Born and raised in South Africa where sport is very much part of the culture, Chay started playing squash at the age of 4. It soon became apparent that he was a natural athlete, making the provincial team at the age of 9, becoming the school champion at 13 and becoming one of the youngest players to ever make the 1st Team squad at age 14. By age of 15 he was ranked number 11 in the country, just falling short of making the national squad. He was ranked number 2 in the province (Eastern Province) from the age of 9 until the age of 18.
Chay has a deep interest in mindfulness, practising on a regular basis. At the age of 19 he was living in Thailand where he nurtured this interest even more and really connected with Eastern Philosophy.
Budokon yoga was something that naturally attracted Chay and something that he trained regularly for 2years, again learning not only Jiu Jitsu beneficial movements but also progressing his mindfulness practice.
Once he moved to the UK in 2019, Chay found himself with a deep interest and dedication in the Wim Hof method, completing a course in 2020. This naturally led to regularly doing ice baths and breathing techniques ever since. Chay swear by this for both recovery and managing the stresses of every day life.
Perhaps Chay’s most impressive accomplishment to date is the 10 day Vipassana training that he completed in 2023. If you don’t know what this is then you should look it up! From the introduction that you have already had about Chay then I’m sure you will agree that he is a very special type of person and it is of no surprise that he was able to complete this.
Chay’s BJJ journey started in 2021. Chay is one of the biggest advocates of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and the BJJ lifestyle. From his first class, he knew that this was something that he was going to do for the rest of his life. He now trains most days of the week, keen to learn all that he can and has gone on to win multiple medals in competition.
Since starting, Chay’s been fortunate enough to have trained with the GOAT Roger Gracie, Braulio Estima and Anderson “the Spider” Silva as well as the lads at RGA HQ: Charles Negromonte, Kywan Gracie, Bruno Zancaner and Bobby Rich.
We truly believe that Chay is an asset to RGA Bedford as not only does he have the personality to bring energy to and light up any room (or mat!), he also has had a lot of life experience and has become a very mindful person, which benefits the entire team here at Roger Gracie Academy.