The BJJ Fanatics Podcast
Ryan Ford
Our mission with this podcast is to help YOU grow on the mats! We do this by presenting deep, insightful interviews every week with the best athletes, coaches and legends of BJJ and Grappling. Whether you're looking to expand your knowledge about technique, BJJ culture or the history of the art, every episode is loaded with advice and lessons from the best in the game. The host Ryan Ford conducts each interview in a casual setting, which makes it easy to see the human side of the stars of our sport and get to know their story while also learning more for your own development. New episodes are available every week, and we have over 500 episodes for you to enjoy as well, which is over 800 hours of entertainment and knowledge! We hope you enjoy it!
Episodes
Mentioned books
Mar 24, 2026 • 1h
BJJ Fanatics 673: Alberto Crane
Alberto Crane returns to talk about his life in Jiu-Jitsu since being diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. He talks about how exploring Neurology has helped him and lessons he's learned. He also talks about the early days of being an American in Brazil!
Mar 5, 2026 • 1h 14min
BJJ Fanatics 672: Colton Crawford
Colton Crawford is a BJJ Brown Belt and the banjo player for the very successful Bluegrass band The Dead South. He talks about learning how to learn and the similarities between pursuing music and Jiu-Jitsu!
Feb 24, 2026 • 1h 30min
BJJ Fanatics 671: Dallas Niles
Dallas Niles returns to talk about teaching and the fact that you do NOT have to be a champion to be an elite instructor. He also talks about heavy metal and getting sick overseas, and the value of simplifying your game.
Feb 3, 2026 • 1h 41min
BJJ Fanatics 670: Michael Heinz
BJJ Black Belt Michael Heinz joins show show to talk about how meditation has impacted his journey in the art. He explains how to use meditation concepts before, during and after training to achieve better results.
Jan 20, 2026 • 1h 9min
BJJ Fanatics 669: Glyn Powditch
Glyn Powditch is a leading voice in Jiu-Jitsu on breathing and breathwork. He explains how something as simple as learning how to manage your breathing during training and competition can have a tremendous impact on your cardio and performance.
Jan 6, 2026 • 1h 29min
BJJ Fanatics 668: Shawn Williams
Shawn Williams joins the show for the first episode of 2026! The topic for this episode is how to coach athletes. Shawn talks about providing relevant information, game-planning, managing nerves and strategy from the coach's chair. He also talks take downs!
Dec 23, 2025 • 1h 5min
BJJ Fanatics 667: Xmas with Kurt
Kurt joins us for the final episode of 2025! We talk about the potential alien craft near Earth, conspiracy theories, and how AI consistently fools Kurt on Instagram. Kurt also takes questions from the listeners and spreads Christmas cheer.
Dec 2, 2025 • 1h 46min
BJJ Fanatics 666: Jeff Curran
Jeff Curran returns to share what its like to start and run a grappling tournament from scratch and life after professional fighting. He also opens up about growing up in poverty and a violent home and how Jiu-Jitsu changed the direction of his life
Nov 18, 2025 • 1h 18min
BJJ Fanatics 665: Roberto Godoi
Roberto Godoi returns to talk about competition for Masters athletes. He covers mindset, conditioning, tactics and conserving energy. He also explains how being "starstruck" when competing against a famous athlete is something to be completely avoided!
Nov 4, 2025 • 1h 52min
BJJ Fanatics 664: Shawn Melanson
Shawn Melanson joins the show to talk about running a gym specifically for competitors, how anxiety has impacted him on and off the mats, and developing take downs. He also shows his impressive reptile collection (check out the video episode on YouTube)
