Professor Kyle Wright on Finding Purpose: From the Mats to Behind the Scenes
In a recent episode of the Easton Community Podcast, host Mike Tousignant sat down with Arvada’s GM and black belt, Professor Kyle Wright. Formerly the BJJ Department Head at Easton Denver for four years, Kyle officially stepped into the role of General Manager at Easton Arvada in January 2025.
For Kyle, who began his journey back East and made his way to Colorado by way of New Mexico, the biggest adjustment wasn’t about learning the business side of martial arts; it was about redefining his role within the community.
A shift in identity
For years, Kyle’s identity was rooted in being the coach on the mats. He was the one teaching class after class, traveling to tournaments, and working closely with students through both technical breakthroughs and difficult moments in their lives. By the end of his time at Easton Denver, he was teaching as many as 17 classes a week, including MMA practices.
“My identity was the guy on the mat,” says Kyle, “the guy at all the tournaments.”
Even though Kyle still attends the tournaments, he now teaches just a few classes a week. Rather than being in the fight business, he describes his role as being in the people business, with an emphasis on balancing both.
Stepping into the GM role meant stepping away from center stage — from the recognition that comes with coaching, the day-to-day hyperfocus on Jiu Jitsu, and many of the individual relationships cultivated over years.
At first, that shift can feel disorienting. It can feel like stepping away from what you love. In reality, it’s more like stepping behind the scenes to build a stronger foundation and place others forward.
As a coach, the impact becomes immediate and personal. You see someone land a new technique. You help them push through a rough patch. You share in the excitement of competition and the small daily wins of training. As a GM, the role becomes less visible and often less celebrated. You don’t get the same credit, and you have to deal with way more of the grunt work of running an academy.
The shift required setting his ego aside. Instead of being the person students look to directly for guidance, Kyle now works behind the scenes, elevating the coaches who guide them day to day in a different sort of leadership.
[Denver’s GM, Professor Carlos Espinosa: Competition, Self-Trust and a Manager’s Mindset]
Leading from backstage
Rather than focusing narrowly on Jiu Jitsu instruction, the job becomes about supporting the entire ecosystem of the academy: developing staff, improving systems and creating an environment where the whole community can thrive.
That broader perspective also expands the scale of impact. A coach might work closely with 20 or 30 students at a time, but as a GM, your role includes making a positive impact on up to 1,000 people, including staff. You get to help elevate and select those coaches who go on to make a difference in potentially hundreds of lives. Often, this requires asking yourself: How can everybody get the experience they need – not just now, but in laying the foundation for the future?
“If you can create a place where people want to be,” says Kyle, “the side effect is success.”
Kyle has seen this principle play out beyond the mats. In a previous role managing a hobby shop, he focused on building a strong, inviting atmosphere around the product. Within his first year, the store’s revenue doubled.
From setting the culture up to support the product (in Easton’s case, the martial arts), you can create such a positive experience that people want to become part of it.
Part of that responsibility means owning mistakes, analyzing what happened, and improving the systems behind the scenes. Ultimately, the shift to general manager has also changed how he thinks about success.
The gratification no longer comes from personal recognition or accolades. Instead, it comes through a kind of delayed gratification — watching progress unfold over time.
Sometimes that progress shows up in the numbers, like quarterly metrics that may take a year to fully reveal their results. Often, however, it shows up in people: watching systems improve, coaches grow into leaders and students find a place where they belong. It’s slower, quieter work, but the impact reaches much further.
