The Publication
Built for the
Grappling World.
Grappling Monthly is an independent editorial media brand covering the culture, people, and business of Brazilian jiu-jitsu and the grappling arts. Based in Los Angeles, the brand produces in-depth conversations with the coaches, gym owners, competitors, and practitioners shaping the sport.
The Grappling Monthly Podcast is the flagship property. A weekly long-form interview series hosted by Sebastien Maniatopoulos, a BJJ black belt establishing roots in the Southern California grappling community. The brand's editorial focus is on the human stories behind the art: how academies are built, how practitioners evolve, how the culture of jiu-jitsu intersects with identity, business, and community.
Grappling Monthly publishes across YouTube, Instagram, Substack, and major podcast platforms. Past guests include Robert Drysdale, Ricardo “Franjinha” Miller, Alberto Crane, Chris Haueter, Bruno Fernandes, Tinguinha Mariano, and Keith Krikorian.
Why We Exist
Stories from the Mat
Grappling Monthly grew out of something simple: curiosity and a desire to connect. After relocating from Canada to Los Angeles, building a new life in a new city meant finding new ways to engage with the sport beyond the mat. Training three times a week as a hobbyist was rewarding, but it was not enough. Grappling Monthly became the answer to a straightforward question: how do you go deeper into a world you love when competing at the highest level was never the goal?
What started as a personal challenge, stepping outside a comfort zone to visit schools, meet coaches, and hear stories, has grown into something with its own momentum. Today, Grappling Monthly is dedicated to the people, culture, and business of the grappling arts. Through original podcasts, documentaries, and short and long-form video, it spotlights the practitioners, coaches, creators, organizers, and entrepreneurs who make up the global grappling world. The goal has stayed consistent: bring attention to the people of jiu-jitsu, tell their stories honestly, and explore the realities, values, and voices shaping the sport today.
What We Cover
Three Pillars
Culture
The Soul of the Sport
The rituals, the lineages, the rivalries, the gyms. We cover what grappling means to the people who live it, not just the results on a scoreboard.
Community
The People Building It
Profiles of coaches, competitors, promoters, and the overlooked figures who shape this world every day. Every mat has a story.
Business
The Sport Growing Up
The deals, the promotions, the economics, and the power structures. Grappling is becoming an industry. We are watching it happen.
The Creator
Who Is Sebastien
Sebastien is a writer, practitioner, and the voice behind Grappling Monthly. He has been training Brazilian jiu-jitsu since 2011 and received his black belt in 2025. His work draws on years on the mat and a professional background in program management and organizational leadership.
Grappling Monthly is an independent platform dedicated to sharing stories from the grappling arts. Through long-form interviews, podcast episodes, and original video content, it covers the culture, people, and lived experience of BJJ, judo, wrestling, and submission grappling, from competitors and coaches to gym owners, creators, and everyone in between.
The goal: to share, promote, and learn from the stories and the people that grapple.
The Standard
Independent
Accountable to the work and the people it covers.
On the Mat
This coverage comes from someone who trains.
Quality over Quantity
Depth over volume.
Opinionated
Perspectives, grounded in the art and those who are passionate about it.
The Work
How We Publish
A Note From Sebastien
I started Grappling Monthly because I wanted to go deeper into a sport I love. Deeper than three mat sessions a week allowed.
The grappling world is full of people worth knowing. Coaches who have dedicated their lives to the art. Gym owners building something real in their communities. Competitors who show up year after year for reasons that have nothing to do with prize money. I wanted to meet them, hear them out, and share what I found.
That curiosity is what drives every conversation, every visit, every episode.
Sebastien, Founder - Grappling Monthly