In Conversation With Felix Garcia

We recently visited Artista Jiu-jitsu and spoke with owner and trainer Felix Garcia. Arriving near the end of a midday session, we caught some live training before getting a tour of the full facility. Beyond the main gym, the space includes Nasio, a private training area, and Contrast Club — an upcoming cold plunge and sauna studio, both projects of Felix'.

Artista is anything but your typical Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu studio. The mat space is bathed in natural light from floor-to-ceiling windows framed by lush greenery, with carefully curated Jiu-Jitsu-inspired art displayed throughout.

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Edmond Phillips

Felix Garcia

For those that may not know you, can you talk a little about yourself? 

My name is Felix Garcia, I’m a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and owner of Artista Jiu-Jitsu. 

So Simply Training Clearly Wasn't Enough. What inspired you to open Your Own Gym? 

I fell in love with Jiu-Jitsu and I wanted to create a way to do it full time.

It’s Truly a beautiful space, can you talk a little bit about your design inspiration for the gym? 

Thank you! We wanted Artista to be beautiful, but also stand out from other academies. Since Jiu-Jitsu has deep roots in Japan, we drew inspiration from Japanese architecture and design. We also added an artistic element to make the space feel more interactive and inspiring, with art displayed throughout the academy.

People usually wouldn’t associate a sport like jiu-jitsu with design or creativity, but those worlds are definitely clashing here at Artista. I feel like it even bleeds over into the type of people that choose to train with you here. What lead you to take this design lead approach with the Artista brand? 

Since I was a kid, I’ve always loved art and being creative. That’s actually one of the things that drew me to Jiu-Jitsu, how creative you can be with the movements, timing, and setups. So when it came to building the academy and the brand, I approached it the same way, with a focus on creativity. 

You’re already a black belt and owner of one of the coolest gyms in Nashville, how do you see yourself and the brand evolving in the future? 

I want to keep training hard and growing, both as a black belt and as an instructor. For the brand, we’re always exploring new ideas to evolve and stay unique. The goal is to keep pushing the boundaries of what a Jiu-Jitsu academy can be.

For someone who might be on the fence about coming to the gym, or not know the first thing about this sport, why choose jiu-jitsu?  

Jiu-Jitsu is one of the most practical martial arts. It’s physically demanding, so you get all the fitness benefits, but it’s also very cerebral, a lot of people compare it to chess. It sharpens your focus, challenges your problem solving, and teaches you a lot about your emotions and how you respond under pressure.

What’s your go to coffee order? 

Mocha.

Favorite brand?

Neighborhood.