The Few Will Hunt Show

A journey of hard work, passion, and constant learning. In this episode, Joey and Drew sit down with Jonavin Webb, aka “The Spider,” an accomplished MMA and Jiu-Jitsu coach, UFC and CFFC vet, and owner of Webb Fitness & MMA. Jonavin shares his experiences wrestling in high school, transitioning to Jiu-Jitsu, and eventually finding his calling in MMA. He talks about the challenges and rewards of coaching, the importance of humility, and the pivotal moments that led him to where he is today. Tune in to learn how Jonavin balances coaching, family life, and running his business!

The official podcast of Few Will Hunt, the world’s largest community of hard workers and Made in the USA apparel brand. Family-owned and operated and headquartered in Philadelphia. We’re on a mission to restore the dignity of hard work and help others live The Rules of The Few to strengthen ourselves and strengthen society. No entitlement or excuses are allowed here.

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Creators & Guests

Host
Drew Beech
Drew Beech is an entrepreneur and cofounder of Few Will Hunt. He spent several years in the sales and marketing industry, grossing over several million dollars in sales. But his love for the entrepreneurial journey and desire to escape the rate race started with his personal training business in college. Today, Drew leads the Few Will Hunt community alongside his cousin and cofounder, Joey in their mission to restore the dignity of hard work through the highest-quality American-made apparel.
Host
Joey Bowen
Joey Bowen is co-founder of Few Will Hunt.

What is The Few Will Hunt Show?

The official podcast of Few Will Hunt, the world’s largest community of hard workers and 100% Made in the USA apparel brand. We’re on a mission to restore the dignity of hard work and help others live The Rules of The Few to strengthen ourselves and strengthen society. No entitlement or excuses are allowed here.

Jonavin Webb:

I really love seeing people succeed. But that's like I just love it, man. Like, whatever people decide they wanna do. If you wanna just get in the best shape of your life, I wanna help you do that. If Yep.

Jonavin Webb:

You just wanna you wanna become a fighter, I wanna do that. But,

Drew Beech:

you know,

Jonavin Webb:

I I I truly care. And and, you know, it's really helped me or worked for me and my business right now. Welcome to the Fuel Hunt Show.

Joey Bowen:

What's going on, Eagles? Welcome to the Fuel Hunt Show. I'm Joey. I'm here with my cousin and cofounder Drew, and we are joined by Jonathan Webb today, a coach, entrepreneur, retired UFC fighter, owner of Webb Fitness and MMA in South Jersey. Right?

Joey Bowen:

Right? Township. Yep. Washington Township. Pumped to have you here, man.

Jonavin Webb:

Man, I'm excited to be here with you guys.

Joey Bowen:

Hey. It's been it's been a long time coming for us. You you have met before personally.

Drew Beech:

Right? Yeah.

Joey Bowen:

We haven't met in person.

Jonavin Webb:

No.

Joey Bowen:

It's been a long time coming. And I said that, saying to Jonathan, before we got on the show that, like, our mutual friends all speak very highly of him, his work ethic, and then also, you know, how you serve them, like, the value that you bring to their lives. Oh, yeah.

Jonavin Webb:

I try I try to do my best. Yeah.

Drew Beech:

He he leads in the front. He was telling me he's literally has a guy fighting on Friday, and then he's flying out to ADCC to for Daishi on, like, Saturday.

Jonavin Webb:

Oh, really? Yeah. We fly fly at 5 AM, get there at 9 AM. Tournament starts at 10. He's in the

Drew Beech:

1st batch. All all yeah. And being a entrepreneur and father is, like, up 3 as well. It's like, it's just crazy.

Joey Bowen:

Well, look. I mean, I gave you some flowers, and, like, immediately, we have proof of it.

Jonavin Webb:

Like, there

Joey Bowen:

it is. Right there, dude. There it is right there. Alright. So, a large portion portion of our community, especially, like, the fighting portion of our community, the grappling portion of the community, know you.

Joey Bowen:

But I'm excited to get into your story. You know what I mean? And, you know, how you went from young Jonathan to who you are now, and the community getting to hear that story as well. So what was it like you're a Jersey Jersey kid. Right?

Jonavin Webb:

Yeah.

Joey Bowen:

New Jersey kid. Yeah. Born and raised.

Jonavin Webb:

Yeah. So I was, you know, I grew up in, like, the, Pennsauken, Cherry Hill area. And then, in high school, I I end up moving more to the suburbs, to Marlton

Joey Bowen:

Yeah.

Jonavin Webb:

And, you know, got to wrestle at a better school and had bigger opportunities, you know, with better coaching and and just, a better facility, honestly. And, that's really the ground of where my success came from.

Joey Bowen:

Mhmm.

Jonavin Webb:

Because, you know, there was no direction where I was before. And Uh-huh. Coming in to a school that was, like, all about sports and and, you know, again, I had, like, that that backbone or of core coaches that helped me along the way. And, it it literally paved me a nice path, you know, to to where I wanted to go.

Joey Bowen:

Is that what is that why you moved from the Pennsauken area?

Jonavin Webb:

Yeah. You know, in 8th

Joey Bowen:

grade caused the move? Like, you were looking for

Jonavin Webb:

The kids that I was hanging out with started getting in trouble and, you know, doing all the, you know, just wasn't what my parents wanted me to, to go by. When I say parents, my my, my mom and my stepfather, they, you know, they raised me. I've been with my stepfather since I was 4 years old, and he's been, you know, the person that I learned work ethic from. And, you know, and again, he he worked his ass off to to get us what we had. And, you know, we sold our house in in Pennsauken, and they moved us to a townhouse in in the suburbs.

Jonavin Webb:

And, you know, it seems like we're kinda going down, you know, by getting a smaller place and all that stuff. But really, you know, he he set me up for a brighter future.

Joey Bowen:

Yeah. Smaller place maybe, but bigger opportunities. You know what I mean? Bigger future. Yeah.

Joey Bowen:

I Yeah. So you when did you start wrestling?

Jonavin Webb:

So I started as as a young kid. My my cousin started a year before me. Uh-huh. So I have, my mom is a temp child and I have 13 kids.

Joey Bowen:

Yeah.

Jonavin Webb:

And, would they all live in South Jersey? So I had you know, we would show up to wrestling tournaments, and it'll look like a full team. It was just my family. Yeah. Peter bumps.

Jonavin Webb:

Yeah. It was just me and my my guy cousins. And, you know, again, they start a couple of them started a year before me, and my one cousin came home with this, like, 3 foot trophy. And I just remember being like, man, I want that.

Joey Bowen:

Yeah.

Jonavin Webb:

And, you know, I was one of those kids that was like, wrestling's kinda weird. You gotta wear the singlet and all that stuff. Like, I don't wanna do it. And, they're like, just try it. So I went to, like, one practice, and then we had a tournament that that same weekend.

Jonavin Webb:

And I think I took, like, 2nd place or or 3rd place. And, when I won the trophy, it was it changed my life. Like, I just remember getting it and be like, man, I've worked and I got I Yeah. Earned that. And then I just got addicted to it.

Jonavin Webb:

And I I started, you know, wrestling as as often as frequently as I could.

Drew Beech:

Hell was that?

Jonavin Webb:

I was probably 7 or 8. Wow.

Drew Beech:

Yep. So you've been in grappling and combat sports since Yeah. 7 or 8 years old. They have so high school, you must add fun on the high school wrestling team because Yeah. I feel like the kids that do really, really well are the kids that have been doing it since that age.

Jonavin Webb:

Yeah. So so I had it was a little bit of a different story. So when my parents moved me out of the neighborhood, you know, I, you know, I was just being a young punk kid and and, I kinda had the reverse effect on me for a little where I was like, I felt like I was supposed to be where I was. And, you know, I started acting out and getting in trouble and starting to hang with the wrong people in the new place and doing all these things that I wasn't going down the right path. I ended up getting in trouble my freshman year in in high school.

Jonavin Webb:

And, I get, you know, where they tell me I'm I'm out of my high school. Right? Right.

Joey Bowen:

I'm gonna tell you.

Jonavin Webb:

Yeah. Oh. So long story short, my dad my biological dad was out of prison Mhmm. At this point. And, he had a place in another town, which wasn't a great town.

Jonavin Webb:

And they sent me there for a month. And, you know, I had a I was trying to wrestle on this team and these guys. I mean, I was a freshman. Yeah. And I'm like, you know, not to, you know, to I was just way better than anyone on the team, and I just knew that I could

Joey Bowen:

never challenging environment.

Jonavin Webb:

Never could could grow where where I was. So they they end up setting up a meeting with my vice principal who was also the athletic director of my

Joey Bowen:

So they didn't just threaten to expel you.

Jonavin Webb:

They expelled you.

Joey Bowen:

They were like, oh, you're out of

Drew Beech:

here. Oh, wow.

Jonavin Webb:

And then, so then I ended up we sat down, had the meeting, and they're like, listen. You're not eligible to wrestle for the rest of the year. Right? But we're gonna let you come back. You're gonna make every single practice.

Jonavin Webb:

If you miss a practice, you're done. Right? So

Joey Bowen:

like, expelled for good.

Jonavin Webb:

Yeah. So then I I ended up, going to all these practices. The coaches were pushing me. They they were, like, trying to make me quit. Mhmm.

Jonavin Webb:

But in a way that they were, like, you know, gonna either it's either gonna make me or bring me.

Drew Beech:

Knock the

Joey Bowen:

punk out of you.

Jonavin Webb:

Is it? Right? And, you know, I showed up every day. And then, I I had to watch my friends wrestle. You know, I couldn't compete.

Jonavin Webb:

You have

Drew Beech:

to go to the the match.

Jonavin Webb:

I went to all every match.

Drew Beech:

Every tournament.

Jonavin Webb:

Every tournament. What was that? Just watch. And then my sophomore year halfway through the sophomore year is when they let me back on Yeah. Where I was eligible to wrestle again.

Jonavin Webb:

And

Joey Bowen:

What was where what was worse? Wrestling for that short amount of time in an environment where you weren't growing and being challenged or having to go to all the matches at your former school and not wrestle?

Jonavin Webb:

Honestly Were

Joey Bowen:

they both terrible?

Drew Beech:

It was

Jonavin Webb:

both terrible, but going and wrestling over there and, like, you know, it was just

Drew Beech:

Yeah. Why why why am I doing this? Yeah.

Jonavin Webb:

Just like, man, what what am I doing? You know?

Drew Beech:

It's funny that you you say that too. Like, being in the room doing the work and not getting the experience or reward of it at all. Like, wrestling changes you as a person, I think. Like, I wrestled by junior, senior year, not good at all. Like, just very below average.

