Born in South Carolina, and currently 23 years old, DeAngelis arrived in San Diego in 2015, after his former SC training partner Dominique Bell referenced the team a few years prior to the move.Â
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Dominique was Darin’s friend and training partner from South Carolina, and someone Darin looked up to and admired. He was still in high school when Dom told him he was moving to San Diego to train at Atos HQ. To young Deangelis that was the coolest thing he’d ever heard.Â
He told himself, if Dom can do it, so could he. He promptly moved to San Diego to join the world renown Atos HQ, under Andre Galvao.Â
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Darin competes in the middle-heavyweight category and is very well known for his unique top pressure and efficient guard style.
He has had incredible competition success including both gi and no-gi world titles at the blue and purple belt levels. During his time at blue and purple belt he was able to achieve rank #1 in both the IBJJF and Flograppling ranking systems. In 2019 he won the IBJJF World Championships as a purple belt to earn his brown belt from Andre Galvao. At brown belt he found much success by winning multiple super fights and the extremely difficult Rio Grand Slam tournament in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.Â
Not only does Darin have an impressive competition record, but he also has extensive teaching experience. He has taught numerous seminars in the United States, Korea, Europe, and even Brazil. In 2019, Darin went on a seminar tour in Brazil with Andre Galvao, and taught in his second language, Portuguese.
Darin eventually made the move from Atos, to Legion AJJ. He expressed that the move was done due to his desire to learn more about the business side of jiujitsu, which Keenan was well versed at.Â
You can always find Darin on the mats for hours and hours every day, either teaching, training or drilling. He truly is dedicated to perfecting his art.
Check out his youtube channel with a multitude of jiujitsu techniques and more, here.
