Owner / Head InstructoR
Phillip Aguilar
Paragon Brazilian Jiu Jitsu
3rd degree Black Belt under Ricardo “Franjinha” Miller
Phillip Aguilar, owner and head instructor of The Eyrie Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, was born and raised in Tucson, AZ. His father, a police officer and mother a school teacher, Phillip had a very humble upbringing growing up on the south side of Tucson. At an early age Phillip took to playing sports and physical fitness, and committed his entire childhood to playing baseball. After finishing playing baseball at Tucson High School, Phillip sought new challenges and gravitated towards Martial Arts. After trying several disciplines, Phillip found a local gym that taught Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and immediately fell in love with it's effectiveness and real world application.
In the early 2000's, balancing college, work and his passion for Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Phillip decided to test himself in the world of Mixed Martial Arts (MMA). With the popularity of the UFC gaining steam at the time, Phillip took some time off from college to focus more time on his training. After spending the next few years training hard and having a very successful professional MMA career, having all of his wins coming by way of submission, Phillip decided to take a break and finish his studies at Northern Arizona University, where he earned two bachelor's degrees. Although he took a break from MMA to finish school, Phillip still continued his training with Jiu Jitsu.
During this time Phillip met his wife Maria and they had their son Enzo a couple years later. With all of these life changes, Phillip was still committed to Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, training whenever he could, competing and winning local and regional BJJ tournaments. After moving up the ranks in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu over a span of 10+ years, Phillip was eventually awarded his Black Belt from his instructor, Paragon Brazilian Jiu Jitsu patriarch Ricardo "Franjinha" Miller and his close friend and Paragon BJJ Black Belt Manuel Flores.
After many years of working in front of a computer, Phillip finally decided to leave the corporate world and open his own gym as a full-time instructor. With the blessing of his wife, and family, Phillip chose to open his gym in the under-served area of south-west Tucson, and The Eyrie Brazilian Jiu Jitsu was born. Together with Daimyo Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, both gyms represent the larger PARAGON BJJ family for Arizona under the watchful eye of their instructor Ricardo "Franjinha" Miller.
The Eyrie Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is a family oriented gym with a focus on being healthy, having fun, making friends, all while learning Brazilian Jiu Jitsu in a clean, and safe envioment.