Drew Beech:

But I said to my wife, like, being in that room, like, literally made me a different person just do it, like, doing the same hard work that all the other guys have wrestled. I I never experienced anything like that before in my life. Like, I, like, got asked to come to work. I was by a friend that was, like, doing the workout, and I I ended up staying on the team. He didn't.

Drew Beech:

But so I'm like, I I want my my son to wrestle, like, in college one day. But I remember when he was, like, 4 years old, I'm like, man, we should get him to wrestle.

Jonavin Webb:

And she said, what do

Drew Beech:

you mean? Like, this is I'm like, yeah. You'll get it. It's really good. It's you'll get it, though.

Drew Beech:

You'll you'll get it. It's really good for him. Like And then, like, it's just been a part of our life ever since. But, I just think it's funny you don't know what the what it's like until you're in the in the rest of your

Jonavin Webb:

But I I really do think that sitting out for that year was is really good for me.

Joey Bowen:

Yeah.

Jonavin Webb:

You know, it made me, like, have a drive again to, like, wanna do it. Yeah. Sometimes you get in wrestling, it's tough, man. It's it's tough, and there's no real glory in it because you're not having the girls come into your matches, cheering you all like it's a basketball game or a football game. Your friends aren't coming to your your matches.

Jonavin Webb:

Like Yeah. You know, it there again, there's no big glory when you're in in high school. At least in my high school, it wasn't like that. So, you know, but sitting out just it it made me be like, man, they took it away. Now when I get it back, I'm gonna do everything I can with it.

Drew Beech:

So was your ego at that age, like, kinda get in the way? Because you were good we'll say, like, above and above average wrestler, like, a good wrestler at that point. So, like, that's when you really had to be checked.

Jonavin Webb:

Yeah. I was like, it shocked me.

Drew Beech:

Yeah. It was like a perfect time in your life then you're like, okay. Like, my my ego's in check. Now I

Jonavin Webb:

gotta check.

Joey Bowen:

You were receiving some blessings at that time too. Yeah.

Drew Beech:

Like,

Joey Bowen:

you know what I mean? You were receiving some blessings, new neighborhood, new school, new program, the right program. Yeah. And maybe in like, we all do. Maybe you just thought like, hey, man.

Joey Bowen:

Like, I don't really deserve this.

Jonavin Webb:

Exactly.

Joey Bowen:

And then you you started with what we call nowadays self sabotage, but really just being like a punk kid again.

Jonavin Webb:

Yeah. You know

Joey Bowen:

what I mean? Which we've all done.

Jonavin Webb:

Yeah. Which we've, you know, we've

Joey Bowen:

all done.

Jonavin Webb:

What I what I love about the most is that I have a lot of things that I can relate to these new kids that are coming up. You know? There's kids that walk through the doors in my gym, and I I can I can see where they're at because I was there? And it's like, man, look. I know I look like I'm, you know, do well now and, you know, everything kinda went my way, but that's not how life is.

Jonavin Webb:

Right? Like, I got thrown a lot of stuff, and I just made the best of it. And and, I still try to make the best of it. So Yeah. You know, I can help you get to where you wanna go because I've been there.

Joey Bowen:

Yeah. That's a life that's a life lesson right there. And shout out to the superintendent or vice principal or whoever.

Jonavin Webb:

My high school that I ended up going to had a 1,000 kids just in my grade. Yeah. That's wild. Giant school. That's wild.

Jonavin Webb:

And, so our principals no. You never talked to the actual principal. It was by the your the, the letter in your last name. So it's alphabetical order. You had a vice president, and let's say there were 6 of them.

Jonavin Webb:

Right? I got lucky that the last one because my last name's w. Right? Like, you know, the last one was also the athletic director.

Joey Bowen:

I am. So There you go. Yeah.

Jonavin Webb:

So it just it worked out. Yeah.

Joey Bowen:

And shout out to him. Shout out to him because, you know, he put what in place would probably seem like a punishment to you, but it changed your life.

Jonavin Webb:

Oh, yeah.

Joey Bowen:

You know what I mean? He took something away that you really wanted, and that just made you want it more and gave you a full head of steam. Shout out shout out to him.

Drew Beech:

I mean, shout out to all the practices, tournaments, and matches. Like, that's, like, not to not to pat you on the back. That's that's, like, brutal.

Jonavin Webb:

It was. It was, man. Yeah. Just being on the bus, just knowing that you can't he can't Plus,

Joey Bowen:

you're doing all the work. Yeah. You're doing all the work for it, and then you can't participate. Did so did they sit you down at the end of the year or after that probation period? Did they sit you down and say, like, hey, man.

Joey Bowen:

Like, we're proud of you for what you did? Or was it kinda just like, nah. Businesses are usually back.

Jonavin Webb:

You know, there was one coach. His his name was, coach Carelli.

Joey Bowen:

Mhmm.

Jonavin Webb:

And, he kinda just took me under his wing. And at first, I thought he hated me. Right? Like, he was just an assistant coach. The head coach didn't really, you know he liked me, but he didn't, like, give me that much attention.

Drew Beech:

Mhmm.

Jonavin Webb:

But, like, this one coach, he he would, you know after the practice is done Yeah. He would grab me and just be like, hey. We're gonna do this. Right? We're gonna do extra sprints.

Jonavin Webb:

We're gonna do, these things that we call monkey rolls, which sucks. You put weighted vest on and you're, you know, hopping up and down. And it was it was a lot. And I was like, man, this guy really wants to make me quit. But really, he was just pushing me and pushing me to be better.

Joey Bowen:

The crazy thing is he's probably doing it because he saw your potential.

Drew Beech:

Yeah. Oh, yeah. Yeah.

Joey Bowen:

You know what I mean?

Jonavin Webb:

And and I would hear them say those things, but I didn't know what it meant in the moment. Mhmm. Right? I I didn't know what potential

Drew Beech:

Yeah. Like Exactly.

Jonavin Webb:

What I'm talking about. I'm just a regular kid. Like, you know what

Joey Bowen:

I mean? Yep.

Jonavin Webb:

And, but, yeah, he he pushed me a lot. And then he started coming to all my my fights when I started fighting.

Drew Beech:

Oh, that's cool. Yeah. It was pretty pretty cool.

Joey Bowen:

Still in contact, though, so

Jonavin Webb:

I mean, I haven't talked to him in years now. Yeah. You know, life's just kinda Yeah. Happened. And I I don't even live in that town anymore.

Jonavin Webb:

I moved, like, 30 more minutes south where my gym is now.

Joey Bowen:

Gotcha.

Jonavin Webb:

And, you know, now it's just 3 kids

Joey Bowen:

Mhmm.

Jonavin Webb:

2 businesses and, you know Yeah. Going all these fights every weekend. Yeah. So I love that all of our guys are succeeding, but it's like, man, every weekend, we have something going on.

Joey Bowen:

Play Train's automobiles, man. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Well, shout out to both of them, man, because they altered the course of your life.

Drew Beech:

Yeah.

Joey Bowen:

You know? Shout out to them. That's the power of a good teacher, power of a good coach. I gotta imagine that it kinda shaped, like, who you are as a coach now and how you show up at Webb.

Jonavin Webb:

Yeah.

Joey Bowen:

And and even outside of Webb for your guys and at Marquez.

Jonavin Webb:

Yeah. For sure. Because like I said, without them

Drew Beech:

Mhmm. I

Jonavin Webb:

would be Yeah. A known. I I really think I was on a path that just wasn't gonna lead to a good place. And they came in and just put me on a better path. And and again, people can do that and then I could still, you know, shit the bed that they Yeah.

Joey Bowen:

Not a day. It's

Jonavin Webb:

do. But, you know, they gave me that option, that option, that new option to to be able to to have a better path.

Joey Bowen:

Yeah. We were talking about it earlier. Like, you know, we do a couple of shows a day. We're talking about it earlier with another guest. Like, you can't do it alone.

Joey Bowen:

No. You know? And this is proof of that. You know what I mean? At the end of the day, like, the work that you need to be done, most of it, the work is done alone, that discipline.

Jonavin Webb:

Yeah.

Joey Bowen:

But you can do it alone. It's not just that. It's people, you know, leaning into you with their wisdom and giving you opportunities or or sometimes, like, smacking around a little bit when you need to be smacking around and taking something away. You know what I mean? So you want it more that's that's that's

Drew Beech:

pretty cool.

Joey Bowen:

Amazing story. So when when so wrestling Yeah. Is, like, in your DNA. Right? Like, when did, jujitsu start?

Jonavin Webb:

So funny score. So yeah. So my cousin, so another cousin, he's actually, like, 10 years old.

Joey Bowen:

Well, there's a lot of them. So the probability that, like, one of them is gonna bring something here is good.

Jonavin Webb:

My senior year in high school, I I just finished wrestling. Yeah. You know, had a really good season. And now I'm, like, you know, looking at

Drew Beech:

Did you get a 100 wins in in the

Jonavin Webb:

last year? Yeah. So I only I only wrestled for really two and a half years. And I won districts 3 years and and and I had a 100. So, you know, so my cousin was like, hey.

Jonavin Webb:

Do you wanna come to a Grappon class? Hey. I never heard of

Joey Bowen:

What year is this around?

Jonavin Webb:

This is, like, 2006.

Joey Bowen:

Okay.

Jonavin Webb:

Yeah. Alright. So you're the inside. Yeah.

Drew Beech:

John is, like, a 3rd degree lap belt. Yeah. Like, it's Like, crazy.

Joey Bowen:

I left, yeah. I left that out under, Henzo. Yeah.

Jonavin Webb:

So Henzo Gracie and Brian McPherson.

Joey Bowen:

Gotcha.

Jonavin Webb:

So, so that so Brian McPherson, he's my, like, original coach. Uh-huh. And, so my cousin was a police officer, and Brian McPherson was a major in the state police in New Jersey. And he just opened a school that week. And he was like, hey.

Jonavin Webb:

Come to this grappling class. And I was like, alright. Grappling was wrestling to me. I had no idea what jujitsu was. Right?

Jonavin Webb:

Like, I show up. I have my wrestling shoes. I have a head gear. You know, I have everything because I think I'm going to wrestling. And, I show up and, you know, I love my singlet.

Jonavin Webb:

But they're they're all at the time, everyone in there was 40 years old plus. Yeah. Right? So my coach, he's a black belt. There's a brown belt who's, like, 40 years old.

Jonavin Webb:

You know, he he was there, which I didn't know what the colored belts were, honestly. And then there was a purple belt who's, like, 40 years old.

Joey Bowen:

K. A lot of old men old men old men strength in that room.

Jonavin Webb:

And he's right. All gi. Yeah. So then I was like, I looked at my cousin. I'm like, I'm gonna kill these guys.

