Trivium frontman Matthew Kiichi Heafy, who has been training in Brazilian jiu-jitsu for over a decade, earned his black belt back in early March 2023, which he commemorated with a post to his Instagram. He has now shared a highlight video to his popular YouTube channel, which you can see now. The 37-year-old musician was promoted to the new rank by Gustavo “Gutty” Muggiati, who leads Gracie Barra North Orlando, in Heafy’s hometown of in Florida. Watch the video here.
In his post from March 4th, 2023, Heafy shared a photo of him with Muggiati, and he wrote in an accompanying message: “03-13-13 was the first day for me in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. BJJ did not come easy for me… in fact – it was one of the most difficult undertakings I’d ever started in my life. For the first year – I wanted to quit – but despite that. I’d go 5+ days a week – multiple hours a day. It didn’t make sense for the first 3 years. I didn’t retain what I needed to for the first 5 years. But still – I stuck with it and put in the time. Year 6/7 – it started to make sense. Year 8/9 – I felt I started finding my groove (finally). Year 10. The black belt is not the end. It’s the beginning.
“Thank you to every person I’ve ever trained with, learned from, lost to; my family and friends for their support; my teammates; my academy… but most importantly: my professor Gutty. Gutty, you changed my life; you’ve made every one of your students’ lives better.
“Here’s to the next 10 years.
“My advice to all of you. Start BJJ. Now.”