Kyvann Gonzalez

Kyvann Gonzalez is a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt who co-founded Bodega BJJ alongside Chas Makk in late 2022, establishing the academy in Maplewood, New Jersey. As owner and head coach, Gonzalez has built the gym into a training home for practitioners across all levels, from first-time beginners to seasoned competitors. His partner, Vanessa Comeau, a purple belt, plays an active role in shaping the gym's culture and contributes meaningfully to the day-to-day life of the academy.

Among the programming Gonzalez developed at Bodega BJJ are advanced pro-level morning sessions designed for high-caliber athletes. These sessions reflect his commitment to cultivating a serious, high-performance training environment — while navigating the practical demands of sustaining a small martial arts business in New Jersey.

Gonzalez laid out his training and membership philosophy in detail on the Jits and Giggles podcast episode titled "Ep 93 Kyvann Gonzalez and Vanessa Comeau: Partners On And Off The Mats," which aired on January 27, 2026. The conversation offered a candid look at the operational and philosophical tensions that emerge when coaching intersects with entrepreneurship.

Paying Members vs. Free Participants

At the core of his approach is a clear distinction between paying and non-paying members. For active members, Gonzalez extends full flexibility: "If you're a paying member, come whenever you want... If you pay me to go to my gym, I work for you." This service-oriented framing positions the coach-student relationship as a mutual commitment — financial investment from the student earns a corresponding level of accommodation from the gym.

For non-paying or free-session participants, however, Gonzalez enforces a strict lockout policy. "If you're one of these free members, I will lock you out," he stated plainly. He distinguishes between habitual lateness and genuinely unavoidable conflicts — acknowledging, for instance, that a member occasionally arriving fifteen minutes late to a noon class due to a work meeting represents a legitimate circumstance — while drawing a firm line against those who treat free training as unconditional access.

The $15 Test: Exposing an Entitlement Dynamic

This philosophy was put to a pointed test when Gonzalez introduced a $15 fee for a popup pro morning session that had previously been offered at no cost. None of the athletes who regularly attended for free showed up. The outcome underscored a dynamic he and Vanessa Comeau had already observed: a segment of the BJJ community operates with a deep expectation of free access, and even a modest cost disrupts that assumption entirely.

Gonzalez also addresses the financial realities of gym ownership directly with his students, drawing on his own experience with financial hardship to explain why unjustified discount requests are discouraged. For him, the costs of maintaining a functional training space are not abstract — they represent a daily responsibility that depends on a committed, paying membership base.

The policies Gonzalez applies were shaped significantly by the difficulties he encountered in Bodega BJJ's early days. Reflecting on that period, he acknowledged that overly rigid punctuality enforcement caused the gym to lose a meaningful number of members — a consequence he views as an avoidable business misstep.

The Cost of Blanket Enforcement

In those early days, Gonzalez applied lockout rules indiscriminately, locking out paying members and free participants alike when they arrived late. When paying members pushed back — arguing "I pay you to be here" — his response was blunt: "No, you used to." While the stance carried internal consistency, he has since recognized it as poor business strategy that prioritized principle over pragmatism, at the cost of real revenue and real relationships.

His attempts to accommodate students were not always met with reciprocity, either. After shifting a class from 6:45 PM to 7:00 PM to give members more time to arrive, some began showing up at 7:15 — reinforcing his sense that accommodation without accountability tends to be exploited rather than appreciated.

A Tiered Policy and Its Results

Over time, Gonzalez refined his approach, moving away from blanket lockout rules and toward a tiered policy that treats paying members and free participants differently. By applying strict standards specifically to those accessing free sessions, he found that the behavior of non-paying attendees shifted accordingly. As of January 2026, he reported that stricter enforcement had led free-session participants to arrive on time. The evolution reflects a broader maturation in how he balances his standards as a coach with the responsibilities of running a sustainable martial arts academy.