Jonavin Webb:

Yeah. Yeah. Right? Like, I'm gonna kill them. Yeah.

Jonavin Webb:

And then he's like, alright. Like, go ahead. Go. Go. So I start rolling with him.

Jonavin Webb:

Poses. And we get you know, back then, like, you never started on the feet in jujitsu. Uh-huh. A lot of times you start on your knees, and then you then you go. Right?

Jonavin Webb:

Because everyone would think you get hurt if you wrestled. Yeah. Yeah. And so we start on the knees, and I kinda like wrestle forward and take the guy down, and then he chokes me. And I'm like, what the hell is that?

Jonavin Webb:

Right? Did

Joey Bowen:

they give you, like, to tap early, tap often advice at least?

Jonavin Webb:

I had no idea. Oh, yeah. So

Joey Bowen:

It sounds like a setup, dude.

Jonavin Webb:

So then I was like, can we start on the feet? And at first, he's like, no. And then, the coach is like, yeah. Start on the feet. Yeah.

Jonavin Webb:

So I start on the feet. I take him down, go to his back because in wrestling, we get to the back as well. Right? And I get to his back thinking I'm in a good place, and I had my feet crossed

Drew Beech:

Oh my god.

Jonavin Webb:

Like this. And then he steps over and, like, ankle off. You're right. And I just remember, like, man, I couldn't believe what was happening to me. Every every time I thought I was doing something good, I was running into a submission every time.

Jonavin Webb:

Yeah. And I just remember on the way home just being like, man, whatever they just did to me, I wanna be able to do to someone else. And, like, I love wrestling, but everything I knew about wrestling

Drew Beech:

Mhmm.

Jonavin Webb:

Just was like, yo, forget wrestling. I'm doing I wanna figure out this thing over here. Yeah. And, so I I signed up, and I was, like, his first actual student there. So the other guys were from his, like, school that he trained at.

Jonavin Webb:

And they were just there, like, you know, because we just opened

Joey Bowen:

Yeah. Yeah.

Jonavin Webb:

Yeah. Supporting.

Joey Bowen:

So me

Jonavin Webb:

and my cousin were, like, the first ones there.

Joey Bowen:

Oh, amazing.

Jonavin Webb:

And, so I was getting privates or semi privates every practice.

Drew Beech:

Is your cousin still training?

Jonavin Webb:

No. No. He ended up getting him, like, a a chase. Yeah. He's going up a ladder and had like, broke his leg, like, real bad and then stopped training for a while, then tried to come back and then, you know, life just kinda happened.

Jonavin Webb:

But, yeah. Like I said, he he's the one who, like, introduced me to it. And, you know, so jiu jitsu goes. I'm now I'm doing jiu jitsu going into my freshman year of college. I'm I'm gonna wrestle my freshman year in college.

Jonavin Webb:

So I'm I'm doing wrestling practices and then leaving wrestling practice and going straight to jiu practice. Yeah. Right? And and, like, I'm wrestling just because it's what I did. Like like, I the love wasn't there anymore, to be honest.

Jonavin Webb:

Yeah. My love was with jiu jitsu. Yeah. And, I was going, going, going, and then I was a blue belt now. I got my blue belt in, like, 6 months or, you know, maybe 7, 7 months.

Jonavin Webb:

And, me and the coach ended up getting into a little altercation, man. And, I was like, man, I'm done with wrestling. I'm just gonna

Joey Bowen:

Oh, you're yeah. Your wrestling coach.

Jonavin Webb:

Yeah. My wrestling coach. Not my I'll never. But, McPherson, I was so scared of him as a kid. He's the guy I needed at that age too.

Jonavin Webb:

Because now, like, I'm becoming a man, but I didn't know what being a man was yet. Right? And and he was that guy that was I looked up to. He was a family man. He worked hard.

Jonavin Webb:

Mhmm. You know, he was still a police officer while he was doing you know, owning a school, and I I wanted to be like him. You know? And, so, again, that wrestling, I have to Was it just

Joey Bowen:

the pro was it the program at this isn't college. Right? So was it the program and the college?

Jonavin Webb:

Was it So the coach was really young. He's only a few years older than I was. Yeah. And we just butted heads a lot and, like, him and a lot of the guys on the team.

Joey Bowen:

Yeah.

Jonavin Webb:

And, I was just a man. Why am I doing this? Like like, I'm in it kinda half ass anyways. So, like

Drew Beech:

That's the what, Parker, my son, like, loves jujitsu and also loves wrestling. It's like, I'm kinda playing, like, this game with wrestling because I just feel a lot of the kids I wrestled with in high school who wrestled at a young age, they kinda, like, fell out of love with it by the end. Out. Yeah.

Jonavin Webb:

It is intense.

Drew Beech:

Because it's not like other sports. Because you're fucking I every practice, like

Joey Bowen:

Yeah.

Drew Beech:

He plays baseballs. Oh, every baseball practice is, like, fun.

Jonavin Webb:

But

Drew Beech:

then a wrestling practice is, like, a fucking

Joey Bowen:

See, I don't have any I don't have any inside inside the world.

Drew Beech:

It's like a jujitsu practice, I would say, times 5.

Jonavin Webb:

So whatever you do in a jujitsu practice

Joey Bowen:

Yep.

Jonavin Webb:

Is like the so you can flow in jujitsu a lot.

Joey Bowen:

Could you

Jonavin Webb:

flow in wrestling? Yes. But do they flow in wrestling?

Joey Bowen:

No.

Jonavin Webb:

Practice? Not Yeah.

Drew Beech:

At at, you know And that's every day for, like, 6 days a week for Yeah. Yeah.

Joey Bowen:

Yeah. See, I have no yeah. I have no friend

Jonavin Webb:

wrestling. Like a boot camp. Yeah.

Drew Beech:

You

Jonavin Webb:

know? It's they're they're trying to break you down to build you back up.

Joey Bowen:

Yeah.

Jonavin Webb:

And, you know, if you can't handle getting broken down, it can Well Yeah.

Joey Bowen:

My when I first my first jujitsu class, I had a similar experience to you, right, where, like, I had no idea what was happening, but I needed to figure it out. Mhmm. And picture me with, like, no wrestling experience, no combat experience, like, just strength training, power lifting and doing stuff. I'm coming in, and I'm like, well, this is really something. And I

Drew Beech:

always get credit to the people that started, like, 40 years. So, like, we could, like, get like, I was, like, I started whenever I was, like, 30 something, but I was, like, at least I had known what getting my head down something that felt like.

Jonavin Webb:

Yeah. You

Joey Bowen:

know what I mean?

Drew Beech:

Like, people that, like, are you that, like, never felt that before? Like I fuck growing

Joey Bowen:

up, but it was, like, every hands. Like, everybody just, you know, you pushed

Jonavin Webb:

through, and that was it. I will say that these days, I love students that never have done anything before.

Joey Bowen:

Yeah.

Jonavin Webb:

Because I feel like I can, like, help mold them.

Joey Bowen:

Yeah. Raw material, man. Yeah.

Jonavin Webb:

Sometimes when you have habits that you've done since you were 5 years old, 6 years old, it's hard to unlearn that.

Drew Beech:

And also, do you feel like the wrestlers come in with, like, ego for lack of a better word, but, like, they think they should be good. Like

Jonavin Webb:

So there there's there's some that do and some that don't. So we have a kid right now on my team, young kid, and he's, like, a really good wrestler from New Jersey. K. And he came in, and he started pulling guard right away. Right?

Jonavin Webb:

And I just started looking at him like, man, what's this kid doing? Yeah. And then I started looking like he's trying to learn juts as he's forgetting about the wrestling and just trying to learn. This kid is a beast. Like, he's gonna be the next big thing.

Jonavin Webb:

And, you know, he's winning all these tournaments. He'll go up to to higher, you know, divisions, and he's smoking people. And it's I I really believe that

Joey Bowen:

Respect, man.

Jonavin Webb:

You know, he he was able to take a couple steps back to, like, relearn some new things and then go. And then there's guys that come in that you're like, man, this guy's like a champion wrestler, and they come in and they suck.

Joey Bowen:

Yeah.

Jonavin Webb:

You know? It's because they don't open up. They they stay closed minded. And and that's in life period. You stay closed minded, you're you can only go so far.

Jonavin Webb:

So 100%. You go go in with an open mind, you can you can really, you know, learn more than you can ever, you know, believe.

Joey Bowen:

Yep. Yep. Yeah. Comfort zone's like your confidence zone. If you're coming in with certain tools and you're strong and you're refusing to leave that comfort zone, that confidence, those strengths, and that work on your weaknesses and your discomfort Yeah.

Joey Bowen:

Zone, you're not gonna grow, man. You know? Yeah. Much respect to him for Yeah. Saying, like, hey.

Joey Bowen:

I'm gonna put the tools away in the toolbox, and I'm just gonna, like, poke hard and, like, see what happens. You know?

Drew Beech:

That that little gem of wisdom, John just dropped there that made me think of, like, being entrepreneur father, coach. Like, do you think how much of your time do you believe is spent, like, being a a, like, a a coach or a like, just on general life? You know what I mean? Like, I mean, yes, you're, like, the black belt and coaching you too, but I assume that so many of your students come to you for so many thing. Like, and you're probably helping them through life, like, most of them.

Jonavin Webb:

So I feel like I I I talk with my wife all the time about this, but I'm in, like, the payback phase right now. Right? Like, there's so many people that came into my life. And when I needed something, they were there for me. And, you know, whatever it was.

Jonavin Webb:

If it was just like a mental thing,

Drew Beech:

you

Jonavin Webb:

know, if it if it was, hey, what should I do with school or financially? Like, someone would always give me, you know, advice and and, you know, what to do. And now I'm trying to pay that back as much as I can.

Drew Beech:

Yeah.

Jonavin Webb:

And, you know, this is a a a really crazy sport. When you step back and you look at it, you have to be a little crazy to do

Drew Beech:

A little

Jonavin Webb:

what we do. On edge. Yeah. And sometimes, with that, you're gonna run into a lot of mental health stuff.

Joey Bowen:

Mhmm.

Jonavin Webb:

And, you know, we we deal with that a lot at the gym. I've dealt with it a lot with my with my friends and family. Mhmm. And that's, like, my biggest thing is is I'm always trying to help, because, you know, I've I've lost very close people to me, to mental health. So, like, that's, you know, I, like, I'll I'll get phone calls at 2 AM, 3 AM sometimes.

Joey Bowen:

Yeah.

