Alan Marques

Alan Marques was born on September 26, 1973, in Daly City, California. Martial arts entered his life not by choice, but by necessity — when bullying began during his first-grade years, his parents enrolled him in training to give him the tools to defend himself. Though Marques personally gravitated toward karate, its striking-focused nature clashed with the family's values, and judo was chosen as the alternative. It was a quiet decision that would shape everything that followed.

Marques trained judo throughout his childhood, and the grappling foundation proved practically effective against the bullies who had once targeted him. As he grew older, however, his commitment faded and he stepped away from the mats altogether.

After finishing college, Marques found himself in the heart of Silicon Valley — working ten-hour days in quality assurance for various tech companies while living a largely sedentary life outside of work. The contrast between the physical discipline of his youth and the desk-bound reality of adult professional life was stark. Meanwhile, Marques had been following the early UFC events as a spectator, developing a clear-eyed appreciation for jiu-jitsu's real-world effectiveness — an understanding that complemented his own judo background, which he had tested in a handful of street altercations over the years. The stage was set for a return to the mats.

Finding the Academy

In September 1996, Ralph Gracie opened a new studio in Mountain View, California — positioned conveniently along the route between Marques' home and his workplace. The timing and location made the decision to join almost inevitable. What began as a pragmatic move to break a sedentary routine quickly became a total immersion in jiu-jitsu culture.

The Rivalry That Built a Partnership

Marques established himself as one of Ralph Gracie's most consistent and dedicated students. Among those who trained alongside him was Scott Nelson — known as Scotty — a training partner whose relationship with Marques was defined by an intensity that bordered on rivalry. Their sparring sessions were legendary among teammates for their ferocity; by Marques' own account, the two would train not until a tap, but until one of them was actually injured. Teammates who witnessed these exchanges were understandably surprised when the pair later became business partners, having assumed the heat between them reflected genuine animosity. In reality, the competition had forged a deep and durable mutual respect.

Earning the Black Belt

On December 14, 2006, Ralph Gracie awarded Alan Marques his black belt — the same instructor who had presented Marques with every belt that preceded it. The ceremony carried particular weight when Ralph Gracie tied his own personal belt around Marques' waist, a gesture widely recognized within the martial arts community as a mark of the highest respect.

Marques continued to develop his game after receiving his black belt, ultimately earning the rank of 3rd degree black belt under Ralph Gracie — a reflection of decades of dedication to both the practice and culture of jiu-jitsu. Throughout his competitive career, Marques competed in the Peso Leve division at 76kg/167lbs.

The Birth of OTM

Approximately a year after beginning his training at Ralph Gracie's Mountain View academy, Marques received an unexpected proposition from his sparring rival Scott Nelson: co-found a business together. The venture, launched in 1997, became OnTheMat — known widely as OTM — and it would go on to occupy a genuinely pioneering position in the development of Brazilian jiu-jitsu in the United States.

Nelson brought a background in sales from the tech industry; Marques drew on his experience in quality assurance. In the early days, Nelson's outgoing personality earned him much of the public-facing visibility, but the two founders were interchangeable in practice, taking on whatever the operation demanded. OTM became one of the very first companies to sell Brazilian kimonos in the United States and among the earliest websites of any kind to host video footage — a feat that was genuinely ahead of its time in the late-1990s internet landscape.

Grappling Journalism and Cultural Impact

Marques carved out a role as one of the first dedicated grappling journalists in the country, documenting the sport's initial growth across the northern hemisphere with an authenticity that came directly from being a practitioner himself. OTM's editorial philosophy centered on promoting the sport and its athletes without commercial agenda — covering events in exchange for access, going wherever the sport was being practiced. During this era, the line between BJJ and MMA was still blurred, and OTM moved fluidly across both, covering organizations such as the WEC, Grapplers Quest, and a wide range of other competitions.

One of OTM's most enduring cultural contributions was entirely accidental. The now-iconic "Girls" logo originated as an inside joke — a design created for laughs to put on a small run of shirts for Marques, Nelson, and a few friends ahead of a Copa Pacifica tournament. When the pair arrived and discovered that the logo had spread organically throughout the event — appearing on competitors' uniforms, drawing enthusiastic approval from strangers — Marques and Nelson recognized they had tapped into something genuine.

Expanding the Brand After 9/11

The trajectory of OTM shifted meaningfully after September 11, 2001, when Nelson made the decision to relocate to Brazil. The original plan had called for both founders to move, but Marques chose to remain in the United States and continue documenting the sport's domestic growth through blogging and video editing. Nelson's presence in Brazil proved valuable in surfacing top jiu-jitsu talent and assisting others in making the same relocation, while Marques' decision to stay ensured that OTM maintained its credibility and coverage as the American scene continued to expand.

In 2009, Alan Marques co-founded Heroes Martial Arts in downtown San Jose, California, alongside David McCleod. McCleod's role as co-founder was integral to the academy's establishment, and the partnership reflected the same collaborative spirit that had defined Marques' earlier work with OTM. Heroes Martial Arts developed into one of the leading grappling academies in the San Jose area, earning a reputation as a serious training environment for practitioners at every level.

The founding of Heroes Martial Arts marked a natural evolution in Marques' relationship with jiu-jitsu — a transition from journalist and competitor to full-time educator and academy leader. Having spent years chronicling the sport's growth from the outside, his shift toward building a training community from the ground up reflected a deepening commitment to the grassroots development of BJJ in Northern California.

Alan "Gumby" Marques occupies a distinctive place in the history of Brazilian jiu-jitsu in the United States — as both a practitioner and a chronicler of the sport's formative years. His early work with OTM helped establish jiu-jitsu and mixed martial arts as subjects worthy of dedicated media attention at a time when mainstream outlets offered little to none, and the platform he and Scott Nelson built served as a genuine cultural touchstone for practitioners throughout the late 1990s and 2000s.

What gave Marques' journalism its particular credibility was its grounding in lived experience on the mats. As a 3rd degree black belt under Ralph Gracie — one of the most respected lineages in the sport — Marques was never simply an observer; he was a participant who understood from the inside what he was covering. That dual identity as both a serious practitioner and a media entrepreneur lent his work an authenticity that distinguished OTM from more commercially driven outlets.

The arc of Marques' career — from judo student in Daly City, to fierce training rival, to pioneering journalist, to academy co-founder — reflects a sustained and evolving dedication to growing the jiu-jitsu community. The OTM brand endures as a symbol of the sport's early American growth period, remembered by long-time practitioners as a voice that documented a pivotal chapter in BJJ history with honesty and genuine enthusiasm for the craft.