Marcus Vinícius de Macedo Soares

Grand Master Marcus Soares is the founder and head instructor of Marcus Soares Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, with academies in Vancouver, Langley and Maple Ridge, and holds a ninth-degree red belt, the only one in Canada. Born and raised in Copacabana, Rio de Janeiro, he joined the Carlson Gracie team in 1970 as part of its first generation, trained directly under Carlson Gracie and later taught at the Carlson Gracie Academy in Copacabana. In 1997 he became the first black belt to open and teach at a Brazilian jiu-jitsu academy in Canada, and he has more than 56 years on the mats and over 50 years of teaching. Nearly 30 years on, he still teaches at all three academies, and his affiliated instructors extend across Canada and to South Africa, Mexico and the Netherlands.