Jonavin Webb:

You know? And I'm answering it and and and trying to help them and and, you know, but, hey, man. There you could talk you could talk to me, but there's also professionals who can, you know, get you where you need to go, like, you know, call this number, do the do these things. And, you know, that's, like, I hate that it happens, but I love that I'm able to

Joey Bowen:

Mhmm.

Jonavin Webb:

To help people

Drew Beech:

out with that. Yeah.

Jonavin Webb:

And more than anything, you know, all the other stuff, like, you know, hey, do this to become a champion. That's great.

Joey Bowen:

Yeah.

Jonavin Webb:

Right? But, again, just being, like, learning how to love yourself and to be a good person is so much more important. And and I feel like I get to help people, you know, find themselves and love themselves.

Joey Bowen:

Yeah. That's that's amazing, man. It's it's like they can come and they can do the work on the mats, but that's not the only work that needs to be done. Yeah. You know, there's other work that needs to be done outside of that.

Joey Bowen:

And when they do that work, they have you there with them too. Yeah. And also, you giving them the proper guide and saying, like, look. I can speak to you from experience. I always got your back.

Joey Bowen:

Let's talk it out. But, you know, there are, like, resources

Jonavin Webb:

Yeah.

Joey Bowen:

To to help you even further. Yeah. So it's invaluable.

Jonavin Webb:

I'm someone as a coach too. Right? Like, I never would tell anyone that I think I know everything.

Drew Beech:

Mhmm.

Jonavin Webb:

Right? Like, with techniques, with, you know, maybe their diets or whatever it is. And then the same thing, you know, off the mats, I I really I don't believe there's one person in the world that knows everything. So you gotta be able to, like, find

Drew Beech:

Mhmm.

Jonavin Webb:

Where I can find the right information from. And and Yeah. If I can just get someone close to that, to where they need to go, that's I feel like a win for me. So Yeah. You know, trying to just push people in the right direction, to get the help they need or or to get to where they wanna go.

Jonavin Webb:

Yeah. That's what I feel like I'm there for.

Joey Bowen:

You're paying back what people did for you. Exactly. You know what I mean? Set you on the right path. You know what I mean?

Joey Bowen:

Set you in the right direction. Yeah. You know, whether you knew it or not. So you're, so now you got you have your blue belt. Right?

Joey Bowen:

Yep. Like, at some point, well, when did you start coaching?

Jonavin Webb:

So Did

Joey Bowen:

you start coaching early? I started

Jonavin Webb:

coaching very early.

Joey Bowen:

So,

Jonavin Webb:

my, again, my coach was a major in the state police, and he was, like, on this government detail. So, like, anytime, you know, governor or whoever, the president's coming to town, he was, like, on these details where he would get a phone call, his phone ring, and he would have to just leave the gym immediately. Right? So, again, I'm one of the first of 2, 3 students. And, he'd be like, hey, John, can you finish the class?

Jonavin Webb:

K. Alright. Now I'm

Joey Bowen:

Got it.

Jonavin Webb:

I'm 17, 18 years old teaching 30, 40 year olds.

Joey Bowen:

Now you know, like, you

Drew Beech:

know you're into training.

Joey Bowen:

You know what needs to be done, but, like, you like, finding the words and putting yourself on a platform and finding the words to teach, like, that would be nerve wracking.

Jonavin Webb:

This is a a a crazy thing. And and, again, my wife me me and my wife, we've known each other since we were 14 years old.

Joey Bowen:

Yeah.

Jonavin Webb:

And, public speaking Yeah. Was my biggest

Drew Beech:

fear god.

Jonavin Webb:

In the entire world. Right? So, like, I can teach a class for the most part. Yep. And then the hardest thing for me, I would have anxiety attacks about having to talk at the end of class.

Jonavin Webb:

Yeah. Right? Everyone's standing there looking at you. Yeah. You're just there, like, hey.

Jonavin Webb:

Good job, guys.

Joey Bowen:

They're waiting for you to say something. Like, what do we do next?

Jonavin Webb:

I they want some panic.

Joey Bowen:

They want

Jonavin Webb:

some pussy. When I started fighting Yeah. Fighting didn't scare me. I could walk into a cage, and I'll fight anyone. Yeah.

Jonavin Webb:

Right? Doing the interviews beforehand, you know, doing the, you know, video of Press.

Joey Bowen:

You know,

Jonavin Webb:

when you're walking out and you're you're doing that,

Joey Bowen:

you

Jonavin Webb:

know, talking about the fight, I would I'll I'll be have sweating beforehand just thinking about it. And, I then something just came, you know, came to me where I was like, hey, man. This is making me really uncomfortable.

Joey Bowen:

Mhmm.

Jonavin Webb:

Like, how can I figure this out? And the only way to do it was by just doing it more. Reps. And and I just started you know, I I used to say no to a lot of interviews. People would call, like, can you do this is, like, before podcasting is really

Drew Beech:

big. Yeah.

Jonavin Webb:

But they were like, hey. Can we do this phone call interview or this? And I was like, no. I can't do it. Then I started to be like, hey.

Jonavin Webb:

Yes. Yes. I'll do everyone. I was doing all these these ones for, like, these tiny companies, big companies, or whatever it was. I was just

Joey Bowen:

You know, they're they trust you. They respect you. And now they're looking, like, for, like, the cap on it.

Drew Beech:

Yeah. Like, what that wisdom wisdom.

Joey Bowen:

It was it

Jonavin Webb:

was hard for me because, again, I'm 17, 18, maybe 19 years old. Yeah. And I don't I'm nowhere in life yet.

Drew Beech:

Yeah.

Jonavin Webb:

Right? Like, I don't have money.

Joey Bowen:

Sure.

Jonavin Webb:

Yeah. I'm I'm scrapping for dollars just to pay for my tuition for for the, for the gym. And, like, these guys you know, there's guys pulling up in Corvettes and Yeah. All these things. Like, they already yeah.

Jonavin Webb:

They already have they're they're successful. They have families, like, all of a sudden. I'm trying to tell them Mhmm. What to be better at, you know, or what to

Drew Beech:

what to do

Jonavin Webb:

or how to think.

Drew Beech:

Yep. Yep. The that aside, the wisdom aside, the what was it like coaching at that level? It was like, say you're what? No more than a year in.

Drew Beech:

I I taught Americana to to kit to 5 year 6 year olds. Right? But, like, when when coach McPherson's like, alright, Jonathan. You got the rest because I gotta go. Like, where like, do you how comfortable do you feel teaching, like, triangles?

Drew Beech:

Or you know what I mean? I don't know whether you were

Jonavin Webb:

teaching at the time. So in the beginning, it was like I would try to, like I would assume that everyone knew how to do it for the most part. Like, hey. Just lock your legs like this and then Yeah. Grab the head, do this.

Jonavin Webb:

Right? And I would just assume because I was someone who if I watched you guys do a move, I can kinda pick up on it. Uh-huh. I was never someone who could, like, you know, read a book and, like, do these things and learn that way. But if I can see it, I can, like, my body could, like, figure out how to do it after at least a few reps.

Jonavin Webb:

Right?

Joey Bowen:

Yeah.

Jonavin Webb:

And I would just assume everyone learn, like, how I did. And, that's not the case at all. Right? And then I started real and my coach would tell me, like, hey. Like, you gotta talk to them like they're kindergartners.

Jonavin Webb:

Right? Like like, talk to them.

Joey Bowen:

That that does that does a lot for your anxiety. Yeah. Yeah. Now you're like, I'm saying, I gotta

Jonavin Webb:

You know, now I'm trying to I can't assume that they know anything how to how to keep their weight, you know, how to, you know, whatever, their balance. So, like, I would always just try to bring it down the layman terms as much as possible and, just slow everything down and let people mess up.

Joey Bowen:

Mhmm.

Jonavin Webb:

That was another thing. You're not gonna perfect something right away. Yeah. The best way to perfect something is to keep trying it and failing at it and trying to make adjustments on it.

Joey Bowen:

Yep.

Jonavin Webb:

And and that's a big thing that I do with my guys now.

Joey Bowen:

Mhmm.

Drew Beech:

I

Jonavin Webb:

don't really sit and teach a bunch of moves step by step by step. Yep. I like to put guys in guys and girls into positions. And then, you know, hey, partner a is trying to work offensively from here. Partner b is trying to work defensively from here.

Joey Bowen:

Yeah.

Jonavin Webb:

You work your way to it or out of it. And then once you get, you know, a finish or you're out, then we reset and we go again. And it shouldn't be a 100% live. It's just, you know, you're trying to, you know, work with each other. And and I feel like that's where they're learning the most from right now.

Drew Beech:

That's so interesting. That's because I just recently switched over to MovementArt with Danny and Nick, and that's how we do the majority of our shows. It's, like, positional Yep. At 50, 60%. Right?

Drew Beech:

Like and it's, like, that's where you're learning because you're actually applying things. Like, it seems as though at least the people that like you and and them, like, that antiquated way of teaching jujitsu is kinda like Yeah. Like, like going away.

Joey Bowen:

It kinda like, you have the way I look at it is is, like, you have to feel what it isn't before you can actually feel what it is.

Drew Beech:

Like, you

Joey Bowen:

have to feel, like, what it what it feels like to not do it with your body

Jonavin Webb:

Yeah. Before you do truly that. Feel what it

Joey Bowen:

feels like that then then what it's not tells you what it is, and it's gotta be slowed down. Because at full speed, you can't absorb.

Drew Beech:

A real a part I really struggle with, in jiu jitsu was, like, alright. I can do a a triangle on a guy a million times when he's not when he's not resisting at all. Like, it's pretty easy. Like Yeah. But then when, there's any kind of resistance, like, what the hell?

Drew Beech:

I can't do this at all. Like, you

Jonavin Webb:

know what I mean? And I just I really think it comes down to to even, like, simplify it more is even just the 3 of us. Right?

Drew Beech:

Mhmm.

Jonavin Webb:

We're all different than each other.

Joey Bowen:

Mhmm.

Jonavin Webb:

Right? Like, different body styles, you know, different backgrounds, all these things.

Drew Beech:

Much more jack. We can

Jonavin Webb:

we can do the same moves slightly different from each other, and it can work for you and work for you your own way, work for me my own way. And and jits is all about finding your own thing. So, you know, if you just tell them, hey. You have to do that. Do it this way.

Jonavin Webb:

Do it that way. Do it that way. Maybe it's not the way that's gonna work for them. And then, you know, they try it in a live, and now they're not successful. So Mhmm.

Jonavin Webb:

You know, that's why I like people to figure it out on on their own.

Joey Bowen:

Yeah. For sure. For sure. So we're so so you start coaching early. When does so when does and I'm skipping forward a little bit.

