Note: This image features a comedic portrayal of Renato Laranja and is not a photo of the actual person discussed in the article. It is intended purely for illustrative purposes.
“Please cancel the membership of my husband. He’s not staying with me here at home. He can’t train. The doctor said he doesn’t have it. He has to go home. You can deposit. Just cancel his membership,”
In what might be one of the most unusual gym membership cancellation stories ever told, Junior Fernandes, a black belt instructor at Liborio BJJ, recently shared an extraordinary tale that perfectly illustrates the passion—and sometimes obsession—that jiu-jitsu practitioners develop for their sport.
The story centers around a 70-year-old blue belt student who had relocated from another academy in New York. Despite his advanced age and physical limitations, including leg problems that affected his mobility, the dedicated grappler continued training with unwavering determination. His commitment to the art was so intense that it began creating issues at home.
The situation reached a tipping point when Fernandes received an unexpected piece of mail—a handwritten letter containing a check for $5,000. The letter came from the student’s wife, who had grown desperate enough to offer this substantial sum to cancel her husband’s gym membership. In her plea, she explained that her husband was never home anymore, constantly at the gym training despite doctor’s orders to rest due to his physical condition.
Fernandes was initially stunned by the request. When he consulted with his colleague Junior, the response was equally surprising. Rather than accept the payment, they decided to tear up the check and send a photo of the destroyed payment back to the woman. Their reasoning was simple: they didn’t have a contract where someone could pay to force another person to leave the gym.
However, the story took another turn when additional behavioral problems arose with the student. According to Fernandes, the 70-year-old began exhibiting inappropriate behavior in the locker room that made other members uncomfortable. This crossed a line in their family-friendly environment leading to multiple warnings.
Eventually, the gym had to make the difficult decision to cancel the membership—not because of the wife’s payment but due to the student’s conduct. When Fernandes informed him of the decision, he mentioned the irony: “I could have won $5,000 and I got it. You could have won $5,000.”
