Jared Weiner was born on April 6, 1978, in Philadelphia, PA – United States of America.Growing up Jared was a big fan of ice-hockey, being submerged in a strong sporting culture from early on. At the age of 17 Weiner heard about jiu jitsu for the first time, through a few friends who already practiced the martial art. Feeling this could be a way of to improve his fighting skills Weiner signed up to the famous Maxercise academy, the first of it’s kind in the Philadelphia area.Maxercise was created by DC Maxwell and Steve Maxwell, the latter of which became Jared’s primary instructor, from his very first class. Steve awarded Jared all his colored belts (blue, purple and brown) before Weiner changed training camps, moving to Team Lloyd Irvin (TLI).At TLI, an academy with a strong competition focus, Jared’s tournament record started being noticed outside of the US East Coast, with Weiner conquering important wins at an international scale. These wins culminated with his black belt promotion on September 6, 2003. A ceremony led by both Lloyd Irvin and Leo Dalla, making Jared Weiner the first black belt ever awarded by Irvin.Having opened his own academy in 2002 (BJJ United), Jared maintained his bond with TLI up until 2013, a time when he started his own association Tac Team BJJ, after some turbulence at Lloyd Irvin’s camp.July 2014 was a tough month for Weiner. After suffering back-to-back concussions while training and competing, within a week’s time (a rare sequence that can be fatal to some), the injuries led to serious repercussions: from constant headaches to depression, inability to focus and earn a living as he was accustomed to. Thanks to the help of his students, family, and friends, Weiner managed to recover and return to training and coaching, though the ordeal lasted for several months.Together with Tac Team, Jared has also represented the Purebred Association in competition, this due to his bond with the Guam Based academy and its coach Stephen Roberto.Weiner is also an ambassador for Mission 22, a veteran non-profit organization, and a global advertising agency designed to raise awareness, enlist support, and end veteran suicide in America. Jared became interested in the Mission 22 through his fellow black belts, Piet Wilhelm and Alan Shebaro both of whom are war veterans.Mission 22: mission22.com BJJ United: bjjunited.comCover photo by Takashi Umezawa.Jared Weiner vs Jair Morselli Jared Weiner vs Unknown