Joey Bowen:

I don't know if you have more coaching questions.

Drew Beech:

I was asked when fighting comes in.

Joey Bowen:

So, like, when does now MMA start to

Drew Beech:

because Like, when do you want us to get punched in the face?

Joey Bowen:

Yeah. Exactly.

Jonavin Webb:

So because there

Joey Bowen:

is no MMA at cope with no MMA being done at McPherson. Right?

Jonavin Webb:

0. We didn't even have no gi. It was just

Joey Bowen:

gi power training.

Jonavin Webb:

Yeah. So So

Joey Bowen:

but yeah. How's that come

Drew Beech:

Which probably was most the majority of the case in jujitsu at that time. Yeah.

Jonavin Webb:

At that time, it was. And so this is a crazy story. I've I've told it. You know, I always get people coming up to me like, are you serious? Yeah.

Jonavin Webb:

This is how you started.

Joey Bowen:

We love crazy standing.

Jonavin Webb:

Don't ring it. So, I started working in security

Joey Bowen:

Uh-huh.

Jonavin Webb:

When I was 18. Mhmm. Right? And, so again, I'm already a blue belt engineer too.

Joey Bowen:

Like, private security or, like, bouncing or, like, both?

Jonavin Webb:

So I worked my first security job ever was at Delilah's. That's right. That's right.

Joey Bowen:

I mean, like, you're

Jonavin Webb:

gonna you're gonna be in a place.

Joey Bowen:

I mean, you have security. So,

Jonavin Webb:

you know, so I started working there, and this guy comes up to me out of nowhere and was like, hey. You fight MMA? Because I might I've had cauliflower. I had my first surgery on my ears when I was 17 years old.

Drew Beech:

Yeah. You did that a cauliflower in your surgery?

Jonavin Webb:

Yeah. I had it because it closed, like, in under my kneel drum. So then, so they had to, like, cut it, put a stint in, and then let it, like, drain it out.

Drew Beech:

Funny when you were telling the story about how long you've done combat sport. I was like, his ears aren't that big.

Jonavin Webb:

Yeah. I don't know. I was mid

Drew Beech:

mid story, I was thinking about the

Jonavin Webb:

air stuff. Yeah.

Drew Beech:

I was like, damn, it was not that big.

Jonavin Webb:

Yeah. Luckily, it's been pretty

Joey Bowen:

good since.

Jonavin Webb:

But, so so the guy's like, his name was Scott Morgan. He owned a a company called New Breed Fighters. It's like it was a big organization years ago for amateurs. And then, and they were in Atlantic City. K.

Jonavin Webb:

And he's like, you fight MMA? And I said, no. I do jujitsu in our in our wrestle. And, this is about a couple weeks before the altercation with my wrestling coach. And he's like he's like, hey.

Jonavin Webb:

If if you ever wanna fight, here's my card. Right?

Joey Bowen:

Yeah.

Jonavin Webb:

And I remember I had I had this little piece of crap, little Honda Accord. And I took the card and I put it down by, like, the cup holder, and it sat there for, like, a few weeks. You know? And that there was water bottles all over the Yeah. The the seats.

Joey Bowen:

Card added, like, water spilled on it and all sorts of stuff.

Jonavin Webb:

And, so I get into that thing with the coach, and I remember the card. And I was like, let me let me give this guy a call and, like, see what you have to do to be a fighter. I hadn't again, I have no idea what you had to do because there was always always, like, you know, people would say, I gotta get my hands registered

Drew Beech:

to

Jonavin Webb:

fight and all that stuff. But I didn't know what was real and what what wasn't. And I and I told him, I was like, hey. What do I have to do? Like, how do I qualify to be a fighter?

Jonavin Webb:

And he's like, well, there's a funny thing. You know, you're 175. Right? Like, a £175? Because I was wrestling 174 in in college.

Jonavin Webb:

And I was like, yeah. I'm, like, 176 right now, like, 177. And he's like, well, I have a a fight. The fight 1 fighter fell off. It's in 2 weeks.

Jonavin Webb:

He's like, he's like, the guys from, like, a a striking gym

Drew Beech:

Mhmm.

Jonavin Webb:

Has no grappling at all. Like, you know, could you would you wanna do it? And I was like, let me let me give you a callback. So I called McPherson.

Joey Bowen:

Yep.

Jonavin Webb:

And I was like, I kinda wanna do this thing as like a bucket list thing. You know, just one time just to, like, see how it feels. And it's an MMA fight.

Drew Beech:

Mhmm.

Jonavin Webb:

And he's like, are you sure? And I was like, yeah. He said,

Joey Bowen:

you got a good thing going here.

Jonavin Webb:

And then he's just like he's like, if you wanna do it, I have your back. Like, I'll be there for you. And I was like, alright. So I went. I did one boxing practice, with this guy Prince Badiajuma who was who was a he fought Roy Jones Junior.

Jonavin Webb:

Yay. And I I'm a tell you what the class was. He we get there. No warm up or anything. It was he's like, you have a dollar in your pocket?

Drew Beech:

Yeah.

Jonavin Webb:

And I was like, yeah. I'll pull out a dollar. He said, put it on your shoulder. So Bam. Put it here.

Jonavin Webb:

And then he said, put your chin on your on the dollar. So I was just here. And he's like, alright. Just keep throwing jabs. Every time you drop the dollar, the drop dollar drops on the floor, You gotta do 10 push ups.

Jonavin Webb:

Wow. And I did an hour of just doing that. Right?

Joey Bowen:

So that was the class.

Jonavin Webb:

And I was like, I hate boxing. Right? Like, never doing boxing again.

Joey Bowen:

I never committed at this point to the fight.

Jonavin Webb:

Yeah. Yeah. But this is it. Like, the and I only got that, linked up because someone I knew knew him.

Joey Bowen:

Mhmm.

Jonavin Webb:

And he just did this one training session with me, and that was it. And, again, it was just chin on shoulder, throwing throwing a jab.

Drew Beech:

You ever you ever bring that, drill back, runny? You're

Jonavin Webb:

Yeah. I I did it not too long ago, actually. Yeah. Talking about? Yeah.

Jonavin Webb:

And, so then I was like, man, I'm not doing striking anymore. I'm just gonna grab it. So I go out there.

Joey Bowen:

Guy fight.

Jonavin Webb:

It was in Atlantic City. I was in Atlanta. I had the resorts. Okay. And it's like big crowd.

Jonavin Webb:

I so somehow, first flight, I sold, like, a 100 tickets to this flight.

Drew Beech:

Oh, no.

Jonavin Webb:

Right? I mean, 2 weeks. Yeah. So I'm like you know, I'm from South Jersey. Like, all my friends love Atlantic City.

Jonavin Webb:

Like, we wouldn't find any reason to go down there. I'm 19 years old now at this point. I it was like my 19, it was my birthday week of turning 19.

Joey Bowen:

Nice.

Jonavin Webb:

And I go to the fight, didn't get hit one time, get an arm bar from the mount. Right? Wow. And I remember getting my hand raised and it felt like no wrestling match I've ever done. No jujitsu tournament I've ever done.

Jonavin Webb:

It was like this. It was just this crazy adrenaline thing. And I was like, man, I found my new thing. This is it. Like, I'm I'm I'm in.

Jonavin Webb:

Yeah. 2nd fight comes. I take another fight, like, a month or 2 later. Still still I

Joey Bowen:

was gonna say, did you do any striking?

Jonavin Webb:

Still no striking. You never got touched. Never got punched.

Joey Bowen:

So how long was the first fight?

Jonavin Webb:

It went to the 2nd round, but they were, it was a 3 minute round in Hampshire. So the first round, I took him down, held him.

Drew Beech:

Yeah. Okay.

Jonavin Webb:

2nd round, he tries to throw a punch, but I, like, go under, take him down, get to the mount, arm bar him right away.

Drew Beech:

Yeah.

Jonavin Webb:

So then second fight Yeah. If you put the 2 fights, like, play them at the same time, they pretty much went the same exact way. Arm bar from mount Yeah. Second fight. Right?

Jonavin Webb:

And I'll say, oh.

Joey Bowen:

Now the second guy the second guy, was he striker only?

Jonavin Webb:

Yeah. It was another striker. And, you know, because there was no MMA gyms

Drew Beech:

Yeah.

Jonavin Webb:

Like that.

Drew Beech:

That's what I was thinking while you're telling the story. Like, the the world of MMA is way different.

Jonavin Webb:

It was boxers versus, you know, and or, like, kickboxers karate. Wrestlers, jujitsu, karate.

Joey Bowen:

Yeah.

Jonavin Webb:

Right? So it was like man, it was when you grabbed them, it was like I was grabbing a baby. Right? Like, it was like as soon as I grabbed if they would hit me, it would have been a different story. But because I grabbed them, it was like they just felt like they didn't know what they were doing.

Drew Beech:

I always say that's so interesting, nowadays too, like, knowing the world of MMA and the UFC, how it is, but, like, to not to, disregard jujitsu or, like yeah. And only be a 1 dimensional fighter, and I I'm I'm a casual. So but to only be a 1 dimensional fighter is, like, kinda crazy at this point.

Jonavin Webb:

It's almost impossible these days. Yeah. Yeah. Because you get these guys, like, that came in, like, Sean Brady. Right?

Jonavin Webb:

He's started at a MMA gym with with Julio. Right? And and, you know, he came in kickboxing, wrestle. He never wrestled a day in his life before he started, but he's the best wrestler I know.

Joey Bowen:

Yeah.

Jonavin Webb:

Right? We we have national champions come in. He just rag dolls in, like, they've never trained before.

Joey Bowen:

Yeah.

Jonavin Webb:

Right? But it's just a new hybrid thing. You know? And, you know, so I take those fights. I go to my 3rd fight now

Drew Beech:

Mhmm. And

Jonavin Webb:

I got hit for the first time. And I just remember

Joey Bowen:

Early on?

Jonavin Webb:

Early on? Coached. No. So first round, I took him down, like, 5 times.

Joey Bowen:

Yeah.

Jonavin Webb:

You know? They kept getting up. This is the first person that got up. You had never

Drew Beech:

been punched in the face.

Jonavin Webb:

Never been punched in my face. Not even in a street fight. I was

Joey Bowen:

just like have a ground.

Jonavin Webb:

Street fights, I would just wrestle.

Drew Beech:

Being a bouncer

Jonavin Webb:

is a Yeah. Never. Never. And and this dude hit me Probably

Drew Beech:

as hard

Jonavin Webb:

as he can. I looked I looked back at my coach like, oh, shit.

Joey Bowen:

Yeah.

