From left: DJ Jacke, Gui Valente and Thierry Henry (photo by Mauro Samagaio/Gracie Miami publicity
On Jan. 5, Guilherme Valente, a Jiu-Jitsu professor at Gracie Miami, was kicking back on vacation in Rio when he remembered to invite his friend Jacke, a famous DJ in St.-Tropez and Europe, to check out samba school Unidos da Tijuca rehearsing at the Sapucaí carnival grounds.
There the two bumped into Thierry Henry, the 35-year-old French superstar on top British soccer club Arsenal, who struck up a conversation about the UFC and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, and Gui Valente extended an invitation for him to practice the gentle art with him.
Passing through the land he helped devastate by winning the final of the 1998 World Cup, Henry still found time to get in some samba dancing.
Now, as for Gui Valente, he’s been dropping in at Gracie Humaitá in Rio, and next weekend will be returning home to Florida.
