Ep. 31 | Lindsay Machado — Building a Business: 25 Years of Marriage, Family & Hard Realities

What does it take to survive 25 years of marriage while raising four kids, building a Jiu-Jitsu business, and working together every day?

In Episode 31 of Coffee Time with Carlos Machado, Carlos sits down with his wife, business partner, martial artist, and the woman who helped build the Machado organization behind the scenes — Lindsay Machado.

This one gets personal.

Lindsay grew up in a martial arts family, entering her first karate tournament at just four years old. She trained in Kempo Karate, kickboxing, and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu — but admits that martial arts wasn't exactly love at first sight.

As a little girl, she wanted gymnastics, dancing, singing, and everything else.

Her dad had different plans.

Around age 13, Lindsay says she made a decision that changed everything: she wasn't going to see herself as a victim anymore.

That mindset would eventually follow her from competition into marriage, motherhood, entrepreneurship, and leadership.

Years later, after meeting Carlos and moving to Texas, Lindsay encountered another challenge: Carlos's early Jiu-Jitsu academy.

Let's just say it wasn't exactly the structured martial arts operation she grew up around.

Carlos wanted to teach.
Lindsay wanted systems.
Carlos wanted everybody happy.
Lindsay wanted everybody paying.
Carlos dreamed.
Lindsay asked, "Okay… but who's going to do all of this?"

What followed was a 25-year journey of building a marriage, family, academy, association, team, and martial arts legacy together.

Carlos and Lindsay get candid about the early days of the academy, when Carlos would teach marathon classes, give away his time, make exceptions for students, and resist some of the structure Lindsay believed the business desperately needed.

Lindsay remembers arriving and discovering that only a fraction of the academy's students were actually paying.

Her solution?

Fix it. Immediately.

That approach didn't exactly make her the most popular person in the building.

The two revisit students resisting change, black belts leaving, people opening competing academies, introducing policies and procedures, and even students quitting over something as simple as bowing onto the mat.

But those difficult years taught them lessons that eventually changed the way the Machado organization operates.

One of the biggest:

If you're doing your job as an instructor, some of your students will eventually grow enough to leave and build something of their own.

Instead of fearing that moment, Carlos and Lindsay learned to create a pathway for it.

Carlos and Lindsay talk about the friction of making business decisions together, being on opposite sides of policies, communicating completely differently, and learning how to combine their strengths instead of fighting them.

But behind all the business lessons is a family story.

Carlos and Lindsay raised and homeschooled four children while simultaneously building their businesses.

And Lindsay admits that going from years of being needed constantly — school, sports, practices, business, home, four kids — to an increasingly empty nest can feel surprisingly lonely.

This episode is about much more than Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.

It's about what happens behind the accomplishments people see from the outside. And two very different personalities figuring out how to build something together.

After 25 years, Carlos and Lindsay are still building — including new work surrounding the Professional Grappling Federation and Dallas Mustangs.

And this conversation is only Part One.

☕ CHAPTERS

00:00 — Meet Lindsay Machado: 25 Years of Marriage
02:00 — Growing Up in a Martial Arts Family
09:00 — Lindsay Meets Carlos & Moves to Texas
14:30 — Her First Look at Carlos's Early Jiu-Jitsu Academy
17:00 — Turning Passion Into a Sustainable Martial Arts Business
23:00 — The Culture Clash: Bringing Structure to Jiu-Jitsu
34:00 — Creating Better Paths for Future Instructors
38:30 — Marriage + Business: Working With Your Spouse
42:00 — Carlos the Dreamer vs. Lindsay the Doer
44:30 — The "Dream Bucket" & "Critical Bucket" Communication Method
47:00 — Why Consistency, Communication & Timing Matter
49:00 — Lessons From 25 Years Together
51:00 — Professional Grappling Federation, Dallas Mustangs & What's Next

🐎 PROFESSIONAL GRAPPLING FEDERATION / DALLAS MUSTANGS
https://www.pgf.world/

☕ COFFEE TIME WITH CARLOS MACHADO

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