Jonavin Webb:

Like, this is different. Like and, the guy ended up getting disqualified for hitting me illegally. Right? Oh, really? So yeah.

Jonavin Webb:

And so I get my hand raised. I take pictures with the ring card girls. I'm taking pictures with my friends. We get to the back. Mhmm.

Jonavin Webb:

They're taking off my gloves and my shin guards because we had to wear the

Drew Beech:

Yeah. Yeah.

Joey Bowen:

Yeah. Yeah. Scars. Yeah.

Jonavin Webb:

And, I'm taking everything off, and and I was like, why are you guys taking this off? Yeah. And and they're like, what are you talking about? And I was like, I'm the next fight. And they're like, what?

Jonavin Webb:

They're like, look at you. You're all sweaty. And I looked down, and I'm like, what are you talking about? Like, I'm next. So I get I got a concussion.

Jonavin Webb:

You got it. Yeah. So yeah. So then I was like, oh my god. So then my coach who was, he trained under Ricardo Almeida

Joey Bowen:

Yeah.

Jonavin Webb:

And who had Frankie Edgar and Mhmm. You know, Eddie Alvarez will go in there and Edson Barbosa and all those guys. Mhmm. And, yeah, Nick Catone. Like, there's so Don Terreira.

Jonavin Webb:

All these guys were at this gym that I had access to now. And my coach is like, hey. You have to go up there and train with these guys. Like, if you wanna be a MMA fighter, you have to train MMA. Mhmm.

Jonavin Webb:

So I started just going up there, and I started sparring my my first day of sparring, I'm sparring Frankie Edgar. Right? Because you remember, he was the 1 55 pound champion at the time. He just beat BJ Penn when I when I started training with him. And I was only at I know I'm big now, but, you know, back then, I was only £175.

Drew Beech:

Sure.

Jonavin Webb:

And he so, you know, I'm only, at the time, maybe £15 heavier than him when when he was not in in camp. And, so I'm sparring with him all the time. I was sparring with all these guys. 1st practice. I'm getting my ass kicked.

Joey Bowen:

Yeah. What was that first sparring session like with him?

Drew Beech:

Yeah. That's how you ask. Like, how how'd it go?

Joey Bowen:

It was

Jonavin Webb:

I was like, alright. I'm just gonna be able to wrestle him. Right? And, obviously, he's a good wrestler too.

Drew Beech:

Yeah.

Jonavin Webb:

And then he's he he has he doesn't fade. So, like, someone like Frankie, you have to get him early, like, try to beat him early Mhmm. Because he's gonna keep going up while your tank's going down. And, man, there used to be some crazy days where I'll leave there and be like, what am I doing? Like

Drew Beech:

Yeah.

Jonavin Webb:

I can't, like I don't know why. Yeah.

Drew Beech:

Why am I doing this?

Jonavin Webb:

Yeah. But, that just that changed everything for me. And then I started fighting, you know, the right way. Like, I'm starting to do MMA, not just, jujitsu. And then, you know, then I moved to to Philly, because I I had a I tore my shoulder.

Jonavin Webb:

My second pro fight

Drew Beech:

Mhmm.

Jonavin Webb:

I tore my shoulder after the fight. And, then a gym in Philly was opening up. And then that's when me, Paul Felder, Sean Brady, Pat Sabatini, all of us. Like, we came together. We all came from different schools

Drew Beech:

Yeah.

Jonavin Webb:

And then made this, like, one team.

Joey Bowen:

Convenient.

Jonavin Webb:

And, I moved to Philly, lived above the gym for 2 years. The apartment didn't have a the apartment didn't have showers or whatever. Like, I had to go down Yeah. To the gym, the shower. There was no kitchen.

Joey Bowen:

Yeah.

Jonavin Webb:

You know? And I I slammed it for 2 years, and I kept telling myself, like, I'm gonna make it to the UFC in 2 years. That was my number because if not, I was gonna become a police officer. I was actually gonna go through the police academy. And, I kept saying it's 2 years 2 years.

Jonavin Webb:

And I I swear 2 years on the dot, I got the phone call. Call? Yeah. And it was, like, oh, shit. Like How

Joey Bowen:

many fights were you?

Jonavin Webb:

Happening.

Joey Bowen:

How many fights in were you at that time?

Jonavin Webb:

So I was 9 fights in

Joey Bowen:

Okay.

Jonavin Webb:

When I got the call. So I was 8 and o, but then I had, one, no contest with Lyman Goode.

Drew Beech:

Oh, wow. No with

Jonavin Webb:

Lyman. Yeah. So I

Drew Beech:

didn't know that.

Jonavin Webb:

Yeah. Yeah. I didn't know that. I was a lot smaller than Lyman back then. Yeah.

Jonavin Webb:

I didn't know that. But, yeah, we had a we had a no contest.

Joey Bowen:

On the show. Yeah.

Jonavin Webb:

Yeah. And, He actually

Joey Bowen:

literally, he just texted me before you came.

Drew Beech:

Really?

Jonavin Webb:

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

Joey Bowen:

He's a good dude.

Jonavin Webb:

Yeah. It was a it was a crazy thing that we were supposed to we were set to do a rematch.

Joey Bowen:

Mhmm.

Jonavin Webb:

And 2 weeks before our fight, I got the call to the UFC.

Joey Bowen:

Yeah. And

Jonavin Webb:

then, you know, there's all this thing, like, you know, his team was mad and, you know, whatever. Like, he should've got the call, but then I got it. But then he ended up fighting the same day too.

Joey Bowen:

Yeah. Because

Jonavin Webb:

he got called 2 weeks after I got called. So it ended up working now, and then I thought we would, you know, fight in the UFC, but it just never happened. But, you know, everything just kinda

Drew Beech:

That's crazy.

Jonavin Webb:

Kinda happened. And, you know, it it it led me to where where I am now.

Joey Bowen:

Yeah. What, so when does when does Webb open? When does your spot your school open?

Jonavin Webb:

Yeah. So what happened was Like, was

Joey Bowen:

it when you were in the UFC?

Jonavin Webb:

No. So I I left the UFC. I was, you know, fighting Kate Shearer again. I I went and fought in Russia. Mhmm.

Drew Beech:

Were were you trying to get back into the UFC?

Jonavin Webb:

Yeah. So I I left the UFC then I went, I was 4 and o outside the UFC again. Right? I went and just fought. But I was I was doing these camps half ass.

Jonavin Webb:

So I'm someone who hates excuses. Right? I we have this talk every day at Marquez and at my gym as well. And it's if you wanna be a champion, there can't be one excuse for for why you didn't come to training, why your diet's wrong, you know, why you're not wrestling enough, you know, all those things. There can't be an excuse.

Jonavin Webb:

Right? And, if this is what you wanna do. And I felt myself starting to make these little excuses, And I'm like, what am I doing, man? Like and and at this time now I have kids and Yeah. You know, I, you know, I'm not gonna use names and stuff, but we had a coach that was in and out and Mhmm.

Jonavin Webb:

Before, Marquez came in and kinda took over. And and I was stuck trying to coach while I was trying to fight. So I'm I'm running Felder through his camp. I'm running Brady through his camp. I'm running all these guys through their camps while I'm in the same practice.

Joey Bowen:

Yeah.

Jonavin Webb:

Right? I'm trying to to do the workout while, you know, be like, hey. Make sure you, you know, slip. What do you do? Do this.

Jonavin Webb:

And and, you know, again, no no excuses, but I had to look myself in the mirror and make a decision. And it was, am I gonna be a, you know, a 100% in the coaching, or am I gonna be a 100% in the fighting? And I really did feel like I had another run. And and at one point, I was like, yo, I'm gonna fight again. Right?

Jonavin Webb:

I just I'm just gonna focus on coaching at right now. But there's this this thing with coaching for me. I get the same fulfillment through these guys. Right? And and, you know, for some people, I don't think they will get that fulfillment.

Jonavin Webb:

But for me, when they win, I win. Right? And nothing's better than, like, you know, I'm just gonna put a scenario out there. Joe Piper, when he he fought Al Quesan, we're drilling this thing for a couple weeks before the fight. And his, camera guy who did his documentary Mhmm.

Jonavin Webb:

Came up to me and was like, hey. How do you think Joe's gonna win this fight? And I said, I think he's gonna finish him with this joke. Right? Like, he, he's been doing this thing, and it's working so good in practice.

Jonavin Webb:

And he goes out there, does the joke. Yeah. And that was like, man, it it was just this feeling I've never felt before. And I was like, alright. Just I'm doing the right thing, man.

Jonavin Webb:

Like, this is where I'm supposed to be. And, I get to help more people, not just myself now. And, you know, I I just I love doing it, and I wouldn't change anything. You know? It'll be nice.

Jonavin Webb:

You know, I I don't get those cameras on me all the time. I'm not signing autographs and doing all that kind of stuff anymore, or, like, very rarely.

Drew Beech:

Not yet. Yeah. Not until you're well renowned coach. Yeah. And then yeah.

Joey Bowen:

But, you

Jonavin Webb:

know, that's that's not what I was ever in it for anyway.

Joey Bowen:

You know,

Jonavin Webb:

I just love the game. Like Yeah. Yeah. This was a big chess match to me, and I just wanted to be the best chess player. And and now I just get to coach them.

Joey Bowen:

Yeah. And that's, like, fully embracing your payback era.

Jonavin Webb:

Yeah.

Joey Bowen:

You know, paying it paying it back.

Jonavin Webb:

Yeah.

Joey Bowen:

You know? Man, it's it seems like there's a couple pivotal moments in your life. You when you first saw that 3 foot high trophy Yeah. Then when you got your hand or when you, you know, got your hand raised, when you started jiu jitsu and that, and then now, you know, the moments that you share with your team, through them as they fight seem to like, the moments just keep getting more and more meaningful, more and more impactful. That's like, if you're gonna play the game, that's the way you wanna play it.

Drew Beech:

Oh, yeah.

Joey Bowen:

You know what I mean? Yeah. Amazing. Amazing. So why don't, why don't we talk a little bit about Webb, fitness and MMA?

Joey Bowen:

Because you got you got a little something different going on there. Right? Like, it's not just an MMA gym or school.

Jonavin Webb:

So we have all kind of people at at my gym. You know? I actually, bought my gym from it it was a UFC gym. So, like, a franchise style gym. Oh, was it?

Jonavin Webb:

And I used to work there. Right? So since I was 19, I worked part time at a UFC gym. And, you know, I the the owner, his daughter was actually, like, a singer, and she was, like, traveling the country and doing all these things. And he wanted, you know, he wanted to be her her, like, manager.

Jonavin Webb:

So So

Joey Bowen:

he wanted out?

