Austin
Fraley

Austin began training jiu jitsu in Santa Cruz, California at 13 years old when a new academy opened up in his hometown. In the beginning, jiu jitsu was just a hobby he did after school, but little did he know it would soon turn into his primary endeavor.

At 15, Austin started assisting with the kids program with his first coach in Watsonville, CA. As a kid himself when beginning his jiu jitsu journey, Austin can attest to the benefits jiu jitsu has on children. Before starting jiu jitsu, Austin had average grades in school and was very shy. Immediately after beginning his jiu jitsu journey, things changed rapidly.

Austin graduated high school with well over a 4.3 gpa and became salutatorian of his graduating class. He also went on to become one of the head instructors at his home academy in Watsonville at just 18. Austin began training jiu jitsu full time after graduating high school in 2016. For 4 years (after having multiple years of teaching experience under his belt), Austin was the head instructor of the kids program at Claudio Franca Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Watsonville. He’s also competed around the globe, traveling the states and abroad to do what he loves most.

While competition was important, Austin’s main focus over the past few years has been on building the kids program that he came up through, acquiring massive amounts of teaching experience at a very young age.

At 22 years old, Austin’s focus shifted to competition. In January of 2020, Austin moved to San Diego, California on a whim to train under the one and only Keenan Cornelius. 

Despite being young himself, Austin is wise beyond his years and is already influencing the future generations of jiu jitsu.

Three fun facts about Austin