10/08/2026
First stripe is the sweetest 🥋✨
Tom Hardy was introduced to Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu while preparing for Warrior in 2011. What began as training for a role became something much more enduring.
Carlos played a formative role in those early years, training Tom from white belt through to purple belt. Tom would often train for hours, almost every day, developing the foundations of a genuine love for the art. Carlos also cornered at his first two REORG competitions.
In 2022, Tom began quietly entering tournaments under his real name, Edward Hardy. He won gold at the REORG Open in Wolverhampton, then competed again in Milton Keynes a few weeks later and won his division there too.
There was no celebrity bracket or exhibition match. He entered simply as another competitor, testing himself alongside everyone else who had turned up to compete.
His relationship with jiu-jitsu also became closely connected to REORG, which uses BJJ and physical training to support military personnel, veterans and emergency-service workers. He remains involved with the organisation as a patron.
As his love for the art grew, Tom spread his wings—training around the world with some of the greatest minds in jiu-jitsu, including John Danaher, Tom DeBlass and Mikey Musumeci.
But the first stripe will always be special.
The OG Carlos Santos 🔥
Inspired by a recent post from mvmnt.
First photograph from Carlos Santos’s personal archive. Additional images via mvmnt.