Jonavin Webb:

He ended up wanting out. So he he comes to me and is like, hey, you know, are you are you interested in buying the gym? Yeah. And, you know, MMA, there's not a crazy amount of money in there. And some people can make a lot of money, but I didn't make that much money from

Joey Bowen:

Mhmm.

Jonavin Webb:

From the fighting side of it. And, you know, I was like, I don't know. And then my main sponsor throughout my fight career since I was an amateur all the way through pro, he's like, I'll buy it. Right? Amazing.

Jonavin Webb:

He's like, I'll I'll buy it. And it came with, like, a couple 100 members, and it came with all the equipment

Drew Beech:

Oh, yeah.

Jonavin Webb:

And all this stuff. And he was like, let's let me, you know, buy it and then we could be partners in it.

Joey Bowen:

Yeah.

Jonavin Webb:

And, and I thought about it and then I was like, you know what? Like Yep. Well, I had my daughter. My daughter was young and I said, you know, this will ground me because at the time, I was traveling to New Mexico training with cowboy, for all his fights. And, you know, I was leaving my daughter for, like, months at a time.

Joey Bowen:

Yeah. Yeah.

Jonavin Webb:

You know, and my wife and, you know, I I just had to make that decision to, like, hey. This is gonna keep keep me grounded at home. And so I I pulled the trigger on it. We did it. I we decided to defranchise it, and just I wanted to be like that hometown gym, but also offer what these big box gyms have.

Jonavin Webb:

So we have classes all day. Right? It's not like schedule? Yeah.

Joey Bowen:

Yeah. But that's why I was kind of alluding to. Like, you got a lot of stuff going on there. Yeah.

Jonavin Webb:

That's crazy. So we'll we'll have, you know, like, boxing and kickboxing, cardio style classes. Right? Then we'll have boxing and kickboxing, like, intermediate style classes where you're doing drills with a partner, but it's not hard sparring.

Drew Beech:

Mhmm.

Jonavin Webb:

Right? And then we have the, like, the hardcore, you know, Muay Thai and advanced boxing classes where we're sparring. Right? And then we have jutsu. We have the gi, no gi, wrestling classes.

Jonavin Webb:

We have all kids classes. Like, we try to touch on

Joey Bowen:

And the strength and conditioning.

Jonavin Webb:

Strength and conditioning. Yeah. We have hit classes. Like

Drew Beech:

Yep.

Jonavin Webb:

We we we do a little bit of everything, but it all comes down to my to our core team. You know, I took guys that were already in the u s, at USC gym Yep. And I brought them over and, you know, they all, you know, had a similar vision like me.

Joey Bowen:

Mhmm.

Jonavin Webb:

And, you know, we just they just helped me make this thing grow and, you know, I get to travel the world, you know, with with all these guys for fighting. And I'll leave for weeks at a time and the gym runs like a like, if I was there.

Joey Bowen:

K.

Jonavin Webb:

So, you know, that I I owe it a lot to to the team that we have in place.

Joey Bowen:

Mhmm.

Jonavin Webb:

And, you know, we're we're just keep growing. We're looking, you know, I'm looking to do a second location. I'm just, you know.

Drew Beech:

New Jersey or

Jonavin Webb:

Yeah. Probably probably Jersey. Maybe a little closer to here. But Yeah. You know, time wise, I'm trying to figure out how to manage that because k.

Jonavin Webb:

You know, the gym's not all about me, but I do feel like when I'm there, it's, you know Yeah. It it, like, I think people love that. I love them being that.

Joey Bowen:

You bring energy to that place that nobody else could bring.

Jonavin Webb:

Yeah. And, again, our team does a good job. It's you know, I really love seeing people succeed. But that's, like, I just love it, man. Like, whatever people decide they wanna do.

Jonavin Webb:

If you wanna just get in the best shape of your life, I wanna help you do that. If Yep. You just wanna you wanna become a fighter, I wanna do that. But, you know, I I I truly care. And and, you know, it's really helped me or works for me and my business right now.

Joey Bowen:

I'm pumped to hear about the potential second location. I like to see good people win, especially people that, serve other people. So I'm pumped, man. I'm pumped to hear about that.

Jonavin Webb:

Yeah. Yeah.

Joey Bowen:

That's what I was kind of alluding to. Like, hey. Tell us a little bit more about what you got going on right there because I was aware that, you know, you got a lot of stuff. Your members, do they kinda stay in their lane or do a lot of them crossover and say, okay. I'm gonna do, like, a hit class and jujitsu.

Jonavin Webb:

Yeah. We have a lot of people who blend it, and then we have some people who just stick to one thing.

Joey Bowen:

You know, you know, it's awesome now. Like, I I wonder, do you have any members that are coming in, like, as, like, pairs at the same time doing 2 different things? Because you have concurrent classes going on. Right?

Jonavin Webb:

Families come in. So, like, there could be, you know, let's say there's a 8 year old kid and there's a kid's class at, you know, 5:30. We'll have a kickboxing class going on at the same time where the mom's jumping in and then a jiu jitsu class going on at the same time.

Joey Bowen:

That's what I'm

Drew Beech:

talking about.

Jonavin Webb:

Or we'll mix it up. You know, there'll be more Thai and, you know, boxing class. Like, and

Drew Beech:

And you guys spend a whole day there. Yeah. It's like

Jonavin Webb:

it's like a whole day. Yeah. And we don't limit anything. So, like, there's people who come in the morning.

Joey Bowen:

It's like family fun. Come back

Jonavin Webb:

at night. And the kids kids, for a while, I kinda pulled back from the kids. Mhmm. And I don't know why. It was just, like, I was trying to focus, like, on on all these adults and the competitions and all this stuff.

Jonavin Webb:

And then when my daughter started getting a little, you know, older, it's like, yeah, I need to build something for her to have the option to wanna do this because I love for my kids to do this. Right? Yeah. I'm not forcing it on them. But if they want to train, I'm gonna give them every resource that I can give them.

Jonavin Webb:

And, you know, so we started building this program and, you know, my daughter who's 8 now Mhmm. She loves it. Right? Like, if I tell her that she can't go to practice today, she's gonna be at home crying that she can't go. Right?

Jonavin Webb:

And and and again, I we don't force her to train. Yeah. She was terrified.

Joey Bowen:

In jujitsu?

Jonavin Webb:

Yeah. She's doing jujitsu. Should, and we do, like, an MMA class with them too.

Joey Bowen:

Yeah.

Jonavin Webb:

So now she's, like, getting into, like, sparring and stuff.

Drew Beech:

She she just won what Yeah.

Jonavin Webb:

She just did double gold at

Drew Beech:

at 9.

Joey Bowen:

I did hear that I did hear that, she's, like, a prodigy, basically.

Jonavin Webb:

So come down. It's crazy what a

Drew Beech:

that's gonna

Joey Bowen:

get it's

Jonavin Webb:

crazy what

Drew Beech:

a year upper edge, dude.

Jonavin Webb:

What a year can do because last year, we signed her up. Mhmm. She goes out there and cried. Yeah. Right?

Jonavin Webb:

She she got so scared of the atmosphere and everything. She literally got taken down, was in side control, and nothing happened. And she cried and, like, tapped inside control.

Joey Bowen:

Yeah.

Jonavin Webb:

Right? And that man had broke my heart. Yeah. I've I've I've been a coach on the biggest levels, seen wins, seen losses, like, done all this stuff. Nothing special.

Jonavin Webb:

This is, like, the hardest one.

Drew Beech:

This is

Jonavin Webb:

the hardest loss for me.

Joey Bowen:

Yeah.

Jonavin Webb:

And, she was like I mean, she was so broken. Right? And then she was supposed to have another match, and then she's, I don't wanna do it. And then we're like, just go out there. Who cares if you win or you lose?

Jonavin Webb:

Like, just go out and try. And she went out and she lost, but she had a smile on her face while she was losing. And that was like, man, it was it, like, literally almost made me cry.

Joey Bowen:

Yeah. Of course. Yeah.

Drew Beech:

It was funny. Like, I I'm part way the same thing with Parker's first couple of wrestling matches. Like, he went out there the first time, got attacked. And I thought it was, like, balls off, but, like, literally, like, just, like, the next minute, it was just crying. He said, I wanna do it.

Drew Beech:

I don't wanna do

Jonavin Webb:

it. Yeah.

Drew Beech:

And he basically went out there and pinned the kid while crying. Yeah. And it was, like, I was cornered. I'm like, this is the most uncomfortable, like, situation I probably like, I'm happy if my son's winning, but, like, what am I doing? I'm like but you really have to, like, I feel break that, like, that that mold, like, the Yeah.

Drew Beech:

That get the edge off. You know what I mean? Like, there's something about going to war, like, in jiu jitsu or wrestling for a little kid that, like, it's just hard to comprehend or, like, or build them up for

Joey Bowen:

to the system. Literally, physically, everything. Yeah.

Jonavin Webb:

Yeah. My my daughter is like a it's a tough situation because she's only 8 years old. She's almost 5 foot tall. Right? She's like 411.

Drew Beech:

Yeah. She's in. Right? I didn't realize she was 8 years old when

Jonavin Webb:

she was 3. She looks like she's 12. Mhmm. And the crazy thing, she's not fat. Like, she

Joey Bowen:

Yeah.

Jonavin Webb:

She's just she's £95 and 8 years old and 5 foot tall. Right? So, like, she goes in. She has to go up in age. Yeah.

Jonavin Webb:

She has to go up in weight. Yeah. And she has to, go up to boys. Like, there's not many girls her her

Joey Bowen:

size there. Saying. Yeah.

Jonavin Webb:

So, like so even this tournament that she just did, right, she went out there and I was like, I don't know how it's gonna go. Yeah. She had the most confidence. It should be 3 boys and a girl. And, man, it was it was like it was like, you know, Brady winning the UFC championship again.

Jonavin Webb:

Like, you know, it was just like you know, I was I was just so proud that she, like, just had this flip in the last year.

Joey Bowen:

Amazing.

Jonavin Webb:

And, you know, I hope other parents get to experience that too.

Drew Beech:

Yeah. I it's just cool being

Jonavin Webb:

able to, like, coach it and see it.

Drew Beech:

You know? I'm I'm

Jonavin Webb:

not looking forward

Drew Beech:

to that moment with

Jonavin Webb:

Everly. So my oldest daughter is 8 Yeah.

Joey Bowen:

As well. And, you know, she swims and she plays softball and stuff,

Jonavin Webb:

but nothing

Joey Bowen:

as physical as jujitsu. Yeah. Now I have another daughter who's 5, and they wrestle

Drew Beech:

Yeah.

