Instructor Interview: Brian Samson

Everyone knows Mr. Brian and Mr. Brian knows everyone. That’s why we thought he’d be a good person to talk to about the EvolveAll community, what EvolveAll has planned for 2024, his own growth, and more.

You’re often people’s first point of contact with EvolveAll, either when they call to sign up or when they walk through the door. I think most people would agree the EvolveAll is a special place, but I’m wondering if you can explain what makes it so special? Is it possible to define it? What is EvolveAll’s vibe?

Master Emerson has curated a team that is focused on the growth of everyone in our community. The team helps with the vibe as they are the ones people interact with most. The community is drawn to the team because of the intangibles—the energy, the vibes.

Part of the reason Master Emerson has me upfront is because I’m always high energy. I’m always greeting people and trying to know everyone who comes through the door. Energy creates energy. The team gains energy from each other to create that kind of environment. That’s the thing that’s different about EvolveAll: Everyone has a beginner’s mindset, there’s no ego, you have good training partners who will challenge you, but also are worried about you and care more about you than the average person.

This year marked EvolveAll’s 15th year in business. As we look to 2024, what can people be excited about?

There’s a lot! There will be more camps in the new year as well as parents’ night out. We’re looking at things like team expansion with more offerings and more classes. You’ll see more faces, usually from within the community. It’s exciting to see someone go from being in the classes to helping out and pushing along what EvolveAll is.

The other thing we’re really excited about offering is childcare. We’ll have times when parents can come in for classes themselves and we’ll have a dedicated person who can watch the young ones. You don’t have to worry about finding a babysitter to go to class. You can bring them with you and drop them off at childcare and head into class.

You’ve recently brought back Massage Therapy to the studio. Who might benefit from massage and what can they expect out of a session with you?

Everyone can benefit from massage. Massage has a relaxing, calming place in people’s heads. They don’t realize that massage therapy is one of those things that can help them alleviate disfunctions. If there is something that is in pain that is caused by anything muscular, like sitting at a desk, massage therapy is going to benefit them.

I think for myself, because I do jiu-jitsu or lift, all the things I’ve learned from massage therapy has helped me be able to move in those things. For someone super active but who doesn’t quite have the know-how to fix certain pains, massage therapy can help get you back into training. Most people can benefit from the style of massage that I do because it’s focused on alleviating pain rather than relaxation.

You are an active member of our Jiu-jitsu program. Who is someone in the program who you have really enjoyed rolling with? Who do you learn the most from?

I really like getting bullied by Dan and Tom. Just kidding. In the jiu-jitsu community, it’s fun training with everybody. I do train with Dan, Tom, Alex, Killian, Jim, all these guys who usually come in. Somebody I train a lot with is Andy and he’s an interesting one to roll with because he has that Judo background. There are some things that I’m like, this should work, and then all of sudden I’m falling, and I have no idea what’s going on. Emerson and Zack—those are the people who when I roll with them—man, I thought I knew jiu-jitsu, but I don’t know jiu-jitsu. Not like they do.

Anyone that I train with, I’m going to learn something and I know I’m going to be taken care of, no one is going to rip off my head. I just enjoy jiu-jitsu. It’s a fun time.

It’s safe to say you’re much loved by the EvolveAll community. What’s something you love about our members?

It goes back to that “energy creates energy.” They’re receptive to our style of teaching, they enjoy all the people that are here, and everything it brings to them. My favorite thing about the community is that we can get together for a bunch of different things, whether it’s for martial arts on the mat, or a bunch of jiu-jitsu guys can get together for something to eat. I just enjoy the community as a whole. It’s a fun time with people who have the same goal: to grow.

I love that everyone takes care of everyone. If someone is doing something they’re not supposed to do, we have a bunch of people—parents and instructors—who will step in. Everyone has each other’s back.