Today we’d like to introduce you to John Le.
John, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
My partner, Nick, and I met each other doing Brazilian Jiu Jitsu in Evanston since 2006. Nick is a phenomenal coach and instructor and he was set to run a branch of our old gym in Old Town. However, it fell through and it was sad for me and the other members that followed him to Old Town. For about two years, we were nomads looking for other gyms to go to and train whenever they would let us. Then, we had dinner in Greek Town…
Nick and I were talking with some friends and one asked: “Are you going to try to start another gym?” Nick said he wanted to and I said: “I would love to run a martial arts gym.” He later asked me if I was serious and I said “yes.” It was like a proposal… and we were off.
He had the insight to know that martial arts gyms are very territorial and that you have to go where there isn’t a lot of competition. He knew that no jiu-jitsu gyms existed by our current area or in the south side of Chicago in general. We naturally split up responsibilities. He took a lead of our great jiu-jitsu program and I took care of finances, operations, and marketing. In October 2015, we opened our doors…. and for three months, we made $0.
I remember thinking, “okay… at this rate, we will probably be out of business in six months. We won’t have enough cash to survive.” However, business started to pick up. We focused on long-term growth and quality instruction. No annual contracts. No initiation fees. No cancellation fees. No egos. Within one year, we were profitable. We knew this was a services business so we paid our instructors well because we wanted to retain talented people.
Since then, we’ve grown to 50+ students, a perfect five-star rating on Facebook and Google and we’ve gained great friends as well as teammates. Chicago School of Grappling has become a 2nd home for many of us.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Prior to Chicago School of Grappling, I ran two other businesses. I liquidated one and the other failed. However, both were digital and this was my first brick & mortar business. The capital needed is much more intensive and landlords don’t care if you make zero dollars, they still need their rent.
As I mentioned, we went three months with $0 and I remember the anxiety of wondering if we were going to close our doors so soon after opening them. However, that meant we needed to improve our marketing.
I had to learn how to really make a website, SEO, paid ads, social advertising, organic search, direct search, etc.
It was tough, but a great way for me to sharpen my marketing skills.
Chicago School of Grappling – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
“Chicago is in our name so we must honor that.”
At Chicago School of Grappling we teach several classes:
Brazilian Jiu Jitsu/ Grappling
Boxing
Kickboxing (Muay Thai)
Wrestling
Judo
Kids classes
Ladies only classes
JitFit (a hybrid of martial arts movements and HIIT training)
My biggest honor is to run the gym the way we want to run it. We don’t inundate members with all these unnecessary fees. Many other gyms charge initiation fees, cancellation fees, annual contracts, blah blah blah. They are trying to make money on breakage. That is, they want you to not come yet still have to pay them. For Costco, their best customer is one that signs up for $50 and never comes.
We didn’t want to do that at all. Our environment is very relaxed and respectful. If you read our reviews, members describe our place as very hospitable and welcoming and like a 2nd family. However, we are pretty relaxed and chill. For instance, we don’t separate beginners and advanced students. We take a Montessori approach and mix both in the same class. This allows new members to learn from multiple people and it allows advanced students to coach in order to really internalize their skill.
Our gym is basically an ecosystem within itself.
What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
We can’t take credit for all of this, but I’m extremely proud of our Ladies Only program.
Nick and I are very loyal to all the women in our lives and love them tremendously. We are extremely appreciative of Coach Cat Carrio for running our ladies only program where she has really created a great environment.
I remember feeling so proud when a student named Elizabeth signed up because she was the first woman to sign up that was not a friend or friend of a friend. It was such a milestone to me. Since then, Team Lady Killers (a.k.a. Team Chingonas) meets every Friday at 7 pm where they can train in their own environment without any dudes.
It started off with only 2 ladies and now we have eight coming regularly coming to the ladies class.
I am my mother’s only son and love her so much where if she were growing up now, I would want to provide her with opportunities where I can so she could enjoy life like the one she has sacrificed for me.
Pricing:
- Unlimited All Adult Classes ($110/mo)
- All Adult Classes except Jiu-Jitsu ($80/mo)
- Armed Forces rate (valid ID required $95/mo)
- Student rate (valid ID required $60/mo)
- Kids Jiu Jitsu & Kickboxing ($80/mo)
- 4 pack of single day passes ($80 for 4)
- 1 day pass ($25)
- Deep Pressure massage ($60/hr)
Contact Info:
- Address: 722 S. Racine, Chicago, IL 60607
- Website: https://www.chicagoschoolofgrappling.com/
- Phone: 773-482-1255
- Email: John.Le@chicagoschoolofgrappling.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chicagoschoolofgrappling/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Chicagoschoolofgrappling/
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/chicago-school-of-grappling-chicago
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