Today we’d like to introduce you to Cody Gibson.
Hi Cody, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I was born into foster care in Oklahoma in 1987. When I was two years old my older brother Keith and I were adopted and moved to California. I grew up with three brothers. My older brother Keith (one year older than me), my brother Josh (three years younger than me) and Jacob (six years younger than me). Josh was a premature baby and has cerebral palsy. Jacob got wrapped up around the umbilical cord at birth and is severally handicapped. He is blind, mentally retarded, and has cerebral palsy. Growing up with two special needs brothers and two adopted brothers was a unique experience. I got into a lot of fights as a kid so my parents eventually encouraged me and my brother to go out for the sport of wrestling. My brother started in 7th grade but I held out until 9th grade. Once I found the sport of wrestling I fell in love with it. I quit playing all other sports and just wrestled year around. I also stopped getting into trouble at school and had a reason to do well. After a pretty successful high school wrestling career I moved on to college. I wrestled for Bakersfield College and then transferred up to the bay are and wrestled for Menlo College. In the summertime between school years and wrestling seasons I would come back home to Visalia, CA in the summer time and crash on my brothers couch while working a summer job. The summer between my sophomore and junior year of college I had an old high school wrestling buddy who was going to a little dojo and training martial arts. He invited me and I joined him for a few sessions. The owner of the gym asked me if I wanted to fight on a local show and I was more interested in the $500 I could make doing it so I agreed to it. I had very little formal training outside of the sport of wrestling. I had my first three professional fights just like that in between school years and wrestling seasons. After I graduated from college and my wrestling career was over, I decided to invest my time/energy into learning martial arts. I was 3-0 as a fighter but had very little training in striking or jiu jitsu. So I embarked on what’s been a nearly 20 year journey training in jiu jitsu, boxing, muay thai, kickboxing, and mixed martial arts. I’ve fought all over the world. I have nearly 40 professional fights. I’ve fought in the UFC for several years and was on the reality tv show The Ultimate Fighter. In 2025, one of the gyms I train at was closing down and so I decided to open my own gym. On March 30th, 2026, Renegades Training Center opened on Main St. in Templeton, CA. We offer nogi jiu jitsu, kickboxing, and HIIT classes. I am still actively fighting in the UFC and running the gym. I was also a public school teacher for ten years throughout this process but retired from full time teaching in 2024.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Fighting is a selfish sport. It takes 100% dedication in all facets of your life. The sacrifices you have to make are real and you aren’t the only one who makes them. Your wife, your children, your close friends and family. Everyone makes sacrifices. We’ve had a lot of ups and downs over the years. Big wins. Big losses. Injuries. But if martial arts teaches you one thing in life it is how to be resilient.
Opening the gym has also had its fair share of challenges. When we signed the lease on the building it was four offices/walls. We had to demo the entire building, deal with HVAC, electrical, etc. It ended up being a lot more work than I had originally anticipated. Learning the business side of things has also been a learning experience. We are only four months into it but have established a solid core membership base and continue to improve our services as we navigate owning our own academy.
We’ve been impressed with Renegades Training Center, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Renegades Training Center was born out of nearly twenty years of experience in gyms all over the world. I’ve been around so many different gyms over the years and seen things that I really liked and have also seen things that I really didn’t like. We wanted to create a space where people from all walks of life can come and feel comfortable training and learning martial arts. We knew we had a coaching staff that was unique and full of experience that would help set us apart from other gyms. We also wanted to provide a variety of programs for our members to meet a variety of demographics needs. Our gym is also the only 100% nogi jiu jitsu academy in the central coast. Our kickboxing program is coached by Castle Williams and Aubri Koukilis. Both coaches have decades of experience and run a very good program. My wife Jackie Gibson runs our morning HIIT classes and brings her experience as a kinesiology major, years as a personal trainer, and experience as a registered nurse to create a program tailored for working/busy individuals.
Renegades Training Center (RTC) motto is: “We’re all in a Fight.” We believe that by creating a space and community of diverse people who connect through exercise and fitness, no one has to face their fight alone.
Do you have any advice for those just starting out?
We are only four months into our business so I don’t know if I am in the position to start handing out advice but I would say to them that it is going to be the hardest and most rewarding endeavor they’ve probably ever undertaken. A lot of late nights and early mornings working on building our space out and all of the work that goes into it. But, if they are passionate and truly believe in what they are doing, then it makes it all worth it. I think as far as advice goes I’ll pass on something that someone else gave to me. They told me to always look for your blind spots. Areas of your business that you’re not good at or need to be addressed. You can neglect your blind spots for awhile but eventually you’re going to have to face them and either find the resources you need to solve those problems or outsource the work if you can’t do it yourself. Running a business takes a team but often feels like you’re alone on an island. You are the backstop so you’ve got to think about what you’re doing from multiple perspectives/angles. You might be great at one aspect of it but everyone has deficiencies so being honest about yours is important in my opinion.
Pricing:
- Unlimited – $190
- Youth Renegades – $120
- Little Renegades – $105
- Punch Pass (10 passes) – $200
Contact Info:
- Website: https://renegadestrainingcenter.com
- Instagram: renegades_training_center
