Honestly, the road has been smooth. We opened the doors in January of 2023 with exactly zero students. We were not entirely sure what to expect, but we opened the doors, invited our friends in the BJJ community to come for open mats, and slowly but surely we grew. The three of us made a conscious decision in the beginning to prioritize the environment of the school over profit. We have other jobs that support us so we felt we could support potentially slower growth to establish the vibe we wanted. However, by the end of 2023, our mats were full for all of our evening classes. Now, three months into 2024, we are talking about how to expand our mat space to accommodate the growth.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Our students come first. Period. Any school will probably say something similar but I think if you ask any of our students they would give you the same answer. We walk a fine line between a serious training environment and a fun-loving community. Our memberships are month-to-month to give our students the flexibility to deal with life circumstances that arise. We have no problem pausing memberships if needed. We have witnessed our members rally around each other during periods of personal loss and difficulties. We are nothing but an empty space with mats if our students don’t feel supported, encouraged, and cared about. It may come off as cliche, but it drives every decision we make. 

What matters most to you? Why?
The vibe of the school. As much as people think joining a BJJ is about fitness, being able to defend themselves, or winning tournaments, it’s not. For some people, these are their goals and we certainly help them to accomplish them. Many of the adults we meet, however, end up joining because they are trying to deal with depression, are getting sober, working to overcome an abusive situation, or are just looking for a community and friendship. We want SuperFly to feel like a home away from home. A place that once you step inside, the laughter and smiles and camaraderie overtake the stress and things you might be dealing with outside. We thought creating the right vibe for SuperFly would take more time. I think the biggest surprise for Jake and I has been how quickly the vibe we were looking for was established. It happened organically and is a self-sustaining feedback loop driven by the students. We all agree that this is the thing we are probably most proud of so far.