Case Study: How Brandon Gross’s DVG Jiu-Jitsu Runs a Data-Driven BJJ Academy in Hawaii

Most martial arts schools do not know their numbers. Brandon Gross’s DVG Jiu-Jitsu is the opposite case. This Hawaii-based Brazilian jiu-jitsu academy runs on data: active memberships, attendance counts, dropout rates, recurring revenue, email-list size. When a school owner can hand you metrics like that on demand, you are not dealing with someone who needs to be rescued. You are dealing with someone who is already ahead of the game and looking for the next lever to pull. This case study walks through what “ahead of the game” looks like operationally, and where the single biggest growth opportunity still sits.

The figures below are coach-reported, and this article is a draft pending the academy’s permission. We are sharing the operational thinking because it is a model many BJJ owners can learn from.

The Starting Point

DVG Jiu-Jitsu is not a startup finding its footing. By the numbers, it is a mature, healthy academy. The school reported roughly $500,000 in revenue in each of its first two years, with a third-year pace around $430,000. That works out to an average of approximately $35,000 per month, of which roughly $15,000 per month is recurring.

The membership and engagement numbers are equally strong. The academy reported 262 active memberships. In the trailing 30 days, 221 students attended at least one class, generating 1,073 total attendances. Monthly dropout sits at roughly 3.5 percent, which is a genuinely good retention figure for a combat-sports academy. On top of that, the school has built a 5,500-person email list, and a single email blast to that list booked three trial appointments.

Put plainly: this is a school that tracks what matters, retains its students well, and has built a real marketing asset in its email list. That is a rare starting point.

The Diagnosis

When a school is already this disciplined, the diagnosis is not about fixing what is broken. It is about finding the one or two places where strong fundamentals are quietly capping the upside.

The numbers tell a clear story. Of $35,000 in average monthly revenue, only about $15,000 is recurring. The gap between total revenue and recurring revenue is worth understanding, because recurring revenue is the foundation of a predictable, sellable, lower-stress business. A school doing $35,000 a month with a larger recurring base is far more stable than one leaning on variable income.

The engagement data also points somewhere specific. With 262 active memberships and 221 students attending in the last 30 days, the academy keeps students engaged. Dropout at 3.5 percent monthly confirms it. So retention is not the lever. The lever is on the front end: how quickly and how completely new prospects are converted into committed, long-term members.

The 5,500-person email list is the tell. A list that size is a significant asset, yet a single blast produced only three trial bookings. That is not a criticism of the list; it is a sign that the conversion machinery around it has room to run. The audience is there. The question is how aggressively and how early the academy closes them.

The Systems We Installed

The central coaching insight for DVG Jiu-Jitsu was about the enrollment close, not about lead generation or retention. Here is the specific observation: enrollments would roughly triple by finalizing the 12-month enrollment in the first one or two lessons, instead of waiting out a six-week trial before asking for the commitment.

That is the entire game for a school at this level. Consider the logic. A six-week trial is six weeks of opportunity for life to get in the way: a busy stretch at work, a minor injury, a vacation, a loss of momentum. Every week you wait to ask for the real commitment is another week the prospect can drift. By contrast, when a motivated new student is at their peak enthusiasm in their first one or two lessons, that is the moment to finalize a 12-month enrollment.

The systems work, therefore, centered on these moves:

• Move the close to the front. Restructure the new-student journey so the 12-month enrollment conversation happens in the first one or two lessons, while motivation is highest, rather than at the end of a long trial.
• Convert recurring revenue from a byproduct into a target. With $35,000 in monthly revenue but only about $15,000 recurring, the goal is to route more of every enrollment into committed, recurring agreements so the business gets more predictable.
• Put the 5,500-person list to work. A list that booked three trials from one blast can do far more with a structured, sequenced approach rather than occasional one-off sends.

None of this requires the academy to abandon what makes it strong. It is layering a faster, earlier enrollment close on top of an already excellent retention and engagement engine. For more on how these enrollment and revenue systems apply specifically to grappling academies, see our guide to BJJ and MMA gym growth.

The Results

The headline opportunity is the coaching projection itself: by finalizing the 12-month enrollment in the first one or two lessons rather than waiting out a six-week trial, enrollments would roughly triple. We want to be precise here. That is a projected result tied to a specific change in the enrollment process, not a figure already booked. It is coach-reported, and this case study is a draft pending permission.

What makes the projection credible is everything else the academy already does well. The retention is strong: 3.5 percent monthly dropout and 221 of 262 members attending in the last 30 days. The marketing asset is real: a 5,500-person email list. The revenue base is substantial: roughly $35,000 a month. When a school is already this solid on retention and engagement, accelerating the enrollment close is the highest-leverage change available, because every new student who commits early stays in that excellent retention system longer.

Enrollments would roughly triple by finalizing the 12-month enrollment in the first one or two lessons instead of waiting out a six-week trial.

Lessons for Other School Owners

DVG Jiu-Jitsu is a useful model precisely because so little is wrong with it. The lessons are about optimization at a high level.

• Knowing your numbers is the prerequisite for everything. The reason we could pinpoint the enrollment-timing opportunity is that the academy tracks active memberships, attendances, dropout, and recurring revenue. You cannot optimize what you do not measure.
• Strong retention raises the value of every enrollment. When your monthly dropout is around 3.5 percent, a student who commits early is worth far more over their lifetime. That is exactly why moving the close earlier is so powerful here.
• Waiting to ask for the commitment is expensive. A six-week trial gives motivation time to fade. Finalizing the 12-month enrollment in the first one or two lessons captures the student at peak enthusiasm.
• A big email list is potential, not performance. A 5,500-person list that produces three trials from one blast is an asset waiting to be worked harder with structure and sequencing.

FAQ

Why move the enrollment close to the first one or two lessons instead of after a trial?

Because motivation is highest at the start. A six-week trial gives a prospect repeated chances to drift before they ever commit. The coaching insight here is that finalizing the 12-month enrollment in the first one or two lessons would roughly triple enrollments by capturing students while their enthusiasm is at its peak.

Is DVG Jiu-Jitsu’s retention actually good?

Yes. The academy reported roughly 3.5 percent monthly dropout, with 221 of 262 active members attending at least one class in the last 30 days and 1,073 total attendances. Those are strong engagement and retention figures for a BJJ academy.

Why does the gap between total and recurring revenue matter?

The academy reported about $35,000 in average monthly revenue but only around $15,000 recurring. Recurring revenue is more predictable and makes a business more stable and valuable. Routing more enrollments into committed, recurring agreements closes that gap.

Do these enrollment systems apply to other BJJ and MMA gyms?

Yes. The principles of an early, confident enrollment close and a recurring-revenue focus apply across grappling and mixed-martial-arts academies. Our BJJ and MMA gym growth resource covers how to apply them in your school.

Stephen Oliver, MBA, 10th Degree Black Belt.

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