Joey Bowen:

Like, to the death in the house. You know, wrestling for them. You know what I mean? So there's some physicality, but, like, I dread that moment. Because, like, I know she's I'm gonna start her in jujitsu, and I know she's going to have that moment, and it's gonna break my heart.

Joey Bowen:

Yeah.

Drew Beech:

You gotta break the seal. I feel like I mean, some kids I feel like the boys on the team, the wrestling team that have, like, 3 brothers, they don't give a shit. Yeah. Like, it's another day for them, dude. Like, they they'll they'll go to war in a day.

Drew Beech:

Yeah.

Jonavin Webb:

Is there anything that happened, but our youngest kid, our our second boy Yeah. He gets beat up in our house all day. Right? From the from the other 2. And he's just tough.

Jonavin Webb:

Yeah. And he's in it. I I think he's gonna be Yeah. The one that he's He won't

Drew Beech:

have to go through that that

Jonavin Webb:

that breaking up the He's ready. He's he's trying to go into the practices now. He's too young for the

Joey Bowen:

Yeah. We start.

Jonavin Webb:

He's 2. Oh, okay. Yeah. We we start we start at 3 at our gym.

Drew Beech:

Oh, yeah. That's

Jonavin Webb:

right. 5. Yeah. So that that one's more of, like, fun and Tomboy. Trying to get them used to listening to a coach and, yeah, how to do a forward roll, how to do a stand up, you know, stuff like that.

Joey Bowen:

He obviously he comes to the gym with you. Right?

Jonavin Webb:

So so my door to my business is right here.

Joey Bowen:

Yeah.

Jonavin Webb:

My wife owns, spray tan and lounge.

Joey Bowen:

Oh, so that's the second business you were talking about.

Jonavin Webb:

No. So that's just hers.

Joey Bowen:

Oh, okay.

Jonavin Webb:

Yeah. I I I run, like, fury grapple. Yeah.

Joey Bowen:

Yeah. Yeah. Of course. Yeah.

Jonavin Webb:

But, so, like, her door's right here and then our there's a door in the back that connects the 2. So our kids are just there. That's beautiful. They grew up in a gym. Like, I would say, like, you know, people will say something around the kids and I'm like, man, my kids are gym kids.

Jonavin Webb:

Yeah. Like, it's like that, you know, they're grown up a little different than other kids. And and sometimes I am like, man, do I gotta shelter them a little more? And then it's like, no. Like, they're gonna get to they get to see people come in, work their asses off every day, achieve goals.

Jonavin Webb:

And I think that's the best thing that you can give

Joey Bowen:

a job.

Jonavin Webb:

So, you can show them that whatever they they wanna do, they can go out and and do it.

Joey Bowen:

It's it's hope. It's hope in action.

Jonavin Webb:

Yeah.

Joey Bowen:

You know what I mean? We have, one of my teammates, at Martinez. He brings his 2 kids in, and he has a 2 year old boy

Jonavin Webb:

Yep.

Joey Bowen:

Who's been coming in for, like, probably, like, a year. And then, he has, a daughter that's, I guess, almost a year.

Jonavin Webb:

Yeah. And he

Joey Bowen:

has a little octagon that he brings in. He sets the octagon up. It's literally an octagon and a funnel thing, and he puts him in there. And his son, just from being there for, like, a year, like, when they're messing around in the thing, like, his son will put his daughter in, like, side control. Like, just from, like, messing just being there and, like, absorbing it.

Joey Bowen:

So that's why I was asking about you.

Jonavin Webb:

Like, with with Will Martinez

Joey Bowen:

Yeah.

Jonavin Webb:

And then, him and, Julio Rosario and Semper Fi. Those are 2 people that I don't they don't know that, but, like, I look up to them when it comes to, running a kid's program. I remember going to Nog as a stuff when I was a teenager. And these guys are out there, you know, with these, I mean, it was like an army of kids that they would have and they would just go out there and the kids would kick butt. And I and I just loved what they did and how they coached.

Jonavin Webb:

And, you know, it wasn't you know, if their kids lost, they weren't out there getting all pissed and doing all stuff. It was just a learning lesson. Right? And they're telling them, hey. Put your head up.

Jonavin Webb:

You know? You know?

Joey Bowen:

You went out there. Yeah.

Jonavin Webb:

You went out there. You're brave. Like, I met like, I sat next to them while they're saying that stuff. Yeah. And, you know, that that's, like, a big thing for me now is I I try to replicate, when I saw the there are 2, like, the kind of pioneers in this area that I saw with that had really good kids programs.

Joey Bowen:

Yeah.

Drew Beech:

Yeah. I

Joey Bowen:

mean, it's still going on. I mean, Biola Beach down, you know, just a couple weeks ago or whatever. Will was down there and

Drew Beech:

Yeah.

Joey Bowen:

Well, with the army of kids. I'll never forget. Last summer, I went to class, and, he runs, like, kids camp Yeah. During the summer. It's, like, a week or 2.

Joey Bowen:

And, I remember we got kicked. You know, he's got 2 mats, 2 sides of the the building. He's had 2 mats. We got kicked off our mat because there were too many kids. Too many.

Joey Bowen:

Yeah. So we had this work with the kids where the kids can. So, yeah, he's still going on. Yeah.

Drew Beech:

I, started at Semper 5 too with with Julio. Like, great coach, great great person. And he, like, he really does care about the kids too. Like, so, like,

Joey Bowen:

he's just

Drew Beech:

like it's so, like, you could tell he, like, treats him like his own. You know?

Jonavin Webb:

Yeah. I I just went and did a seminar there not too long ago.

Drew Beech:

Oh, yeah. I saw that.

Jonavin Webb:

Yeah. And it was man, the way he has his kids, you know, just the respect that the kids had, and you could tell he just like, when they did a move right, he was, like, so excited for them. Like, yeah, man. You did it. You know, he he was so enthusiastic.

Jonavin Webb:

And and, you know, sometimes I'm not the most enthusiastic person, like, because I'm more of, like, the surfer. Yeah. Yeah. I'm scared of the ocean. But, you know, everyone always tells me I'm, like, just kinda calm and

Joey Bowen:

Mhmm.

Jonavin Webb:

Whatever. And, but he's, like, just, like, there and, like, excited and, you know, I I try to do that. I I it tries to come out, you know, where I try to be more enthusiastic like him. But, you know, like I said, he they they do an awesome job over there.

Joey Bowen:

Yeah. Amazing. Amazing. So that's what we kinda got on the we went off on a a great tangent, but a little bit of a tangent. So now you're starting to focus on that that

Jonavin Webb:

web as well. Right? Yeah. So we're trying we're building our kids' program now. Nice.

Jonavin Webb:

And, you know, we're still obviously doing all the adult stuff, but but the the kids are the next the next ones. And they're you know, I remember being a young gun in the sport and people telling me, like, hey. You're, like, you know, gonna be the next thing in the sport. Right? Mhmm.

Jonavin Webb:

And now these kids are that. Right? Like, now Okay. And I gotta keep up with these kids. Right?

Jonavin Webb:

Like, like, if not, they're gonna pass me by a mile.

Joey Bowen:

Like,

Jonavin Webb:

even just the last 5, 10 years, jiu jitsu has changed so much. Yeah. Right? Like, it it it's now there's money in it. Right?

Jonavin Webb:

The techniques are insane. I don't even know half the names of the moves anymore. Right? But, you know, I got these guys at my gym, like, these young kids that, like, know everything. Right?

Jonavin Webb:

They know all these names, and they help me. I know the position

Drew Beech:

Yeah. That I'll

Jonavin Webb:

be, hey. What's the name of this one again? You know? Yeah. It's amazing.

Jonavin Webb:

But, you know, I try to keep up as much as I can and and because I don't wanna be left in the dust. Yeah.

Drew Beech:

I would say, like, that's another element of your life. Like, a lot of the that you have to keep up with, like, not only the entrepreneur stuff but, like, the fighting stuff. And then now, like, jujitsu's ever evolving. So, like, now you gotta stay on top of that too. So

Joey Bowen:

I mean, they're the they're the next they're the next in the sport.

Jonavin Webb:

Yeah.

Joey Bowen:

But, like, you know, they're also the next generation. Yeah. So, like, the work that you're doing is creating, like, stronger, more resilient, more capable adults.

Jonavin Webb:

Yeah.

Joey Bowen:

You know what I mean? They're gonna take the reigns from us in the country when we're, you know, old and gray. Yeah. So it's important.

Jonavin Webb:

Let it if we just let it go and don't try to do anything to help it, it's it's not gonna Unlose it. Not gonna be good for us.

Drew Beech:

So, you

Jonavin Webb:

know, we gotta we gotta do our best and try to touch as many people as possible and and give them the resources that we have to try to, you know, make a better future.

Joey Bowen:

Yeah. Absolutely. Bringing it full circle, paying it back.

Jonavin Webb:

Yeah. For

Joey Bowen:

sure. Doing in a payback era, man.

Jonavin Webb:

Yeah. What are you doing? That's where we're at.

Joey Bowen:

This was, this was amazing, man. This is a great episode. I'm so grateful you came in. I'm grateful that, you know, I finally got to meet and spend some time with you. And, where can, the community kinda knows already, but where can the community for those that don't know, where can the community find you, you know, on social?

Joey Bowen:

Where can they find the gym on social?

Jonavin Webb:

Yeah. So, I mean, me personally, it's just at Jonathan Webb, on everything. And then the gym is just Webb Fitness and MMA, or webmma.com. And, again, we're, you know, this is still just the beginning for me. I I really I really think that, I have bigger things to do and and more people to touch.

Jonavin Webb:

So, you know, I just wanna keep spreading positivity. And I I think what you guys do is awesome, man. I I really just love, you know, the message that you guys put out. And and that's why when I got this call to come on here, I I was excited. You know?

Jonavin Webb:

And I was like, man, whatever day you guys need to make it happen, whatever time, I'm gonna do it because I I really love what you guys are pushing, you know, just that positivity and hard work and, you know, you know, I just think you're doing the right thing for that next generation.

Joey Bowen:

Yeah. I appreciate that very much, man. There's a lot of alignment in the missions that we're on.

Drew Beech:

And we appreciate you always believe it. Even from, like, day 1 to day 1, we're, like, wearing our stuff and, like, supporting us. I appreciate that, John.

Jonavin Webb:

Oh, yeah. For sure. Yeah.

Joey Bowen:

Yeah. Very grateful for you, man. Alright. I'm gonna, I'm gonna tie it up. I'll leave a few with a reminder.

Joey Bowen:

Always choose hard work over handouts. Always choose effort over entitlement. Remember, no one owns you. No one owes you. You're one of the few.

Joey Bowen:

Now let's hunt.