Bruno Mendes

Bruno Mendes was born on May 7, 1981, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and grew up in the Tijuca neighborhood — a district with deep roots in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu culture. At 14, he stepped onto the mats at Kioto academy, beginning a lifelong commitment to the art. His early development was shaped by a coaching staff that included Marcus Pacheco, Marcos Carvalho, André Carvalho, and a coach known as 'Drack'. At the heart of his formative years, however, stood head coaches Krauss Mansor and Alvaro Mansor, whose mentorship proved decisive in guiding Mendes toward a career as both a competitor and a leader within the sport.

Mendes demonstrated an exceptional aptitude for Jiu-Jitsu from the outset, earning a level of trust from his coaches that placed him on an accelerated path. At just 15 — still a yellow belt — he began assisting Alvaro Mansor with classes, an unusually early transition into coaching that reflected both his technical maturity and his natural leadership instincts. By blue belt at age 17, Mendes had been formally integrated into Kioto's instructor roster, working alongside the very coaches who had trained him.

Competitive Dominance at the State Level

His competitive record during this period reinforced his standing on the mats. Mendes claimed the Rio de Janeiro State Championship in 2002, 2003, and 2004 — three consecutive victories that established him as one of the region's standout competitors of his generation. This run of success culminated in December 2004, when Alvaro Mansor and Francisco Mansor promoted him to black belt, formally recognizing his technical depth and his enduring contribution to the academy.

In 2005, armed with his black belt and years of coaching experience within Kioto, Mendes made the decision to branch out independently. Together with his brother Augusto Mendes, he departed the academy and co-founded Renovação Jiu-Jitsu — a natural evolution for two experienced black belts ready to build and lead a program on their own terms.

The Birth of Soul Fighters

The Renovação period laid the groundwork for a larger organizational step. In May 2008, Bruno and Augusto Mendes joined forces with Alvaro Mansor, Rafael Barbosa (known as 'Formiga'), and Leandro Escobar (known as 'Tatu') to co-found Soul Fighters. The new team united practitioners connected through shared lineage and mutual respect, creating a unified structure that would grow into one of Rio de Janeiro's prominent BJJ organizations. The founding of Soul Fighters brought together coaches and competitors whose combined experience spanned decades of high-level training, marking a significant moment in the city's grappling community.

Within Soul Fighters, Mendes operates as both an organizational leader and an on-the-mat coordinator. Based at the Evidence academy, he supervises classes and steers the development of his students. Among those he has guided are Antonio Carlos Pimenta and Diogo Sampaio (known as 'Moreno') — practitioners who reflect the teaching lineage he has built across his career.

Extending His Reach Beyond the Mats

Beyond coaching, Mendes has contributed to the broader BJJ community through writing, producing content for platforms such as MMA Premium and faixapreta.com. His presence in these spaces speaks to a practitioner who engages with the sport conceptually as well as physically — someone invested in the culture and education surrounding Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. His competitive drive has persisted well into his mature career; in 2013, he earned a Brazilian National Bronze Medal in No-Gi at the master level, a testament to the dedication that first brought him to the mats in Tijuca at age 14.