Q&A with Tap Cancer Out Founder Jon Thomas

We recently announced Kicksite’s partnership with the wonderful people at Tap Cancer Out and were honored to contribute to their Global Grappling Day fundraiser. The work they put in for the fight against cancer and with the Jiu-Jitsu community is highly admirable. We were able to meet with Founder and Executive Director Jon Thomas to discuss his story and how Tap Cancer Out has became a pillar in the Jiu-Jitsu community.

Q: What inspired you to start Tap Cancer Out?

I first came up with the idea in 2010 after attending the Classy Awards for nonprofits to support a friend. It was a really humbling experience and inspiring to listen to how all these people were changing the world. I had a reflective moment where I looked at myself thinking ‘What am I doing to make this world a better place?’ The answer was simple: Nothing.

At the event I told myself I wouldn’t leave without coming up with an idea. So, I decided to combine my passion for Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and hatred for cancer. I have lost a number of family members and friends to cancer, including my nephew at 10 months in 2006. That heartbreaking memory was still fresh in my mind and heart, and is still today. I knew to combine the two but didn’t know how. I’ve learned that the key to starting something is to not worry about the perfect pathway, but just to set a goal and get started. And that’s what I did and how Tap Cancer Out was started.

Q: What has led to your massive growth since beginning?

Because it is difficult for the average person to jump into nonprofit efforts, working with and empowering the Jiu-Jitsu community is huge for our growth. Lots of organizations host events for nonprofits, and they’re great. But, if there’s not that passion for an event or activity, it’s really hard to make that an annual thing. It’s important for the events to be something people want to participate in over and over again. The passion in the Jiu-Jitsu community alongside the generosity of others has propelled us to where we are now.

Q: How does it feel to see the work you put in impacting so many lives?

It’s the greatest honor of the job. It’s amazing to see something you create grow and affect so many people in a positive way. It really is the best. When I first started Tap Cancer Out I had no idea it’d grow to where it is now, and I never dreamed it’d be a full-time thing. I thought it’d be more of a side hustle that was my way of giving back. But each year we continued to add more and more tournaments and had more work to do. Eventually, I got tired of the office life and was always thinking about Jiu-Jitsu and Tap Cancer Out. Now I get to exert all my energy into work that truly makes a difference.

Q: What feedback, praise, etc. have you heard from the Jiu-Jitsu community?

We receive a ton of feedback from the Jiu-Jitsu community. Most of it is very positive on our tournaments, but we’re not perfect. We’ll hear advice on how to run tournaments, opinions on Gi or No Gi, tournament styles, etc.

We also hear how appreciative people are of our tournaments and our efforts. Jiu-Jitsu is a way to block out the world. Before your typical round you won’t hear, ‘My mom has breast cancer.’ It’s just not Jiu-Jitsu conversation. Our tournaments do give people the unique opportunity to talk, remember, grieve, and share their stories.

People love the opportunity to compete while fighting for those in the fight of their lives and not worrying about placement. I hear from some people that they Tap Cancer Out are the only tournaments they compete with how we are very organized and to help make a difference. That’s something we love to hear as we try to change the world through our love of our sport.

Q: Prior to Tap Cancer Out, what was your experience with Jiu-Jitsu and how did it impact your life?

Prior to Tap Cancer Out, I was just a regular Jiu-Jitsu practitioner. I was a regular two-three time-a-week kind of guy which has now led to so much more. Beforehand, I had only been training for two years when I came up with the idea. I wasn’t a seasoned black belt, head referee, academy owner, or any of that. I’d certainly never hosted a Jiu-Jitsu tournament, certainly never ran a nonprofit. I was sort of ignorant to all of that and not aware. But, I wasn’t going to let that stop me. I did compete a lot in those few years so I understood how the tournaments were run and was confident in my inner circle to help make everything work.

Q: How have your tournaments improved throughout time?

We’ve now hosted around 120 events. We’ve made some changes throughout time, Gi and No Gi, organization, etc. Also, the size of the tournaments has increased so much more, bringing on more divisions and other changes. We always have followed the IBJJF rules so there’s certain things that have never changed and may never will.

