Today we’d like to introduce you to Nikki Sullivan.
Nikki, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I’m from a small town in Indiana. I grew up there, attended college, and received a degree in Elementary Education from Indiana University. While attending university, I tried a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu class for fun. I ended up loving it so much that I got involved with the university club as well, and began attending a local academy in town. After graduating from college, I worked a couple of different teaching jobs, but stayed in the area and continued training. I began competing in local tournaments. Slowly, I started setting my sights higher and began traveling to places like California and New York to compete at larger, more prestigious tournaments. I also began teaching a women’s only Jiu-Jitsu class at my gym. The first major breakthrough in my journey occurred when I won a big tournament in California, the Abu Dhabi Pro Trials, and qualified for an all-expenses-paid trip to compete in Abu Dhabi. This moment made me start to think that maybe Jiu-Jitsu could be more than just a hobby for me. I continued working as a teacher, but dreams had begun to grow in the back of my mind. I started traveling regularly to compete and to train with other competitive women. Finally, I made a decision. I knew that I wasn’t going to reach my full potential in Indiana. I didn’t know exactly what was going to happen, but I knew that I needed to train with the best to be the best. I took a leap of faith, quit my job, and moved to San Diego, CA. I’ve been here for almost two years now, and they have been some of the best years of my life. I train with one of the best teams in the world, I have had a lot of competition success, I just received my black belt in January, and I get to travel and teach Jiu-Jitsu for a living. I can’t think of anything I’d rather be doing.
Has it been a smooth road?
There have been so many struggles. Loneliness. Financial instability. There were some months when I wasn’t sure how I was going to have enough money to eat. The training is super grueling. My body is always sore. I’m exhausted most days. I’ve had injuries. Just uprooting your life and moving somewhere completely new, where you don’t have family or friends, can be incredibly difficult. You have to build a new life from scratch. I was in a two-year relationship before I moved, and I had to end that. I had a lot of tears. A lot of days when I wanted to give up. I told myself when I moved that I was going to give it everything I had. Maybe it wouldn’t work out. Maybe I would run out of money. Maybe I would fail. But I knew I would always regret it if I didn’t try. If I didn’t give it everything I had. My advice would be this: You are capable of so much more than you know. Don’t let anyone put limits on you and, more importantly, don’t put limits on yourself. If you have a dream, you can achieve it. It might be hard. There might be tears. But if you work hard with a fierce determination and don’t give up, you can do anything. Just don’t give up. Never give up.
So, as you know, we’re impressed with Nikki Sullivan BJJ – tell our readers more, for example, what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
I am a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt. I train every day, I compete regularly in tournaments, both nationally and internationally. I help teach some of the classes here at my gym, Atos HQ, in San Diego, and I also travel and teach seminars.
Do you think there are structural or other barriers impeding the emergence of more female leaders?
Our small numbers. Jiu-Jitsu is growing for women’s, but we are still few compared to the men. When I lived in Indiana, I used to drive five hours or more just to find other competitive women to train with. Now, I am blessed to have 20 or more women at the gym with me on a given day. We are working very hard as women in this sport to make the same amount of money as men. In the past, cash prizes at tournaments for women were much lower than those offered to the men. This is beginning to change, and tournaments are starting to offer equal pay for men and women. We are still working on it though. And working to bring more women into the sport, and help them stay, and eventually become black belts as well. Working together is imperative. We can’t afford to be divided if we want to see change and equality.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.nikkisullivan.com
- Email: nicsulli0608@gmail.com
- Instagram: @nikkicuddlejitsu
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/nikkijitsu
Image Credit:
Giselle Villasenor Photography, Mike Calimbas Photography, Bane Visnjic Photos
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