A jiu jitsu hobby can change your fitness, your confidence, and your friend group, but buying a pro grappling franchise is a different level of commitment. We’re sitting down with Lauren Barone, the force behind the Philadelphia Phenoms and the first female franchise owner in the Pro Grappling Federation (PGF), to talk about what it really looks like to build a team inside a fast-growing submission grappling league.

Lauren takes us from her early love of martial arts to finding Brazilian jiu jitsu as an adult, then jumping into the deep end of combat sports entrepreneurship. We get into why the PGF rule set pushes constant action, how the league is expanding, and what “success” means when you’re building something season by season instead of chasing overnight wins. She also shares the part most people never see: wearing nine or ten hats across marketing, contracts, sponsorships, budgeting, and athlete communication while still showing up calm on camera.

We also talk athlete support and leadership in practical terms, from covering six weeks of Airbnb housing and rental cars to team meals, uniforms, gym access, and recovery perks. And because this is combat sports, we don’t skip the hard stuff: fear, uncertainty, injuries, and how you protect your heart while still caring deeply about the people you’re backing.

If you’ve been curious about the PGF, women in sports leadership, or the business side of jiu jitsu, hit play and come hang with us. Subscribe, share this with a friend who loves grappling, and leave a review so more people can find the show.

Music "STOMP" used by permission of artist Donica Knight Holdman and Jim Huff