Relentless: A story about Muay Thai Fighter and Coach Luis Regis
November 2023
Reading Length: 5 - 8 minutes
It’s early morning, early enough that the streets are still empty and the air is cool enough to make you shiver. In one of the backstreets of the small suburb of Alexandria, in the south of Sydney, thunderous cracks can be heard outside Soot Raaeng Geert Thai Boxing Gym. Soot Raaeng Geert means, putting everything you have into it. Your might. Your energy. Your power. As I enter, Luis Regis is sitting behind the reception desk. He’s here most mornings and will stay late into the night, teaching and coaching fighters both beginners and professionals. Inside, there’s multiple people already training.
He greets me with a good morning. The slight tinge of his Brazilian accent still present.
Class begins at 6:30 AM without delay. A few rounds of rope skipping, some mobility work, a few warmup drills, and Luis finally takes us through pad work. Through the class, Luis and a couple of coaches pace around correcting small nuances in people’s motions.
Five rounds of pad work then some core exercises and everyone is spent, but before Luis lets us go, he gathers us together and leaves us with an encouragement “To have beautiful Muay Thai you need to be confident in making it look like you know what you’re doing, even when you don’t,” he says.
“Don’t rush and be awkward. That goes in life too. Everything you do should be powerful, but you need to take your time. Be measured. Be calculated. Be confident.” He clasps his hands together, and gives us a farewell.
Not long after, he joins me in a cafe in-between classes and his duties of being a Dad to share his story. I take coffee, he has tea with honey.
“Where in Brazil did you grow up, and what kept you occupied?” I begin.
“I was born in a small city name Brusque in the south of Brazil. I kept myself busy and was always doing something. Growing up, my dad told me ‘you won’t be an expert in one thing if you’re doing too many things’ but it was just who I was. I like to keep busy, but music stood out though. I came from an Italian background, and all my uncles played accordion and guitar so I learned how to play early in my life,” Luis says as he takes a sip of his tea.
“Traditionally, Sundays are spent with family in Brazil. So our whole family would get together, have lunch, have a bit too drink, which eventually led to us playing our instruments.”
Like most Brazilians Luis began playing football in his early years. By the time he was eight he began Judo, and Capoeira. When he wanted to take martial arts a little more seriously he added a few more to his repertoire: Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Vale Tudo and Muay Thai. Finally, by thirteen he began surfing.
“I did a lot of things, but surfing was something I loved more than anything. It was such a great way to get away from the working-endlessly mindset that surrounded me. I remember buying my first surfboard for $50.” A reminiscent smile escapes him.
“I loved that thing so much I would actually sleep with it next to me. I had great friends who I surfed alongside with, and I couldn’t wait to get out in the water as much as possible. I really think the learning process to surf is the most fun, which was why I was out in the water so often at a young age.”
It wasn’t all fun and games for Luis though; his father encouraged him to work and from thirteen he was fixing televisions and broken appliances. He then went on to study electronic development in a technical college, before immersing himself in the rat race. But there was something missing and a clear yearning for more.
“When I was studying and working, I’d go home at night and all I’d think about was what am I going to do next — what was going to make me a lot of money. There was a clear dissonance because I was living a surfing lifestyle, and it just didn’t feel right for me. I wanted to get away. So when I started trying to figure out where I would go, there was one place that made sense. Australia has some of the best surfers and surf in the world, and it was close to Thailand. Since I loved Muay Thai, it was the perfect spot.”
“What were your first memories of arriving in Australia?” I ask.
Luis ponders for a moment, as he zips up his jumper deterring the cool morning air.
“I arrived in the Gold Coast in 2005 and lived in Kira. I lived in one of the cheapest places around. I think it was like $180 for a two bedroom apartment. It was a great spot to surf, but I liked it because it was a more down to earth area. There’s some places in Australia that just doesn’t feel real to me, coming from Brazil especially,” he replies.
“I stayed there for three months, but it was tough. I didn’t have much money. I couldn’t speak much English. I couldn’t even afford to pay to go to a Muay Thai gym, so I’d run along the beach a lot and shadow box to stay in shape.”
After those three months, Luis eventually moved to Sydney’s eastern suburb of Maroubra. He started working at a car wash for $10 an hour.
