Name Peter Letsos | Team Rio Jiu Jitsu Nationality American | |
Born Peter Panayotis Letsos
December 31, 1979 (age 44)
Chicago, Illinois, USA ( 1979-12-31 ) Rank Black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu | ||
Other names Pete The Greek, P.T.G. | ||
Peter Letsos (born December 31, 1979), aka Pete "The Greek," is a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt under Carlson Gracie Jr.
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Biography
Pete is a 3X Pan Am medalist, as well as a 3X Gracie World Champion. He is known in Brazil for winning 7 tournaments in one month.
Pete began training Jiu Jitsu in high school at the Carlson Gracie Academy in downtown Chicago, and won several matches in the Jiu Jitsu World Championships as a purple belt. Pete then went to live and train Jiu Jitsu in Brazil for 4 years, spending countless hours on the mat with Osvaldo Alves and Carlson Gracie. He is featured in "The Gracie Way" by Jiu Jitsu journalist Kid Peligro.
Pete has trained alongside many of the world's best Jiu Jitsu fighters and Mixed Martial Artists, such as Fredson Paixao, André Galvão, Tony DeSouza, and Miguel Torres. He is good friends with Eddie Bravo, Kenny Florian, Jeff Glover, and BJ Penn. Pete even lived and trained with BJ Penn at his Mixed Martial Arts academy in Hilo, Hawaii, where he eventually suffered a devastating injury to his neck while surfing.
Since then, Pete's emphasis has been on training students in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu at his gym Rio Jiu Jitsu Academy in Chicago's Irving Park neighborhood.
Instructor lineage
Mitsuyo "Count Koma" Maeda → Carlos Gracie, Sr. → Carlson Gracie → Carlson Gracie Jr. → Peter Letsos