Sergio Hernandez started training Jiu Jitsu with Baret Yoshida over a decade ago and is a Black Belt competitor. He also is a super talented artist and has a tattoo shop in here in San Diego. Tune in and learn a little about his story.
VIDEO TRANSCRIPT:
Sergio Hernandez:
I hated my nine-to-five job and I decided I never wanted to work for anyone else ever again. I wanted to be self-employed somehow. So I told myself I was going to be an artist for the rest of my life. I wasn’t sure what that meant. I was painting murals, trying to do art shows, and someone asked me if I wanted to learn to tattoo. I didn’t even have any tattoos and I wasn’t even a fan of tattooing. But it was a sign, and one thing led to another, and here I am today, doing this for a living.
Well, they’re all very interesting in their own way. But I mean, I guess one example, something a little bit strange, is I have a friend that really enjoys French toast for breakfast. So he got a picture of a French toast slice. The French toast had a face on it, and so yeah, I had to tattoo that on my friend’s ass.
Yeah, I like doing big pieces. Whatever makes people happy. I just like making people happy, and I feel like I’m contributing something positive to people’s lives. I’ve been training with Baret Yoshida for like 13 years now, so when I heard he was going to be the head instructor at The Arena, I immediately wanted to be a part of that. It’s my only instructor I’ve ever had, and he’s such a cool dude, man. Been a great mentor to me and such a good teacher. I learned so much from him, and not just Jiu Jitsu. Just how to approach different situations in life.
As far as jujitsu goes, it’s really made me a better tattooer, because I know jujitsu and I immediately feel that I could treat everyone as equal, without having any sense of fear in my heart, you know? Which is important.