“My friends told me one of the easiest jobs to get was at a car wash since you don’t have to talk to a lot of people. I found a job through an ad in the yellow pages. I worked hard doing that job. 10 hour days, 7 days a week. Sometimes I could make up to $800 a week. Then, I was able to train Muay Thai at Bondi under Peter Bartosik. He really helped shape my style from this hybrid mix of all the martial arts I learned in Brazil to a more traditional and beautiful Muay Thai.”
Luis progressed at lightning speed. After six months, he took his first fight.
“During that time, all I did was train and work. But that was the conjunction of what made me better as a fighter. I couldn’t speak much English so I didn’t have many friends so I wasn’t getting distracted.”
“Balance comes with compromise, but what other factors drove you to become a professional fighter?” I ask.
“I didn’t have that many fights to begin with, but I was fighting people who had a lot more experience than I did, and I started getting paid. It wasn’t much, but I was getting paid to fight which was great. Usually, promotions will match experienced fighters who have a big following with inexperienced fighters because they’ll take the fight at a lower pay. That was me for a long time, the underdog, but I kept winning. Through that time, I started building a group of supporters, and I also began to teach which really changed my life. I saw the happiness in people when they were learning, and that’s when I knew that teaching Muay Thai was what I really wanted to do,” Luis responds with a smirk.
But Luis believed that if he was going to teach, he needed to be able to do everything he was teaching, and do it well. He needed to have beautiful Muay Thai.
“I stepped up and made a decision that I would fight anyone, anytime.”
He tallied an impressive 26-9 record. Along the way, he picked up titles and championships. Among them were the WFO world champion, 3 x WMC aus champion, WMC state champion, IKBF STATE CHAMPION, IKBF AUSTRALIAN, IKBF AUS CHAMPION, IKBF EAST COAST CHAMPION, IKBF COMMONWEALTH CHAMPION, and SIAM 2 Sydney champion
“Through that time I opened up SRG in 2009 in the downstairs area of the Mundine Gym in Redfern. But because it was a rough area, I couldn’t get a lot of students, so I moved here in Alexandria in 2010, and we’ve been here ever since,” Luis says as he points at the gym on the end of the road.
Courage is a virtue that lies within a threshold of means. Stray too far on either side and you’re either too reckless or too meek. And to accumulate this virtue, it must be exercised repeatedly. Confidence is similar in that manner, one must practice it over and over. This was what Luis continued to do.
“What I’ve seen is that when people want to start a new business, they feel so overwhelmed and they never open. I actually did the opposite. I just started, and yes there were some things I missed and didn’t get right, but things began falling into place. Most of the time, if you do something wrong, you have a chance to fix it,” Luis says.
“You’ve probably seen that with many of your students. As the gym has grown, what’s one thing you’ve loved seeing from your students coming to learn Muay Thai?” I ask.
“First of all, I like people to realise that you don't need to be a fighter to live a Muay Thai lifestyle. We help train some of the best Muay Thai fighters here in Sydney, but we pour just as much to the rest of our students. What I’ve loved seeing is the happiness that Muay Thai brings to people’s lives when they take on that lifestyle. We have someone who comes to the gym who lives on the streets, and he comes to the gym once or twice a week, and when he does we try to make it as fun as an experience for him, and he leaves happy and inspired.”
“You’ve trained a lot of people, but what do you focus on when teaching people, and what do you look for in terms of potential?” I continue.
“I like focusing on details for sure. Details to make a technique look good because by the end of the day it's like surfing, you can surf for 10 years, you can snap, or do your turn, you can do all that, but if it doesn't look good, no one gives a crap. Everyone will just categorise you the same as so many others,” Luis replies.
“I learned a lot by being around Thai people that if your technique doesn't look good during a fight, spectators won’t bother watching. You can look good in training but it’s different when you’re actually competing. You know what it's like watching a bad football game right? So technique needs to always be number one. Also, when I'm looking into a potential champion I look at how hungry they are for it. As a coach, we can teach a lot of things, but that hunger is a rare thing.”
This hunger and heart to compete with everything within him was evident through Luis’ career. Living the Brazilian expression ‘Sange no olho’ (being relentless). So when he had a chance to fight Yodsanklai Fairtex in 2018, one of the legends of the Muay Thai, even though it was a call-up on short notice, he came prepared and gave it his all.