The little things continue to improve, and we are always listening to feedback from others and the community. We’ve taken some things from Master Worlds to improve, leading to me literally using a box cutter on our mats to create more room and seperate divisions. We are always adapting to provide the best experience for everyone to compete in and encourage the fight against cancer.

Q: How did the inspiration to make Global Grappling Day a big fundraising day come about?

I literally came up with that idea on the Peloton. It was during 2020 and we had to cancel multiple events due to the pandemic. Without events, we were struggling to donate to our beneficiaries and even just keep the company afloat. Thinking about that, I came up with using Global Grappling Day as a fundraiser day, but still needed it to involve at least more than one person with social distancing.

That’s when I took inspiration from my black belt test. For my test I had to roll for an hour with other brown and black belts revolving every two minutes. It was something that was tough but not impossible. So, if everyone can find one person to roll with, they could stay home and help contribute to our cause with one hour of rolling (some small breaks expected of course). Our first event raised $275,000 and it’s kind of become a Jiu-Jitsu holiday. That was just the start of it, and I hope it becomes similar to Black Friday, Super Bowl Sunday, etc., where you say it and know what it is.

Q: Earlier this year, Tap Cancer Out was the premiere charity partner of the inaugural Craig Jones Invitational. How did that come to be and how did it feel to generate such a significant donation through that event?

Once I heard about the Craig Jones Invitational, I knew Craig Jones was creating an event to reward the athletes, raise the attention of the sport, bring in new fans, and do everything differently. It reminded me when we started hosting our tournaments to make the world a better place. My hope was charity would be a part of it, and once he announced it would on Joe Rogan it was all hands on deck. This is what we had worked toward the past decade and we knew it had to be us.

I reached out to Rich Byrne, CEO of KASAI Elite Grappling, to support Tap Cancer Out to work with the CJI. Rich went above and beyond, telling Craig he’d match the donation himself for Tap Cancer Out, with a third anonymous supporter of our’s matching it as well. It ended up being the perfect fit between us and the CJI. They ended up donating $166,666.66, which got multiplied by three, reaching $500,000. We don’t ever get donations like that so it was very special. It is very transformational to our business and what we can accomplish can continue to grow.

Everything they do from the charitable element, paying the fighters, and how they run the event itself is huge for the Jiu-Jitsu community and is very impactful. We are very thankful for how they have helped us grow.

Q: What made you want to partner with Kicksite?

We are very careful who we partner with. We want to make sure we are partnering with great people who are working hard in the Jiu-Jitsu world. We’re always trying to work with brands who understand and are highly invested in the community. With all the work Kicksite does to make the day-to-day academy life better, it was a great fit.

Q: What is your favorite part about leading Tap Cancer Out?

There’s a lot that I love about what I do. I love that I can be really proud to tell my kids what I do. I’m super proud to show them what we’re (my wife and I) doing and why we work so hard and what we’re doing to help others. The work I do will obviously never bring my nephew back, but maybe we’ll save another family from what we had to go through as a family.

Also, it’s the greatest honor to hear stories from the Jiu-Jitsu community and help in the healing process. It’s really humbling because it filled a place in my heart that was empty in 2010 when I wasn’t working to change the world. I haven’t fixed the world or solved cancer, but I know myself, my wife, and my whole staff has done as much as we can to make this world a better place.

Q: What is your proudest achievement with Tap Cancer Out?

The knee-jerk reaction is to say the donations we have given to our beneficiaries. The $7.75 million donated is something to be proud of. But, what I think I am most proud of is simply starting Tap Cancer Out. As they say in Jiu-Jitsu, the most important belt you get is the white belt. Similarly to starting Jiu-Jitsu, I didn’t know what I was doing when I started Tap Cancer Out. I just kept on going and eventually it’s 10 years later and you get to see everything that you’ve accomplished. I can’t believe how far Tap Cancer Out has come. I’ve quit plenty of things in life so I’m proud I kept going.