A home away from home

Tyler began practicing Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (BJJ) in 2010 and is a brown belt under Lucas Lepri.  When he started, he was immediately drawn to the way jiu jitsu challenges both the mind and body.  Having spent the previous 6 years in the Marines, he was yearning for something to to fulfill his continued desire to work hard, overcome, and learn new things.

 Tyler isn’t a big competition junkie, but he loves the grind and hard work that comes from jiu jitsu.  He gets immense energy from the camaraderie and community they’ve built at Crest as well as the opportunity to share the sport with others.

 Tyler is a graduate of UNC Wilmington, is married with 2 boys and a little girl on the way.  In his spare time, his family enjoys being outside, especially at the beach, watching movies, and cooking awesome food.

Johnny received his black belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu from Lucas Lepri.  He has been a martial arts enthusiast since he started training Tae Kwon Do and Kickboxing as a kid.  As an adult, he became interested in Mixed Martial Arts added Muay Thai to his training and then Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (BJJ) in 2010.  He was immediately hooked on the efficiency and technical nature of BJJ that enables smaller people to subdue and control much larger opponents.  

While Johnny is an accomplished competitor with medals in some of the most prestigious jiu jitsu events, he is most driven by the opportunity to share the sport with others.  He and Tyler opened Crest BJJ with goal in mind.

Johnny is a graduate of Trident University International, is married to Grace Martens, and has a teenage daughter.  When he isn’t teaching or training jiu jitsu, he enjoys surfing, driving his Corvette, and spending time with family.

Jeff Fritz is a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioner who lives in Hampstead, NC with wife Andrea and two children, Abigail (13) and Ian (12), who both hold the rank of orange belt w/black stripe.

Jeff is a two-stripe brown belt and has been a kids instructor for six years. During that time Jeff was responsible for training multiple kids World Champions and many NAGA Expert-level Champions.

Jeff is also the Director of the New Hanover Juvenile Detention Center. Jeff’s combined experience has given him unique insight into working with youth, which he has used to create an anti-bullying curriculum and a successful youth BJJ training regimen.