“That was the first time I ever stepped into a cage. Even though it was a short notice fight, the training camp was good, and I felt good, and even in the walkout I didn’t feel nervous. The difference in this fight though was the four-ounce gloves. You see a lot of fighters adapt a certain way with those smaller gloves, but I wanted to keep that traditional style when I fought back then. Yodslenkai had so much experience, and I got caught and I got knocked out. Hey, I have no regrets, and it was a great experience to fight a legend,” Luis says with a shrug.
“Being Brazilian, tell me about your passion for food and what led you to opening a restaurant?” I asked, pivoting the questions.
“Through my career as a fighter, I liked to put myself in the middle and then put everything around that I need to make myself grow. Food was definitely one of those things. So I eat really clean, but my wife was the one who helped me change that, because in Brazil I used to eat a lot of junk food. I always thought because I’m so active I won't feel the effects of it. But as an elite athlete, it’s different. You need to be on top of it. So I was eating really clean. Then after I stopped fighting, I wanted to eat a little bit more.” A smirk cuts through Luis’ lips.
“We’re so lucky to have such a diverse food culture here in Australia. But I’ve always loved Brazilian food of course. Which is why when a mate of mine asked if I wanted to do something different and open a Brazilian restaurant, I was so up for it. We opened up the restaurant and called it La Favela in Bondi just before 2020. We had some good parties there, and there was a lot of support. But unfortunately, we didn’t have great timing, when COVID happened we had to close it down.”
“And how did SRG as a business survive through the pandemic?” I ask.
“Many gyms and businesses closed during the Covid lockdown. As I mentioned, I lost the restaurant, but I still had the gym which closed for seven months. I lost a lot of money during the lockdown period, but I’ve always been wise with my finances and that made a difference. My real worry during that time actually was the borders being closed, and that I couldn’t see my family in Brazil. But through the lockdowns, SRG never stopped, even with the gym closed, we had zoom classes, I built a home gym, and then we went to the park to do classes and our coaches offered personal training when we were allowed. I opened a full online student platform where people could learn Muay Thai and mobility. That whole period actually made me grow so much. They say ‘it's when hard times come will be when you actually grow’, but it was unreal because the community around SRG really stuck together.”
“Actually, one of the best things I’ve learned is that when things don’t go your way in life or in Muay Thai is not to waste time focusing on the negative thoughts to weigh you down. Definitely learn from it, but don’t focus on those negatives for too long. So let’s say you get beat up really badly in a fight or in training, a lot of people would stop and think they're not good, or this isn’t for them. But how are you suppose to get better then? My mindset is that it’s just another day. Think on what you did wrong, and then focus on fixing it. There’s no need to focus on being upset or having a negative mindset about your setbacks.”
“Muay Thai has a way of enhancing mentality. How has Muay Thai shaped you being a father and family man?”
“The discipline has definitely helped. Nowadays, there’s a lot of reliance on motivation, but I think discipline is still the most important thing. Think with your mind, not with your feelings is a good phrase I always try to live by. Because you can feel tired, but if your mind says you have to go train, the discipline allows you to choose to listen to your mind. That mentality has helped me with being a family man, but it’s also helped me think long term and understand things won’t be perfect, but it’s all about growing together with your partner.”
Luis checks the time for a moment. He’s got a full day ahead of him, and he’s got to pack for an upcoming trip to Thailand.
“What do you envision for SRG Thai Boxing?”
Luis answers without hesitation “One of the things I'm so proud of is that we make champions from scratch: from when they start as kids, to people who have never trained before, and even some who come from different gym with losses, and then they change their style. My dream would be that my students will go on to open their own gyms. This is what I want. If it's going to be another SRG, or their own gym with their own name, this is fine, but I will be happy to know that they will be teaching the right Muay Thai. Traditional and Beautiful. In the world today, there’s a lot of imitation, but we try to hold on to the roots of it all. My job is to expand Muay Thai and I want that to be passed on.”
To find out more about SRG Thai Boxing Sydney visit their website and to see more of Luis visit his instagram @luis_srg
Words: S.I. Finlayson
Edits: Tim Hamer
Photos: Courtesy of Luis Regis