Ricardo “Franjinha” Miller, the youngest son of three kids, put on his first gi at the age of 19. After four month of training, he was already competing in tournaments in his native Brasil. Once he attained the level of Blue Belt, he began to understand the subtleties of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu through the careful tutelage of his coaches Romero Cavalcanti and Fabio Gurgel, who would teach Ricardo how to become a Black Belt and teacher himself.
In August 1996, little after conquered the World Championship in Brazil, Ricardo traveled to the United States to compete in the Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Pan American Championship (held in California). After visiting friends in Santa Barbara, he fell in love with the city and decided to move to the USA. He went back to Brazil and told his girlfriend (today his wife-Erika) that he wanted to make the move to the USA. However, a few weeks before leaving Brazil, Erika realized that she was pregnant. At that point, Ricardo made the most important decision of his life: to move his new family to America.
In February 1997, unable to speak English, but determined to make a life in the USA, Ricardo moved to Southern California and began to work toward his dream in the beautiful town of Santa Barbara. While he worked to support his family with any job that he could find, at the same time, he put some mats down in a local community center (Casa de La Rasa) and invited every person he met for a free introductory Jiu Jitsu lesson.
The word spread quickly and in 1998 Ricardo met Michael Florimbi. Michael is considered by Ricardo as his “older brother” and “Godfather” in America. With Michael’s help, Ricardo got the opportunity to create the first Paragon BJJ academy.
