Emmanuela Oliveira 
Talking about professionalization in Jiu-Jitsu is a topic that cannot be ignored today, especially in the case of athletes who want to go further, build a reputation and make a living from fighting. In his adult competitor phase, Samir Chantre achieved positive results in the biggest tournaments around the world. He was a three-time world champion and two-time Pans champion, both in the IBJJF, No Gi modality, as a black-belt, among other significant titles. With his own experience, in addition to specialized study, Samir became successful in another fundamental area: career management.
“Thank God I had the opportunity to be at the highest level for many years. I was a medalist in all the biggest events in the world as an adult black-belt such as Worlds, PanAms and World Pro, including multiple gold medals at World No Gi, Pan No Gi, American National, etc. As a result, I was invited to many professional events around the world to fight, give seminars and I also had several sponsors. My career has given me a lot of expertise so that today, with all my experience, I can be helping the new generation on these topics.”, details the black-belt, also graduated in Law.
Gabriel Sousa and Ffion Davies are athletes who today have a privileged view of the business, this is a result of the interest of the athletes themselves and the partnership with experts. Their careers are managed by Samir Chantre.
“Gabriel and Ffion are very much in the spotlight and are doing their best. So, the challenge is to show them not only with words, but with results, that we can go even further, that they cannot become complacent. I’m lucky that they both have a thirst for growth in all areas and listen to me a lot and trust me. We are growing and having increasingly greater results!”, he shares with the VF Comunica team a little of the experience of working with two of the biggest names in the current scene.
Samir Chantre says that professionalization is a point of change in the mentality of athletes
According to Samir, the professionalization of the sport was the biggest factor of change. In the space between attracting attention at major events and signing a contract with a professional fighting organization, there are many situations that can raise questions among athletes without the support of a manager.
“Professionalization was the turning point, not only because there were more opportunities, more professional events and they had difficulty doing all the negotiations themselves, but because they knew that the competition on the mat is very high. If athletes use their time for the administrative part, they will be taking away from their training or rest and will end up paying for it.”, he explains, highlighting the importance of the athlete acting as an athlete.
